Wage subsidy starts to bite as govt books turn to deficit

Fri, 08 May 2020

The government’s rapid response to get money out the door to keep people in jobs has already tipped its March accounts in the red. By the end of March, the government had paid $3.9 billion in its wage subsidy package, designed to give businesses a quick cash injection to keep people tied to their jobs. That’s since climbed to more than $10.6 billion covering 1.7 million workers, however, the speed of the programme saw more than a third of that paid in the first two weeks. Finance Minister Grant Robertson will deliver the Budget next we...

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