Social democracy meets social networking
No GST on Food
How can we get the Labour Party to come out with this policy? No GST on food is policy in most OECD countries..It is not impossible to implement..It is basic to a socialist philosophy, that food not be taxed..This one simple policy could make a defining difference..and there is no defining difference at present
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by David Kearns on -
I like this idea alot, there would be a lot of what ifs and what nots but at the end of the day the food monopolys in our country are doing nothing to help people eat better or even help to feed our kids more when mum and dad just dont have enough money to go around.
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Permalink Reply by Matt Belcher on -
Likewise David, it would make sense to do this, we could then even look at puting GST on luxury items up to say 20% to cover the shortfall.
Sadly the big down side is how complicated it is to do and run.
Whatever happens it will hurt the avergage jo bloggs.
Ive always voted for Labour as every time National has been in (in the last 20 years) it has meant a down turn for the country and has cost me directly in the pocket. I remember a business man telling me years ago that he voted National, but his good times were always under Labour, as the consumption of goods goes up and the average person spends more.
Business people will be dreading an increase in GST even if there tax's go down, so will there incomes, the amoutn of work it creates in repricing etc. There will be a big spend up prior to it going up and a big lull after as the averge Jo has to wait for a pay rise to get back to where they were.
David Kearns said:I like this idea alot, there would be a lot of what ifs and what nots but at the end of the day the food monopolys in our country are doing nothing to help people eat better or even help to feed our kids more when mum and dad just dont have enough money to go around.
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Permalink Reply by Frank Ritchie on -
The other benefit is that it could possibly garner the support of the Maori Party as it is an initiative they have openly tabled.
In the face of the proposed GST rise, it's a great comeback... much better than increases in benefit and working for families compensation as that just increases dependency.
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Permalink Reply by Frank Ritchie on
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I just wrote a piece supporting this idea and the calls from the Maori Party to head in this direction. It would be smart for Labour to back the Maori Party on this:
http://www.humanitarianchronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/key...
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Permalink Reply by john marshall on -
My understanding is that to cut GST on some goods is much too hard and leads to complications, UK s system is so complicated its messed up. However the problem ;like it or not;; is not how to cut taxes but to increase them . The fact is that if we are to enjoy a social democratic society that has a first class education and health systems and is able to look after its underprivileged then we need a high tax intake. The problem is how to do this fairly and this is what Labour and Left-Wing parties need to do now! Im sure we have enough brains to think this out and come up with a solution. Im interested but do not quite understand ,yet, Jim Andertons tax on transactions , which is now being advocated by the Maori Party . How about a debate on this whole tax problem.
And before some Right-Wing nut trys to disrupt a possible debate let us remember that countries with highest standards of livings pay the highst tax. Lets discuss and debate over the next few days .We may come up with some ideas and a solution
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Permalink Reply by Carolyn Stirling on -
I have lobbied many MPs from different parties regarding this matter. NOT ONE from any party has even replied to my letters!
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Permalink Reply by John LANGDON on -
Go to public meetings and ask them in front of witnesses..And dont accept the excise that it is too difficult..MPs are there to make tjhe difficult easy..if they cannot, they should make way for someone who can do the job
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Permalink Reply by Alex Fletcher on
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New Zealand currently has a one-tiered value added tax (GST) system. A muti tiered system would be adequate for New Zealand to make it more affordable for necessities and less affordable for luxuries.
I believe no government in NZ has thought of implementing such a system as it is deemed too much work to set up and administer. But it has been done already in many countries, particularly the United Kingdom where the standard VAT on goods and services is 17.5% but reduced for other commodities to 5% or even 0%.
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Permalink Reply by Matthew Collins on
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That is a very good idea Alex ,it makes a lot of sense that the Essential Neccesities (such as Power,Gas,Electricity,Heating,Fruit and Vegetables etc) should be taxed at a much lower percentage then Luxuries but how can we bring this idea to the attention of Phil Goff so he can implement this into Labour Policy?
Alex Fletcher said:New Zealand currently has a one-tiered value added tax (GST) system. A muti tiered system would be adequate for New Zealand to make it more affordable for necessities and less affordable for luxuries.
I believe no government in NZ has thought of implementing such a system as it is deemed too much work to set up and administer. But it has been done already in many countries, particularly the United Kingdom where the standard VAT on goods and services is 17.5% but reduced for other commodities to 5% or even 0%.
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Permalink Reply by Patrick Anderson on
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Too hard to implement.
Here are the 7 reasons why:
1. We are global citizens and we are all facing a global food shortage. Drought (climate change), armed conflict and a surge in demand from China and India mean are the causes. Cutting GST on food is not going to do a thing about our food prices which are set internationally. Another wave of increases would take us back to square one.
2. Having two different sets of rules for GST is complicated and costly for food retailers to administer – and you can guess whom they are likely to pass their new cost onto.
3. And new costs are created for Government as well – money that could be spent on public services.
4. It will create a new, energy-sapping and probably never ending debate about what should have GST attached and what shouldn’t. Australia has this problem – cooked chickens have GST attached but cooked cold chickens do not. You have probably heard the stories. And what about taking GST off other healthy/desirable goods and services? Nicotine patches? Pilates DVDs? Doctors visits?
5. This one I just know will happen: in the initial confusion about the new prices of food, retailers will take a slice of the cut for themselves, meaning prices may not decrease by the full 12.5%. This is exactly what happened immediately after the changeover to the Euro.
6. It’s regressive – wealthy people spend more on food and will receive a bigger benefit.
7. It slashes probably 100’s of millions off our tax revenue as a country. This is money we need (especially during these times of higher economic stress) to spend on teachers, roads, doctors, Working for Families, nurses… So we either need to sack some of these people, halt some of these policies or increase taxes.
Those on no or low incomes do need more support at this time – so thank god for Working for Families, which is real financial assistance in the hand to those who need it.
Reference:
http://www.thestandard.org.nz/7-reasons-why-cutting-gst-on-food-wil...
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Permalink Reply by John LANGDON on
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Working For Families did not apply to the unemployed..you had to be a worker to get its benefits..hardly a Labour policy..it was more a "let's grab middle class voters policy."...AND according to your arguments we should cut out all taxes because they are all difficult to implement ..AND if you want to help the poor why not remove tax from the first $11,500 as they do in Australia..AND introduce a top tax rate of 45% as they also have in Australia..
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I agree John the first $10,000 of income should be tax free and a top tax rate of 45% doesnt sound like a bad idea either although i would say that should be for the over $100,000 tax bracket
John LANGDON said:Working For Families did not apply to the unemployed..you had to be a worker to get its benefits..hardly a Labour policy..it was more a "let's grab middle class voters policy."...AND according to your arguments we should cut out all taxes because they are all difficult to implement ..AND if you want to help the poor why not remove tax from the first $11,500 as they do in Australia..AND introduce a top tax rate of 45% as they also have in Australia..
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