Day-to-day workings of GST explained

Press, 30 September 1986, Page 15

Day-to-day workings of GST explained

Tomorrow a new phrase enters the New Zealand language and it will not be just a passing craze. “This account carries GST” is here to stay. GST or the goods and services tax is part of the most far-reaching tax reform package ever introduced in New Zealand and there are still many people who are confused over just what this new tax will mean to them.

But, help is at hand. Philip “Fair Go” Alpers will cut through all the myths and fears surrounding GST tonight in “The Beginner’s Guide To GST” screening at 8 p.m. on One.

“I’ve gone into GST as a beginner who doesn’t understand it and also as a professional sceptic such as I am on ‘Fair Go,’ ” says Alpers. "The programme is not a P.R.

deal, it’s an investigation.”

The producer, Michael Single, stresses this same point saying the pro-

gramme looks at how GST works and how it affects people. “It is designed for the person in the street, the salary and wage earner, rather than the businessman who should by now know all about it,” he says.

The programme has been kept as simple as possible and follows “a day in the life of” format. Alpers has been propelled into tomorrow — day one of GST (October 1, 1986) — and viewers follow him through his normal activities learning how everyday household expenses like telephone, electricity, rent, mortgages, rates, food, clothing and petrol are affected by GST.