NINEMSN and AAP: May 13, 1999 Senate to reject GST food exemptions AAP- The Senate is set to reject a GST exemption for food, leaving the fate of the government's tax package in the hands of the two independent senators. Labor, the Greens, and the coalition today indicated opposition to the Australian Democrats' proposal to exempt about 83 per cent of basic household food purchases from a GST, limiting the tax to prepared food. Democrats leader Meg Lees said the food amendments were among the most important changes the party was presenting on the GST and without them, the party would oppose the tax package. "If these amendments are not acceptable at this point in time, and I suspect that's where we're going today, then we will be trying still to make a number of other changes to the package," Senator Lees said. "But at the end of the day, if we do not recommit and pass the (food) amendments we will not be voting for a GST." Treasurer Peter Costello had said the government was willing to accept changes to its tax package which did not cost billions of dollars but he remained uninterested in the Democrats' food proposals which would cost effectively nothing, she said. The Democrats pointed to the practice of most industrialised countries with a value-added tax either of exempting food or imposing a concessional tax rate. Assistant Treasurer Rod Kemp said the fact remained that most countries imposed a GST on food and the Democrats had adopted an inflexible and non-negotiable position. "I am unpersuaded by that point," he said. "Once you move down this route you introduce a whole range of complexities and you get a whole host of anomalies. ------------------------------------------------------- RecOzNet2 has a page @ http://www.green.net.au/recoznet2 and is archived at http://www.mail-archive.com/ To unsubscribe from this list, mail [EMAIL PROTECTED], and in the body of the message, include the words: unsubscribe announce or click here mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20announce This posting is provided to the individual members of this group without permission from the copyright owner for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and research under the "fair use" provisions of the Federal copyright laws and it may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner, except for "fair use." RecOzNet2 is archived for members @ http://www.mail-archive.com/
