Waitangi day & Luxon...

[harm_less]

NZ not big enough populationwise, for economic theory to apply in a meaningful way, the function of the government is to govern and it's no longer doing that.

The idea that business is some sort of sacrosanct entity separate from the rest of us is the start of the problems.

When things get to the stage where people are unable to afford basic needs in particular food, that is the time when govt needs to step in. & ensure change happens.

I think it wouldn't be a bad start to remove GST from fruit & veg, or even all food.

Excluding certain items presents a real minefield of which food products would qualify. Fast food/takeaways, alcoholic beverages, soft drinks, luxury food items, confectionery, all cooking ingredients, etc., etc. ? And what about specialist packaging required for many food stuffs?

And then how far back up the supply chain does the GST exclusion go? For example a produce grower or fisherman receives GST on their products which they can gain business liquidity from between their products' sale and the end of their GST period. Their expenses in growing or catching their products are GST inclusive but if the fruits of their labour aren't then some changes in business cashflow would be required. A similar situation would occur at whatever level of the food supply chain the GST exclusion occurred at.