Change to Kiwisaver a 'teething problem' says government

The Government today said a teething problem meant it has had to make a change to the KiwiSaver employer tax credit process.

Finance Minister Michael Cullen said it had been discovered that not all companies would get the $20 a week tax credit per KiwiSaver employee so a change was required.

About 5000 to 6000 employers who paid staff approximately $93,000 per annum or more on a weekly or fortnightly basis, and some employers making voluntary contributions or extra salary payments were affected. These employers would be able to make an additional claim at the end of the tax year.

The issue arose because the formula for working out the employer tax credit was based on the number of days in an Inland Revenue PAYE period but employer pay periods were not evenly distributed between PAYE periods.

Revenue Minister Peter Dunne said the "teething problems" should not take away from the success of the scheme with more than 500,000 people now joined up.

- NZPA