Te Pāti Māori have today announced their policy to remove GST from kai as Aotearoa experiences the worst cost of living crisis in generations.

“We are seeing the biggest wealth transfer in generations. From hard working whānau to greedy property developers and landlords. We have created a generation of renters living pay check to pay check, who pay up to half their income in rent”, said co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer.

“Now we have oil companies taking advantage of a humanitarian crisis to increase their profits and make life even harder for those people. It shouldn’t cost a day’s wage to fill up your tank, just so you can get to work in the first place,” said Ngarewa-Packer.

“We need to put an end to the current situation which has poor and working class people subsidising the rich through tax policy. We would shift this tax burden through new taxes on wealth including capital gains, ghost house tax, financial services tax and pollution taxes. The Government proved that this can be done overnight when they lowered GST on petrol,” said co-leader Rawiri Waititi.

“The Prime Minister has admitted that there is a cost of living crisis in Aotearoa, and Te Pāti Māori will be holding them accountable to that in the next Budget,” Waititi said.

“GST is a regressive tax that targets lower income whānau who are forced to spend nearly every cent they earn. Meanwhile the wealthy have untaxed wealth accumulating in housing, trusts and investment funds,” Ngarewa-Packer said.

“Food is a right and a necessity. Getting rid of GST on food should be a no-brainer for this Government if they are serious about helping struggling whānau. Especially Māori whānau, who traditionally have more mouths to feed,” Ngarewa-Packer said.

“This idea was introduced in 2010 by former Te Pāti Māori MP Rahui Katene, who had a members to remove GST from healthy food. Our policy extends to all food, and will incentivise hauora and provide for whānau to be able to grow their own kai.” Waititi said.

“We are the only party in Parliament whose tax cuts aren’t for the rich. Our people are struggling and it is about time they were listened to,” Waititi said.

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