Tax brackets hit middle income earners

Tax brackets hit middle income earners
Those on the minimum wage now pay the 17.5% tax rate on two-thirds of their income, compared to about half of it in 2010. (Image: Getty)
Andy Fyers
Income tax brackets have not been adjusted for more than a decade.Since then, wages and prices have increased significantly. The upshot is that – without any adjustment to tax brackets – people at all points on the income curve are paying an increasing share of their earnings in tax.In 2010, the last time PAYE tax brackets were adjusted for wage and salary earners, the average worker (someone on the median wage/salaried income) earned $40,000 a year before tax.About one-third of that was taxed at the newly introduced bottom tax rate...

More Economy

Westpac adds another rate cut to its forecasts
Economy

Westpac adds another rate cut to its forecasts

Westpac Bank now expects the official cash rate (OCR) to trough at 3% and has pushed back the timing of its forecast tightening cycle.“Downside risks from global growth suggest the RBNZ [Reserve Bank of New Zealand] may continue easing beyond May,” chief economist Kelly Eckhold s...

Rams Logistics owed $3.2m to IRD
Economy

Rams Logistics owed $3.2m to IRD

About 50 employees are owed approximately $760,000, the liquidators said.

Gregor Thompson 08 May 2025
Paul Bloxham: NZ's growth to stem worker outflow to Australia
Economy

Paul Bloxham: NZ's growth to stem worker outflow to Australia

HSBC's chief economist says NZ will benefit from Chinese economic pivot.

Capital requirements review doesn't mean they are too high
Economy

Capital requirements review doesn't mean they are too high

The Reserve Bank of NZ is not committed to any one particular outcome. 

Rebecca Howard 07 May 2025