By Leigh Dawson
The Australian Government should reconsider how it imposes tax on foods in light of changing consumption patterns and improve the tax system’s gender equity, according to research conducted by a Senior Lecturer at the University of Notre Dame Australia’s School of Law, Fremantle.
Recently published in the Curtin Law and Tax Review, Tomas Fitzgerald’s paper, ‘The Zero-rated treatment of Food: Still Equitable? Was it ever?’, considered the case for a zero rate of GST on basic food.
Mr Fitzgerald argues that because different income groups’ expenditure on food has changed, concerns about the tax on basic food being ‘regressive’ are no longer as relevant as when the GST was first implemented.
Mr Fitzgerald says changing patterns of consumption mean that the original rationale for zero-rating GST on basic food no longer has the force it once did. Rather, evidence suggests that the current GST settings discourage women’s participation in the workforce in favour of unpaid labour – principally, time spent preparing meals.
“The GST does not apply to basic food, but it applies to prepared food. The Australian Government’s rationale for this differentiation was that lower-income households spend more, as a proportion of their income, on food and should be exempt from paying GST on these basic staples,” Mr Fitzgerald said.
“Research has contended that if issues of ‘equity’ in taxation are expanded to include consideration of gender equity, there are good reasons for not making a differentiation between ‘basic’ food and pre-prepared food.
“The time has come for a truly brave government to squarely address whether the rationale for the zero-rate GST on food is still sustainable and seriously consider replacing the compensation it offers with direct competition to low-income earners.”
Professor Doug Hodgson, Dean of the School of Law, Fremantle, says Mr Fitzgerald’s research is an example of the important and cutting-edge research that the School of Law’s academics are working on.
“Notre Dame’s School of Law is built on providing students with the necessary practical skills, such as advocacy and research, by lecturers and practising members of the legal community,” Professor Hodgson said.
“Having academics such as Tomas apply their research to areas of social justice, political thought and public policy assists our students to graduate with the ability to confidently apply legal knowledge to issues affecting our society today and in the future.”
Tomas Fitzgerald is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Notre Dame Australia’s School of Law, Fremantle Campus. He lectures in Advocacy and Legal Philosophy and has coached several moot teams. Mr Fitzgerald has published several articles in the areas of Intellectual Property, International Trade Law and Jurisprudence.