Further information has now emerged about the man arrested for defaulting on his student loan. He is a resident of the Cook Islands. His loan debt has increased from $40,000 to $130,000. Much of this increase is likely to be because of overseas interest charges, yet all of this may have been able to have been avoided. There are special interest exemptions available for residents of the Cook Islands (and other places). Had the debtor applied to the IRD on time he could probably have had his whole interest written off and saved an increase of $90,000. Sadly, it may now be too late to get the write offs that were available in the past.
Better education is needed.
Better education is needed.