Monday, April 02, 2007

Confusion and obfuscation

I try to keep up with what's going on in the benefit/tax system. Overnight Work and Income has renamed the Family Support payments to beneficiaries, Family Tax Credits. See here.

But when I check with IRD I find, as well, the Family Tax Credit has been renamed the Minimum Family Tax Credit. Confused?

Hone Harawira is and I don't blame him.

Mr Speaker, another important outcome of the confusion is that by using a name like family tax credit that meant one thing to now mean another, is that it becomes very difficult to get any coherent analysis of the changes for beneficiaries during that transition.


He's onto it. I sent OIA questions about such matters to the IRD in December. When I tried to follow up their failure to respond they claimed they had no record of them. With no other choice, I sent the questions again, this time asking for an immediate acknowledgment. That was 12 days ago and do you think I have had a response?

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