Drink tax for health plan

Press, 26 May 1977, Page 13

Drink tax for health plan

PA Wellington The Prime Minister (Mr Muldoon) is considering the idea of putting a tax of Ic a glass on beer and spirits to help pay for more preventive medicine and community health services. He made it clear that he was not dismissing the possibility of such a tax on bottles and flagons as well. “I hadn’t thought about that,” he said when asked about bottles. “Then I suppose you’d have to put it on flagons too,” he added. Asked if it might also be put on cigarettes, he replied, with a grin: “I hadn’t thought about it.” The idea of the tax came from the Minister of Health (Mr Gill) who is overseas at (present. ! The tax would be in place of his proposed charge on i certain prescriptions which was turned down by the Natlional Party caucus. i Mr Muldoon took Mr Gill’s iidea to the Cabinet on MonIdav and is getting figures on possible revenue from such a 1 "It’s certainly something

worth considering,” he said. Mr Muldoon said it would not be too late to include it in this year’s Budget. “We’re in the early stages of Budget consideration,” he I said. A 1c tax would not do imuch to the consumer price I index but could bring in substantial additional revenue, he said. When asked what had prompted Mr Gill’s idea while he was overseas, Mr Muldoon replied: “There’s nothing mysterious about it. “He’s a bright bloke. He probably thought it up while he was on the plane) I guess when you’re sitting in a plane you think about something else apart from the hostess.”