07-02-2023, 04:15 PM
"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."
Yes, it's the definitions that are a big problem. I hadn't thought about the packaging, but for people who eat a lot of processed foods the packaging is obviously a significant part of the cost.
As soon as a government tries to define what is food and what isn't, a whole new area of bureaucracy and ten years' worth of arguments open up. I know what I regard as food but my definition would exclude a whole lot of things like soft drinks, sweets and ultra-processed food, and it would be a foolhardy government that drew that line.
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."
Yes, it's the definitions that are a big problem. I hadn't thought about the packaging, but for people who eat a lot of processed foods the packaging is obviously a significant part of the cost.
As soon as a government tries to define what is food and what isn't, a whole new area of bureaucracy and ten years' worth of arguments open up. I know what I regard as food but my definition would exclude a whole lot of things like soft drinks, sweets and ultra-processed food, and it would be a foolhardy government that drew that line.