Treasurer Ian Ling Stuckey, following the Wednesday 10th January incident, has come out to say that shameful individuals have misinformed the public about the government’s K1, 617 million combined Household Assistance Package from 2022 to 2024. Mr. Ling Stuckey in statement said that the Marape-Rosso Government understands the cost of living pressures facing families and that unlike any previous government, a specific package of measures was introduced to deal with these pressures. “This involved cutting taxes and increasing school subsidies. The facts are clear. Yet there are those that continue to promote instability that continue to misrepresent these tax cuts, mainly in their selfish interests of trying to gain power. Such individuals should be held to account” stated the Treasurer. “There clearly was an error in processing the first pays for 2024. This has been verified in the statements of the Commissioner General for the Internal Revenue Commission (IRC), as well as the Secretaries for Finance and DPM. This will be corrected in the second pay run. The Treasurer stated that the most likely explanation is that the error that the old O’Neill tax schedule was used in the 2024 pay-run, rather than the new Marape tax schedule and this meant that tax rates went back to the levels of the former Government – much more tax being taken out of every pay packet – generally an extra K63 per fortnight. “The Marape-Rosso Government’s income tax schedule is much more generous than the old O’Neill schedule. But some want to hide this fact,” stated Ling-Stuckey. “Every personal income taxpayer in PNG is now better off under the Marape-Rosso Government in comparison to the O’Neill regime. This is a fact, a fact being hidden by O’Neill’s supporters on social media. The main change has been an increase in the amount you can earn before you pay any tax.” “You used to start paying tax if your fortnightly pay reached K481. Under the 2023 and 2024 changes, you now don’t pay any income tax until your income reaches K769. Another K288 per fortnight which is tax-free. This change means that there are now an estimated 160, 000 people who used to pay income tax in 2019, who from 2023 now pay no income tax. This reduction in taxes was made permanent in the 2024 Budget, not just temporary.” “Even for those that pay tax, they will now pay less tax than in 2019 under the old O’Neill tax scales. For most people still paying income taxes (a very small proportion of the population – representing the higher paid formal sector workforce which accounts for less than 5 per cent of the population), this will represent a saving of K63.46 per fortnight.” He explained that even for those with dependents, there are significant tax reductions since 2019. For those parents sending children to schools, let’s also remember the tuition-project fee relief that is being provided by this Government as part of the Household Assistance Package. These subsidies are saving families K220 for each student in Secondary Schools, K60 for each student in Primary schools and K200 in Technical colleges and that this program will benefit more than 1.5 million children. “There is also misinformation in the actual tax rates being applied. For example, I have seen a letter, hopefully fake, from the Nursing Association calling for a national strike over a claimed increase in tax rates from 32% to 42%.” “This is just fake news. The marginal tax rates are exactly the same as was the case in 2018 under the O’Neill regime. The major change has been abolishing all taxes on the first K20, 000 of income.” “There is in fact no 32% tax rate. The 42% tax rate only applies if you are earning over K250, 000 per year. How many nurses or police or Defense service officers earn over K250, 000 per year? Check the facts before you call for more national strikes based on misleading information.” He urged the public to come and talk and use the usual processes, if there are issues as leaders in our society must be aware of such misinformation, especially as some are lobbying hard for selfish power. “Every little hiccup and glitch now runs the danger of setting off the type of destruction we have just seen. This type of behavior is bad for the economy.” Stuckey sent his heart-felt apologies to the hard-working businesses, their staff and supply chain providers that have been so negatively affected by this outrageous behavior and in line with the Prime Ministers’ statement, Treasury is on standby to support the national governments policy committee with the process of consultation with businesses to provide some relief so they can quickly restock and rebuild. Meanwhile, he assured businesses that the government is seeking to build up business confidence and investment and then this happened. “We are working to modernize the Alesco pay system to stop such errors. But, if your pay packet has something that happened, ask questions and get information. Don’t go on a screaming, shameful rampage. And remember, the fact is that the Marape-Rosso Government has reduced income taxes compared to the O’Neill regime,” stated the Treasurer.