Dear Hayden,

Thank you for your request under the Official Information Act 1982, which was received on 27 February 2026. A response will be provided in accordance with the Act.

The Treasury may publish the response to your Official Information Act (OIA) request. When you are provided with a response to this request, you will be informed about whether the response to your OIA request will be published. If the Treasury does publish the response to your OIA request, personal information, including your name and contact details, will be removed. This publication process does not apply to extension letters or transfers.

Ngā mihi
Ministerial Advisory Service | Te Tai Ōhanga The Treasury 
treasury.govt.nz | LinkedIn | Youtube 

[IN-CONFIDENCE]
                                                       
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE
The information in this email is confidential to the Treasury, intended only for the addressee(s), and may also be legally privileged. If you are not an intended addressee:
a. please immediately delete this email and notify the Treasury by return email or telephone (64 4 472 2733);
b. any use, dissemination or copying of this email is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful.

-----Original Message-----
From: Hayden <[FOI #33883 email]>
Sent: Friday, 27 February 2026 4:20 pm
To: Ministerial Services Inbox [TSY] <[The Treasury request email]>
Subject: Official Information request - Fiscal Analysis of Food Tax Relief for Local Producers

Dear The Treasury,

Under the Official Information Act , I request:

Any analysis, modelling, or estimates held by Treasury of the fiscal cost of zero-rating locally produced food for GST purposes — specifically, food sold directly by the producer to consumers within the producer's district, with annual sales under $60,000.

Any analysis of the fiscal cost of a limited income tax exemption (the first $15,000 of income) for natural persons deriving income from local producer direct sales.

Any analysis or briefing held by Treasury on the use of the tax system to address food affordability in New Zealand — including any consideration of GST exemptions, zero-rating, or targeted tax relief for food.

Treasury's current estimate of the total annual government expenditure on food-related welfare and hardship assistance, including food grants, emergency food assistance, and the component of benefit payments attributable to food costs.

Any cross-agency analysis of the relationship between food affordability, diet-related health costs, and the fiscal impact of the grocery duopoly's pricing behaviour.

Any analysis of the net fiscal impact of enabling community food networks — taking into account the potential reduction in food-related welfare expenditure, diet-related health costs, and regional economic multiplier effects, against the fiscal cost of tax concessions.

The estimated maximum fiscal cost of the proposed GST zero-rating and income tax exemption is approximately $60 million per year. The grocery duopoly earns an estimated $365 million per year in excess profits.
The government spends an estimated $1.3 billion per year on food-related welfare and an estimated $2 billion per year on diet-related health costs.
I am establishing whether Treasury has assessed whether a modest tax concession for local food production would generate a net fiscal benefit through reduced welfare and health spending.
If this analysis does not exist, thats a systemic gap: Treasury models the fiscal cost of tax relief but not the fiscal benefit of the intervention it enables.
If any information is to be withheld, please specify the grounds under the OIA for each withheld item.

Yours faithfully,

Hayden

-------------------------------------------------------------------

This is an Official Information request made via the FYI website.

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #33883 email]

Is [The Treasury request email] the wrong address for Official Information requests to The Treasury? If so, please contact us using this form:
https://fyi.org.nz/change_request/new?bo...

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers

If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

hide quoted sections

Kia ora Hayden,

Please find attached a response to your OIA request. Please note that this response has been signed out via an electronic process, rather than a physical signature.

Ngā mihi
Ministerial Advisory Service | Te Tai Ōhanga The Treasury 
treasury.govt.nz | LinkedIn | Youtube 

[IN-CONFIDENCE]
                                                       
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE
The information in this email is confidential to the Treasury, intended only for the addressee(s), and may also be legally privileged. If you are not an intended addressee:
a. please immediately delete this email and notify the Treasury by return email or telephone (64 4 472 2733);
b. any use, dissemination or copying of this email is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful.

-----Original Message-----
From: Hayden <[FOI #33883 email]>
Sent: Friday, 27 February 2026 4:20 pm
To: Ministerial Services Inbox [TSY] <[The Treasury request email]>
Subject: Official Information request - Fiscal Analysis of Food Tax Relief for Local Producers

Dear The Treasury,

Under the Official Information Act , I request:

Any analysis, modelling, or estimates held by Treasury of the fiscal cost of zero-rating locally produced food for GST purposes — specifically, food sold directly by the producer to consumers within the producer's district, with annual sales under $60,000.

Any analysis of the fiscal cost of a limited income tax exemption (the first $15,000 of income) for natural persons deriving income from local producer direct sales.

Any analysis or briefing held by Treasury on the use of the tax system to address food affordability in New Zealand — including any consideration of GST exemptions, zero-rating, or targeted tax relief for food.

Treasury's current estimate of the total annual government expenditure on food-related welfare and hardship assistance, including food grants, emergency food assistance, and the component of benefit payments attributable to food costs.

Any cross-agency analysis of the relationship between food affordability, diet-related health costs, and the fiscal impact of the grocery duopoly's pricing behaviour.

Any analysis of the net fiscal impact of enabling community food networks — taking into account the potential reduction in food-related welfare expenditure, diet-related health costs, and regional economic multiplier effects, against the fiscal cost of tax concessions.

The estimated maximum fiscal cost of the proposed GST zero-rating and income tax exemption is approximately $60 million per year. The grocery duopoly earns an estimated $365 million per year in excess profits.
The government spends an estimated $1.3 billion per year on food-related welfare and an estimated $2 billion per year on diet-related health costs.
I am establishing whether Treasury has assessed whether a modest tax concession for local food production would generate a net fiscal benefit through reduced welfare and health spending.
If this analysis does not exist, thats a systemic gap: Treasury models the fiscal cost of tax relief but not the fiscal benefit of the intervention it enables.
If any information is to be withheld, please specify the grounds under the OIA for each withheld item.

Yours faithfully,

Hayden

-------------------------------------------------------------------

This is an Official Information request made via the FYI website.

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #33883 email]

Is [The Treasury request email] the wrong address for Official Information requests to The Treasury? If so, please contact us using this form:
https://fyi.org.nz/change_request/new?bo...

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers

If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

hide quoted sections

[EXTERNAL IN-CONFIDENCE]

Dear Hayden

 

Thank you for your request under the Official Information Act 1982,
transferred from the Treasury on 19 March 2026.

 

The following was transferred to Inland Revenue to answer:

Any analysis or briefing held by Treasury on the use of the tax system to
address food affordability in New Zealand — including any consideration of
GST exemptions, zero-rating, or targeted tax relief for food.

 

We will reply within the statutory 20 working days, by 20 April 2026.

 

Your reference number is 26OIA2099.

Kind Regards,

Ministerial Services | Inland Revenue - Te Tari Taake

 

This email and any attachment may contain confidential information. If you
have received this email or any attachment in error, please delete the
email / attachment, and notify the sender. Please do not copy, disclose or
use the email, any attachment, or any information contained in them.
Consider the environment before deciding to print: avoid printing if you
can, or consider printing double-sided. Visit us online at ird.govt.nz