Baby Bonus Means Test: Will You Be Cut Off?
Plans to introduce a means test for the federal government $5,000 baby bonus appear to have caused some confusion and panic, but the limit isn’t necessarily as harsh as you might believe. As The Australian reports, while there is an income limit of $150,000, that’s based on the first six months of post-birth income. During that period, many dual-income couples effectively become single-income, so they will still qualify. The bigger change is arguably the move to spreading the payments over a six-month period rather than offering a lump-sum figure.
Comments
Would Lifehacker like to tackle the in’s and out’s of the Child Care Benefit next? (www.familyassist.gov.au/Internet/FAO/fao1.nsf/content/publications-factsheets-ccb_budget0809.htm)
Even if both partners do work in the six months, that means they have a combined income of $300k per year…perhaps I’m a little callous but I don’t really care if people who earn more than five times the national household average don’t get their baby bonus!