Horan launches Save Our Seniors campaign

The NZ Independent Coalition is launching a Save Our Seniors campaign, calling for fair incomes for seniors funded through implementation of a Financial Transaction Tax (FTT).

Brendan Horan MP, leader of the NZ Independent Coalition, says urgent and immediate action is required. Speaking in Parliament, he said “Although everyone wants to believe that all New Zealanders are guaranteed security in retirement and that the needs of seniors are well catered for, the reality could not be more different.”

Our seniors are expected to live on as little as $282/week. The reality is that the Govern-ment’s own research shows that for a married couple to have reasonable living, $56,000 pa is needed. Currently a married couple are expected to live on less than $33,000 pa.

What this National Government is doing to our seniors is inhumane. Words cannot convey the deep sense of tragedy when 85-year olds are driven to commit suicide.

Revenue can be found in a currently untaxed area of the New Zealand economy - financial transactions. The NZ Independent Coalition will look to implement a 0.1% Financial Transaction Tax, following the example of 11 European Union nations lead by France and Germany.

The volume of transactions through the banking and foreign exchange systems is enormous and currently untaxed. According to the Reserve Bank, New Zealand’s foreign exchange market handles an average of US$12.4 billion per day. On top of that over $25 billion a day of transactions are processed through the banking system. To put these eye-watering sums into perspective, that’s over $8,000 per New Zealander churned every day.

The NZ Independent Coalition is also looking to use FTT revenue to (1) remove GST on food (2) remove GST on medical costs and (3) support vet costs for seniors pets, recognising that our seniors’ quality of life is enhanced by their pets.

An FTT at the modest rate of 0.1% will result in revenue of around $9.5 billion for the people of New Zealand every year. After all, if the financial institutions make their money by clipping the ticket on every transaction, then so too should the Government.

Save Our Seniors!

NZ Independent Coalition: Safe Children, Safe Whanau, Safe Society
Respecting and serving New Zealanders

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