Absurd Collection Rate for Winter Energy Payment Rorts Taxpayers

16 AUGUST 2018
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

New figures show that the Government’s so-called Winter Energy Payment is welfare for the rich, and a massive waste of taxpayer money, says the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union.

Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke says, “It’s true that there are New Zealanders struggling to pay their energy bills. But surely the Government doesn’t think that’s true for 99.8 percent of pensioners and beneficiaries.”

“A basic rule is that when the Government offers free money, most people will take it, regardless of need. In other words, an ideological obsession with universal welfare means working Kiwis are getting taxed to help mega-wealthy retirees keep their pools heated.”

“The policy was an untargeted rort to begin with, but the absurd 99.8 percent collection rate can be blamed on Minister Carmel Sepuloni’s decision to switch from an ‘opt-in’ model to and ‘opt-out’ model.”

ENDS

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