Salt Tax Claims An Embarrassment for Otago University

Research by the Taxpayers’ Union indicates that the $450 million tax revenue suggested by Otago University Associate Professor Nick Wilson from a salt tax would result in a 2,500% increase in the price of salt for Kiwi consumers.

Taxpayers’ Union Executive Director, Jordan Williams, says:

“The vast majority of the salt manufactured in New Zealand is used for pharmaceutical and agricultural purposes, with only around 30,000 tonnes being used for food products.Professor Wilson’s $450 million over 30,000 tonnes is $15,000 in tax per tonne. A tonne of food grade salt is currently worth around $600 in the wholesale market.”

“Unless Professor Wilson is wanting to tax the salt consumed by cows and the saline solution used by hospitals, his numbers mean consumers will be paying 25 times the current price for salt.”*

“Taxpayers are sick of academic activism inhibiting informed debate on what should be an area of serious public policy discussion. Otago University should be embarrassed to have a public health academic make such public but demonstrably ridiculous claims about a revenue matter which is outside his sphere of expertise.”

“We have no reason to doubt Prof Wilson’s genuine concern about public health, but as recently flagged by the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor, Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, academics should be more careful claiming expertise in areas outside their professional sphere.”

* Even that amount is conservative as it assumes that the tax would apply to food destined for overseas markets (around two thirds of the salt used for food production is consumed overseas). For example, of the 30,000 tonnes used for food produced domestically, New Zealand exports around 9,000 tonnes in cheese alone.

ENDS

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