Election 2023: David Parker will not say whether he thinks Labour’s GST policy will work

Former Revenue Minister David Parker. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Labour’s former Revenue Minister David Parker will not say whether he thinks Labour’s GST policy will work, and whether consumers will see the full savings from removing the tax.

Parker would not even say whether he liked the policy. When asked versions of that question, he repeated the same answer four times, “I support the Labour Party policy”.

He supported it, but he did not say whether he liked it, or even whether it would work.

When asked three times whether the policy would work and consumers would see the savings, Parker would only say again: “I support the Labour Party policy.”

He took no further questions and left the stand-up, which had been arranged to mark the passing of two pieces of legislation to replace the Resource Management Act.

Labour announced its tax policy over the weekend, which includes a half-billion dollar pledge to remove GST from fresh and frozen fruit and vegetables.

Most experts question whether taking GST off fruit and vegetables will actually make them much cheaper, with many warning companies will just absorb the difference and fatten their margins.

Those experts include members of the Government’s own tax working group and many Labour MPs, including Grant Robertson and Deborah Russell, who have criticised the policy in the past. Both now insist they have changed their minds, with Robertson saying the new Grocery Commissioner will ensure the savings are passed to consumers.

Robertson had previously said the policy was a “boondoggle” and that the savings would largely be absorbed by supermarkets, and had publicly criticised the idea as recently as this year.

Victoria University professor of taxation Lisa Marriott slammed the policy in an interview with RNZ.

“I hope it doesn’t see the light of day,” she said. “To be perfectly honest, I think it’s one of the worst ideas I’ve heard for a while,” she said.

After the GST policy was leaked to National, Robertson began to shift his view, saying that “boondoggles can be worked through”.

Labour’s campaign ads for the policy assume the full policy is passed through.

Parker recently asked to be relieved of his revenue portfolio following Prime Minister Chris Hipkins’ decision to axe a wealth tax that the Government had been looking at including in the Budget.

Hipkins killed the tax not just for that Budget, but said he would rule out ever implementing a wealth tax or Capital Gains Tax for as long as he was Labour leader.