GST-free food bill likely to fail

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Wed, 21 Jul 2010 6:17p.m.

The bill would see GST taken off healthy food, such as fruit and vegetables

The bill would see GST taken off healthy food, such as fruit and vegetables

By Rebecca Wright

A Maori Party member's bill calling for GST to be dropped on fruit and vegetables was set to get its first reading in Parliament tonight, but it appears politics may be getting in the way.

The new bill would also see GST removed from breads and cereals, lean meat, poultry and seafood, as well as some dairy products.

However, the bill has been criticised for being difficult to administer, with room for interpretation around which foods are healthy and which aren't. And it gets tricky with things like cooked chicken which is taxed and raw chicken, which isn't.

Shoppers spoken to by 3 News today say the idea has merits and Labour agrees, saying they will support the bill to a select committee.

But while a similar bill is already in effect in Britain and Australia, the New Zealand Government is not buying it.

"Once you start moving on healthy food then it's books, then it's nappies," claims Prime Minister John Key. "You're on a very slippery slope and that's the slope we're about to start skiing down."

And while the Greens, Labour and the Maori Party are behind the bill, the Government has ruled it out from the beginning and it is expected to fall at its first reading.

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Comments

25 Jul 2010 12:24a.m.

Alex wrote:

Trouble is that our supermarkets are run by a duopoly, who are the main reason why prices became so high in the first place. Removing GST won't work as the supermarket will just offset the different in cost. In the end we end up paying the same prices but the government doesn't get the cut, the greedy supermarket corporations do.

22 Jul 2010 07:52p.m.

Johnmillan wrote:

Winstone Peters had the right Idea when he introduced the Gold card,There are shops you can go to and get a reduction on meat etc for the oldies,free bus rides etc,I!m darn sure certain health foods marked can also be included without any changes having to be done,except for labeling but cant see it happening as National is counting on every dollar,that is why they have increased the Gst and given back less than 1/3 of it back in pensions.Another card could be introduced for those in need,but with a Photo ID on it so it cant be used by any one else.And the card could be made by the Doctors advice through health reports made to the Income support.

22 Jul 2010 05:42p.m.

Marie wrote:

Removing the gst from milk, bread vegetables and meat is an excellent idea. How about the Moari Party start a petition and get thousands of signatures to support the idea of no gst on basic food items. John Key is an absolute stooge, and of course he is not doing it tough as he has a fantastic salary. Come on Kiwis stand up and protest and get those petitions rolling. Don't just sit around and wait for things to happen. Get the ball rolling.

22 Jul 2010 02:12p.m.

johnmillan wrote:

I have mentioned it at another heading,that if they were to leave those healthier foods as they are,and when the gst and new taxes come in on 1st October when the oldies and those who are poor,just leave those food exempt as are.But the only thing with that the rich will join the gravy train and be one of the first to jump aboard.

22 Jul 2010 10:07a.m.

Zedd wrote:

Saying that removing GST from basic food, is too hard.. is an insult to the intellegence of kiwis.. I think its just an excuse to maintain the tax collection, to fund the tax cuts promised to the top tax bracket !! Kia-ora Y'all

22 Jul 2010 01:15a.m.

Bob wrote:

The problem with James' alternative suggestion is that the subsidies would also make the ingredients of less healthy foods cheaper to produce. Hence it would be useless. If NZ can produce text-to-park technological wonders, I'm sure it can manage a one-time change to remove GST on specific food category codes.

21 Jul 2010 11:39p.m.

George wrote:

Very eloquent "johnmillan", i'll have $10 on that election comment. However I must agree with "James". What he says is true and I don't think there would be too many accounts clerks who would disagree.

21 Jul 2010 11:08p.m.

Kiwi wrote:

Dropping GST on healthy food won't work, we are too engrained as a junk food culture. You could make all the apples in the world free and we would still go out and buy our bags of chips, chocolate bars and bottles of cola because its convenient comfort food. Who has the time to cook when both partners are working full time. The problem isn't what we eat, its the fact that society has been bred to accept the convenience lifestyle. Take my own family, my wife is home most of the time. The typical answer I get when I ring home and ask whats for dinner... I don't know, I can't think of what to cook OR I can't be bothered cooking, can we have... The only solution - tax the fat, and I can't see that happening anytime soon.

21 Jul 2010 10:57p.m.

Matthew wrote:

The whole point of GST is it is a flat tax across the board. Once you start medling by exempting some items and not others the complexity comes in. The system works fine as it is, just leave it alone.

21 Jul 2010 08:15p.m.

Shane wrote:

I think dropping GST on basic food stuffs like fruit veg and uncooked meats is a good idea and is implemented quite successfully in several countries . I am sure NZ is also capable of doing this .