2. Question No. 2—Prime MinisterNICOLA WILLIS (Deputy Leader—National) to the Prime MinisterQuestion No. 2—Prime Minister2. NICOLA WILLIS (Deputy Leader—National) to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his Government's statements and actions on tax policy? Hon CARMEL SEPULONI (Deputy Prime Minister) on behalf of the Prime Minister: Yes. Nicola Willis: Does he agree with Grant Robertson's statement two months ago that taking GST off food would mostly benefit supermarkets? Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: On behalf of the Prime Minister I always agree with the Minister of Finance. Nicola Willis: Does he agree with Grant Robertson who said that introducing exemptions to GST becomes an absolute boondoggle to get through"? Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: As I said I always agree with the Minister of Finance. Nicola Willis: Was the Minister of Finance correct when he said that removing GST from fresh fruit or vegetables would mean "you get into an argument of what's the difference between beetroot and canned beetroot and if you want to make a real impact for the lowest income people you wouldn't cut the tax off fresh beetroot"? Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: The Minister of Finance is a very intelligent man and he is always willing to explore different areas and has very important insights into tax. Nicola Willis: Was David Parker his former Minister of Revenue correct when he said as reported in 2013 that removing GST from fruit and vegetables "would have opened exploitable and confusing loopholes and dirtied an otherwise clean tax."? Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: The previous Minister of Revenue Minister Parker has always been honest with his view. Debbie Ngarewa-Packer: How can he stand by ruling out a wealth or capital gains tax when report after report has highlighted fundamental unfairness in the tax system including that the average person in Aotearoa is paying 20.2 percent in tax while the wealthy are only paying 9.4 percent? Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: On behalf of the Prime Minister we've been very clear that the economic conditions do not allow for the proposed taxes that the member is asking about. Debbie Ngarewa-Packer: Why will he not shift the tax burden from the poor to the wealthy through reforming income tax settings and implementing a net wealth tax when as Te Paati Māori has shown in our policy announcement today it could raise the incomes of 98 percent of whānau while still providing greater than $16 billion in surplus revenue to address inequities in health education housing justice climate and welfare? Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: On behalf of the Prime Minister we've been very clear about the economic conditions and the certainty that New Zealanders need right now. Nicola Willis: Does he agree with the findings of Grant Robertson's Tax Working Group that removing GST from food and drink would provide a greater absolute benefit to higher-income households than lower-income households and would generate extremely large compliance and administration costs? Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: There were lots of findings by the Tax Working Group and we appreciate their insights and that certainly informs our thinking. Nicola Willis: Will he rule out a tax policy of removing GST from fruit and vegetables? Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: We're not going to play the "rule in rule out" game on tax. We have not announced our tax policy except to say that we will not be introducing a wealth or capital gains tax. Rawiri Waititi: Is he then saying that he is comfortable with assets and wealth remaining untaxed enabling the rich to continue to get even richer while ordinary people subsidise their "extravagant lifestyles" through tax policy? Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: No. On behalf of the Prime Minister what is being said is that the economic conditions are not suitable for the changes that the member is recommending right now and that New Zealanders need certainty. But on behalf of the Prime Minister we are very much focused on the bread and butter issues and the things that matter to New Zealanders right now. Nicola Willis: Would he consider a wealth tax if economic conditions changed? Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: We're not going to get into hypothetical situations right now."