16 November 2015

Nats still dragging feet on GST after 7 years

National is still dragging its feet on applying GST to products bought from overseas and not giving small business a fair go, despite being in government for seven years, says Labour’s Revenue spokesperson Clayton Cosgrove.

“The best Todd McClay can come up with is releasing another discussion document on GST on overseas products in six months’ time. Small businesses in New Zealand deserve better than that.

“Charging GST on remote services is only one step. There aren’t many Kiwi businesses competing with Apple iTunes or even Netflix.

“National’s approach looks like a tax grab rather than an attempt to level the playing field.

“National needs to stand up for Main Street businesses, not just online ones.

“This is a positive step in fixing a loophole but, as usual, National hasn’t done it properly. Todd McClay has thrown up his hands and said collecting GST on real products is too hard. He needs to make a better effort to help traditional Kiwi small businesses as well as online services,” says Clayton Cosgrove.

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