May 24th is Tax Freedom Day

24 May 2005

May 24th is Tax Freedom Day - your money is finally your own

Working New Zealanders are finally free of their tax obligations today, but they have worked 10 days more than their Aussie neighbours to pay off their tax.

Independent research commissioned by national accounting firm, Staples Rodway, reveals that today, Tuesday May 24, is Tax Freedom Day – the day New Zealanders’ will have officially paid off their tax debt and can start putting money into their own back pockets.

Peter Guise, Managing Partner of Staples Rodway says the proposed increase in New Zealand’s tax thresholds won’t narrow this gap much as it has been more than offset by Australia’s planned tax cuts.

The Staples Rodway research shows it will take 143 days for the average New Zealander to pay off his or her income tax, local body expenses, and other taxes such as petrol tax, cigarette tax and alcohol levies.

Mr Guise says of the 143 days, it took an estimated eight days to pay local authority tax and 135 days to pay central government tax. The 135 days can be further broken down into approximately 88 days for direct taxes and 47 for indirect taxes.

You can determine your own personal Tax Freedom Day by visiting the Staples Rodway website www.staplesrodway.com and viewing the Tax Freedom Day Calculator. Simply input some key information and see for yourself.

The Staples Rodway research is based on international methodology which enables an accurate comparison between New Zealand’s tax burden and those of other countries.

Comparing this data, it shows that Australia and the USA are free of their relative tax burdens earlier than New Zealand, and that the UK falls a week later.

ENDS

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