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John Key opposed to taking tax off necessity of life
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July 23rd, 2010UncategorizedJohn Key says ‘no’. Grassroots people on the street are saying ‘yes’.
Join the Tax Justice campaign and force the government to listen. Our petition calls on parliament to: 1) Remove GST from food; and 2) Tax financial speculation.
In two months since the launch of the campaign we’ve collected 5,000 signatures. The number of signatures being collected is accelerating as more people offer to help. To get involved contact Vaughan Gunson, Tax Justice campaign coordinator, email svpl@xtra.co.nz or ph/txt 021-0415 082.
‘We won’t support GST removal’ – PM
from NZ Herald
21 July 2010
Prime minister John Key
A bid to remove GST on healthy foods to lower costs has been slammed by the Government.
Prime Minister John Key said the Government will not support Maori Party MP Rahui Katene’s bill, which defines healthy food as fruit and vegetables, breads and cereals, milk and milk products – excluding ice cream, cream products, condensed and flavoured milk – and lean meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, nuts, seeds and legumes.
The Government would not support the removal of GST on particular items, he said.
“In our view, what makes the system work well is the simplicity and its low administration costs. Once you start exempting one part, meat and vegetables, then why wouldn’t (you to) other parts of the food equation.”
“We’ve compensated for GST through personal tax cuts, so we are not going to move on and take GST off food.”
The bill says food prices have risen more than 20 percent in the last three years while real incomes have risen only very slightly.
“While all consumers will benefit from the removal of goods and services tax from healthy food, those on lower incomes spend a greater proportion of their income on food and will receive a significant benefit as a result.”
Revenue Minister Peter Dunne said the bill would introduce ‘healthy food’ definitions that would be difficult to categorise.
“For example, what does lean meat mean, as opposed to non-lean meat,” Mr Dunne said.
Mr Dunne said it could open the door to others, demanding to be given the same treatment, and it would mean a loss of millions of tax dollars which would have to be found somewhere else.
Ms Katene mentioned a computerised model introduced in December 2009 by the Australian Taxation Office, making GST food and beverage compliance extremely easy to manage.
Mr Dunne said the Revenue Department had not looked into it, “simply because it is not New Zealand’s policy to have a non-universal GST.
“When one looks at the experiences of defining some of these items in the Australian and the British context, one sees that we would be extremely unwise to follow suit,” he said.
Ms Katene is appealing for her Goods and Services Tax (Exemption of Healthy Food) Amendment Bill to be at least put through its first reading so it can go to a select committee for public submissions.
Labour Party leader Phil Goff said his party would support the bill to a select committee.
“We believe that there is a case to be argued for taking the GST (off) for healthy food like fresh fruit and vegetables that would be both good for nutrition in a nation that’s becoming increasingly obese,” he said.
Mr Key said passing the first reading would give New Zealanders the false impression “that somehow we are prepared to move in this area, when we are not”.
But Ms Katene said she would try again if needed.
“This is too important. This is really a matter of life and death. Eleven thousand people are dying from eating relating diseases, we really need to be doing something about that,” she said.
The bill is likely to go on Parliament’s agenda for a first reading debate in two weeks.
8 responses to “John Key opposed to taking tax off necessity of life” 
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Get rid of GST off Milk and Bread first see how it goes,then onto non Processed foods.
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I have no desire to be paying someone to sort out meat and vegetables so i can file the gst return.
People eat bad food because they are un educated or stupid.
Im happy with gst as a tax cause its reasonable fair and easy to understand. Income tax is not.
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Rosalind September 22nd, 2010 at 23:42
Paul- people eat unhealthy food because its cheap. Actually.
I’ve been wondering why they don’t exempt locally produced food from gst, seems a win win?
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Im not uneducated or stupid, try budgeting $80 a week for two children and an adult at the supermarket and see how healthy you can be. I know we lack some nutrients and I do my best to cover them – like iron is a problem for us, due to the high price of meat. Milk is absolutely sucking me dry.
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Anyone who wants to pay 15% extra on everything they buy just because they have a bit of difficulty filing a tax return every year is seriously stupid.
If the tax forms are that confusing, then accountants would be the cheaper option.
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I was surprised to hear (from a visiting Japanese couple) who said they paid the same in Japan for NZ products as they do here – only the quality was better in Japan.
NZ’ers subsidise these large companies with exorbitant prices and then they wack up GST on top of it!
Fair go!
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Babepuff September 30th, 2010 at 00:36
I think people like john keys and people in high class jobs should try and live on what a unemployed person or dpb gets.
I not sure which prime minister try but fail miserably, to use to the high life.
I work in as a office person but with the everything that comes out I still end up living on about $80 – $100 a fortnight.
I have a daughter and her 3 children and a son living with me.
Even through we share all the incoming bills i am the only one left with money.
So I vote against lowering the GST.Come on people lets look after our own back yard before look outside the box to see how other countries are living.
NO WONDER OUR PEOPLE (NEW ZEALANDERS) ARE MOVING OVERSEA’S because our government SUCK’S TO THE BONE.
BRING BACK LABOUR PARTIES OLD LEADER HELEN CLARKE AT LEAST SHE KEEP NEW ZEALAND OUT OF THE CRAP OTHER PARTIES SEEM TO GET US IN.
BY SELLING AND RE-FINANCING NEW ZEALAND GOODS ETC.
DOWN WITH GST:
COME ON PEOPLE GET BEHIND AND VOTE TO CUT GST. -
Ebaraga September 30th, 2010 at 02:24
The Nats came to power on the lowering tax, more money in people’s pockets and not telling people what to do with their money platforms.
Well they are a lying bunch.
Okay they have reduced direct taxes by changing the income tax thresholds but they have raised indirect taxes like GST and excise. So effectively they have kept people where they were financially before the new income tax thresholds.
Lying sods.
Unfortunately Labour is no better but we have to vote lying politicians out of office or we will never get honest politicans.
Come on the elections, lets get these liars out so they are seriously hit in the pocket as well. Well many of them anyway. Key may not notice the difference in the drop in salary but some of his Ministerial colleagues might
Mike Will July 24th, 2010 at 02:04