Pacific / Cook Islands

Cooks pensioners to march again against tax

17:12 pm on 30 September 2015

A Cook Islands pensioners' group says it will continue to march in protest at the taxation of their New Zealand pensions.

The President of Grey Power, Dennis Tunui, says they're already preparing placards and are determined to ensure the demonstrations match their efforts last year.

Grey Power says the New Zealand pension was previously not taxed and it should stay that way.

A core group of 60 pensioners are still refusing to pay the tax, despite the Financial Secretary, Richard Neves, saying it's a simple matter of Cook Islands law.

Photo: 123rf.com

Mr Tunui says the group will march as soon as Parliament sits again.

He says he has advised the pensioners that they should chase away anyone from the Ministry of Finance who comes to visit to collect the tax.

However he says he understands the government is within its rights to take out the tax before payments are made to pensioners' bank accounts, and he will continue to campaign for a law change.