Publicity campaign on tax cuts

Press, 19 September 1985, Page 44

Publicity campaign on tax cuts

PA Wellington Publicity campaigns will be used to help ensure wholesale tax cuts are passed on to consumers when the goods and services tax is introduced next year, according to the Acting Minister of Finance, Mr Prebble. The Opposition finance spokesman on revenue, Mr M. E. C. Cox (Nat., Manawatu), asked what precautions there would be to ensure wholesalers and retailers passed on the tax cuts to consumers. Mr Prebble said the Government would take all measures necessary to ensure that cuts in existing sales taxes were fully reflected in consumer prices.

Because of the “haphazard and arbitrary” way sales taxes were levied, it would require a considerable amount of education to explain to the public the “sales tax mess” left to the present Government to tidy up. The Opposition finance spokesman, Mr W. F. Birch (Nat., Franklin) then asked what, apart from education, the Government would do to prevent wholesale sales tax being passed on to consumers. Mr Prebble said that the Government would take whatever measures required, but he did not detail any beyond saying the Government had begun a publicity campaign.