There seems to be a bit of an effort underway at the moment to portray IRD as bad guys because they're chasing Kiwis overseas who owe money on their student loans.
Now, tell me if you think that we should let either of these two off the hook on the money that they owe.
The first is a pilot who moved to Australia 10 years ago. He now owes IRD $170,000. That is his original loan, plus basically mostly interest.
He says he moved there for a pilot job in 2014, did it for six years, lost it during COVID, had to take a low-paying job in a storage warehouse.
He's a pilot again, but this loan is so big, he doesn't know if he's ever gonna be able to pay it back.
Should we let him off his debt?
Or do you, like me, look at what a regional commercial pilot in Australia can earn, which is over $100,000 and possibly even closer to $200,000 Australian dollars, and think, he can probably afford to start paying back that debt.
The second is a woman who has a debt of $70,000.
Now, she moved to the United States 20 years ago.
She wants to come back now to see her sick mom, but she can't because she's worried that she's gonna be arrested at the border.
Should we wipe her debt? So she can come home and see her sick mom?
Or do you like me, think that's entirely her decision.
She can come back and see her sick mom. Ain't nobody stopping her doing that. And maybe when she gets here, we'll have a little chat about how she can start to make some repayments on that debt.
Or she can carry on like she is, which is clearly valuing her money over her mom. Not coming back.
And by the way, arrests over the border only happen to the worst offenders who've who've ignored all attempts by IRD to sort out the debt.
Now, don't think I'm callous, right?
I do feel sorry for both of these people and everybody else like them, because I imagine it's a horrible situation to be in, to allow your debt to get that out of hand.
But that is not an excuse not to pay it back. IRD is, from what I can tell, pretty reasonable here.
So much so that that woman's $70,000 debt has now been reduced to only $15,000 so it just covers the original debt in the end. The penalties have been wiped. This is them coming to the party to try to help.
Sorry, the free ride is over, the repayments need to start. New Zealand is broke, we actually need this money back.
I applaud IRD for going hard on this, and so far, I'm completely unmoved by any attempts to paint them as bad guys.
I am yet to come across a single case where I think that IRD is being unfair, asking for the student loan to be repaid.
Heather du Plessis-Allan is a journalist and commentator who hosts Newstalk ZB's Drive show HERE - where this article was sourced.
5 comments:
Are maori students who debunk held to full repayment? Intercepted on brief visists for funeral and other parties etc?
If IRD is the bad guy then this is because they didn’t manage to collect what is due that many years! A loan is a loan - you have to pay it back timely otherwise there are penalties.
AInt gonna bova readin layzee ritin.
The current student loan scheme is fair and reasonable with clear information and relatively stable lending and credit plans. But for those unfortunate souls who were the Guinea pigs in the first 10yrs of the scheme should be granted a lot of leniency.
The scheme started with a promise of 2% interest - everyone said you should borrow….every one. So everyone did.
Within a couple of years rates were 2% above mortgage rates.
It was a criminal and literal transfer of nzs national debt to its students….and the politicians still couldn’t balance the books.
When those early students left nz there was no info pack about repayment terms - that were in the thousands of dollars a month by the way - then the penalties- and frankly the pilot and the American should wash their hands and stay away.
That pilot on $200 a year in Oz is actually on more like $140 a year, and paying 48% tax in Oz, meanwhile nzs ird will be telling him that he needs to pay them $4000 a month….which will really just cover his penalty interest.
You get upset over loan sharks….well ird and the early student loan scheme fit the definition to a tee.
IRD are the bad guys when they let things get to far out of hand. Look at how many times a small business goes under with huge debts to the IRD. They don't really care because they get the first cut of what is left, even though they know a business is in trouble before anyone else. Then, if there isn't even enough money left for them, they still don't care because it isn't theirs to worry about.
So the IRD needs to be far more proactive in the first place.
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