New Zealand’s tax department has apologised for encouraging parents to hit their children’s Halloween candy stash with a “lolly tax” of up to 33%.
The Inland Revenue Department [IRD] came under fire on Sunday after tweeting from its official account that “parenting trends like a lolly tax teach kids responsibility by taking some of their lollies and taxing their trick or treat haul.”
They went on to suggest that parents apply one of New Zealand’s top income tax rates – 33% – to children’s trick-or-treat earnings. “The tax can be as much as one third of the lollies earned on Halloween.”
The suggestion quickly drew criticism, particularly from opposition MPs, who used it as an opportunity to criticise the government’s approach to taxation.
Ex-leader of the National party Judith Collins called the department “the grinch of Halloween,” and David Seymour, leader of the libertarian Act party, issued a press release saying that the “spookiest thing this Halloween was a glimpse into the mind of an IRD tax collector”.
The tweet was also greeted from members of the public online. “You can’t possibly be serious,” one Twitter user replied. “This is the silliest thing I’ve seen a govt dept do, ever, anywhere,” another user said. “Any fun-loving parent worth their salt would do well to ignore such hokum,” wrote a third.
An Inland Revenue spokesperson said in a statement that the tweet was intended to be “lighthearted” and “in the spirit of Halloween”.
“We received some adverse comments online and on reflection decided to delete it. We’re sorry if the tweet offended,” they said.
A “candy tax” has become a popular suggestion on parenting blogs to “teach children financial lessons” – and, presumably, secure some treats.
A 2019 survey from research, data and analytics group YouGov found 74% parents confessed to eating some of their children’s Halloween candy, with 17% taking more than half.
