The true cost of fruit, veggies
The consumption of fruit and vegetables could reduce by 5% if removing the GST exemption on this fresh produce is not made.
The consumption of fruit and vegetables could reduce by 5% if removing the GST exemption on this fresh produce is not made.
Researchers at the University of Queensland (UQ) have warned removing the GST exemption could have “huge implications” for the health of Australians – young and old.
Dr Lennert Veerman, from UQ’s School of Population Health, said in an online statement, not eating enough fruit and vegetables was associated with increases in the risk of heart disease, stroke and cancers of the lung, oesophagus, stomach and colon.
“We’ve estimated that adding GST to fruit and vegetables could add about 90,000 cases of heart disease, stroke and cancer over the lifetime of the current Australian population and add another billion dollars to the country’s health care bill,” Dr Veerman said.
He added that abolishing the GST exemption might also see people eat more of other, less healthy foods, compounding the problem.
“We could see quite complex shifts in people’s diets making it very clear that the government should explicitly consider the potential health consequences before making changes to Australia’s tax regime,” Dr Veerman said.
Dr Veerman and his colleague Dr Linda Cobiac, detailed their findings in a letter published recently in The Medical Journal of Australia.
