GST rise: Sumner people speak out

The Budget is some way off, but the Government has flagged a rise in GST from the current 12.5% to a rate of 15%. With this in mind, a group of us hit the streets to ask the people of Sumner what they thought this would mean.

We told the people we met, "The Government plans to raise the tax on goods and services to 15% which will put up prices." Then we asked them this question, "What would you say to the Government about this if you had the chance?"

Turned out Sumner people are a very thoughtful crowd, even on a Saturday morning on their doorstep! Here are some comments. "I'm not in favour. The GST rise will make life harder for people on a fixed income." Anne felt it would lead to price rises and said, "I don't believe full compensation will be given through any super increase."

Many other people were concerned. Lisa replied with this, "Prices are already high enough. The ratio of what you pay to what you earn is already too high." Paul asked this question, "Have they thought it through carefully? Key doesn't seem certain about the modelling." Another said, "It's not a good thing, the money will go to the top tax earners." A National Party voter told us, "I am not in favour. It will make life harder for those on a fixed income."

Those who were more supportive noted the need to exempt certain basic items to make the rise fair. "I support it as it will make the cost of toys such as plasma TVs more and discourage unwise and unnecessary spending on luxury goods. However it will unfortunately put up the cost of food and other necessities for the less well off."

This idea of a need for more thought was mentioned by other people we met. Paula said, "I don't think there should be a tax on good food" and others felt any rise "needs to be selective on what goods it goes on."

Clearly there is a lot of concern out in our community about what the propsed GST rise could mean. Did they have a message for Labour though? One comment was this, "It's a great time to reform tax, but it needs wider consultation about the way forward." Let's hope Labour can get the Government to listen more to people like those we spoke to in Sumner.