KEY POINTS:
The Green Party has welcomed a rise in the minimum wage to $12 an hour, but says it needs to hit at least $15 an hour to raise some workers out of poverty.
A host of the Government's flagship policies come into force this week including cuts to business tax rates, workplace savings incentives and a rise in the minimum wage from $11.25 an hour to $12.
Prime Minister Helen Clark yesterday said the minimum wage had been lifted "substantially" since Labour came to power, rising from $7 an hour to its current level.
At that time, 18 and 19-year-olds, like 16 and 17-year-olds, were on $4.20.
Under the changes, 16 and 17-year-olds get the $12 an hour minimum wage after the first 200 hours or three months they worked.
That change was achieved via a member's bill sponsored by Green MP Sue Bradford.
Ms Bradford today welcomed the changes, but said they needed to go further in the face of household budgets straining under hikes in the price of fuel, food and accommodation.
Benefits also needed to rise.
"$12 an hour is nowhere near enough to live on or support a family.
"Family Support is available to working parents with children - but single adults are not eligible and beneficiary parents and their children continue to suffer discrimination because they don't get the In Work payment."
Ms Bradford said the Government needed to lift the minimum wage to $15 an hour.
Council of Trade Unions president Helen Kelly said today's rise was an improvement but more progress was needed.
Labour Minister Trevor Mallard reminded employers that any 16 or 17-year-old who had already worked for 200 hours was automatically entitled to the adult wage from today.
Today is the start of the taxation year and as a result the date for many legislative changes to take effect.
One of the most significant changes is the cut in the company tax rate from 33 per cent to 30 per cent.
This will potentially divert hundreds of millions of dollars from the Government's coffers back into businesses to reinvest or pay out to owners and shareholders.
Workers who are part of KiwiSaver are also set to benefit from the turbo charging of the workplace saving scheme.
So far 500,000 people have signed up and those who work will now get an employers contribution of 1 per cent rising to 4 per cent by 2011.
To ease the pain for employers they will get a government tax credit of up to $20 per week per employee in the scheme.
Another tax credit is claimable from today, for research and development.
Such spending will get a 15 per cent rebate at an estimated cost of $630 million over the next four years.
Benefits and allowances will also increase with the now annual indexing for inflation taking effect, lifting welfare payment by 3.1 per cent.
The sale of party pills containing BZP becomes illegal today, though it will still be legal to possess small amounts until October.
Today marks the removal of the $1890 cap on charitable donations eligible for a tax rebate of 33.3 per cent.
- NZPA
