By Sue Newman

 There’s a very strong signal booming out across New Zealand that change is a coming for most Kiwis.

Prime Minister John Key opened Parliament for the year yesterday and he opened it with a bang, signaling changes in GST and tax that will impact on every New Zealander in some shape or form.

None of those changes will come as a surprise, most have been talked about, but now we know the time for talking is definitely over.

Rationally we know that you can’t get a tax cut without the money coming from somewhere else; New Zealand doesn’t have a sufficiently massive cash surplus that we can be given a hand out, gratis.

While no one will turn down a reduction in their tax rate, few will be happy to pay for this by a rise in GST.

Upping the consumer tax by 2.5% might not sound a lot, but add that onto your grocery bill, your clothes purchases and you’ll certainly notice your cost of living has gone up.

The idea is to swing the balance away from hitting the money you earn to increasing what you spend on goods and services.

That’s all fine and dandy, if the new rate wasn’t applied to life’s essentials.

Yes, our tax rates are too high, yes we’re penalized for saving, investing and doing what we’re supposed to do to provide for the future.

Cut those rates, but don’t immediately penalise consumers across the board by upping GST by 2.5%.

Most people would have few quibbles about paying extra GST on non essentials, but not on food.

If we’re changing our GST structure, why not take an across the board look at the consumer tax and make it a two tiered scheme, 5% on food and perhaps children’s clothing and 15% on everything else.

The other revenue earner to fund tax cuts will be changes to the way property investment is taxed, inevitably closing a few loopholes that have until now made buying and selling property a potential pathway to wealth.

The downside of this could be a smaller pool of rental properties.

There’s plenty signalled, but the fine print, the detail on how it’s all going to work ,will have to wait until May’s budget.

The only thing sure, is that change is definitely coming and it will impact every New Zealander is some way – positive and negative.