If you or your loved ones have been affected by melanoma or any other type of skin cancer, you might like to give some thought to signing a petition that’s doing the rounds.
Remove the GST on Sunscreen Products has been started by high-end local beauty brand Raaie, which wants 50,000 signatures on the petition before presenting it to the government. Raaie calls the GST on sun protection products “New Zealand’s most cancerous tax”.
Although the petition was launched as summer draws to a close, the timing is intentional. In Aotearoa, sunscreen isn’t merely a beach day essential—it serves as a year-round safeguard against melanoma, a deadly skin cancer caused by exposure to harmful UV radiation.
Melanoma kills around 300 Kiwis every year. And while melanoma is the world’s 17th most common cancer overall, here it’s our fourth most common cancer; a fact due largely to us living under a hole in the ozone layer and having a substantial population of fair-skinned people.
The good thing is that melanoma is largely preventable. Seeking out shade, covering up and diligently applying sunscreen all reduce the risk. Admittedly, this is easier said than done given our high UV levels and outdoor-centric lifestyles, which make sun protection a constant challenge. Self-examination of skin lesions and moles can help and, while expensive, regular visits to the GP and mole-check clinics can too.
Among those voicing support for Raaie’s petition is skin cancer researcher Dr Bronwen McNoe who says with melanoma, prevention is better than treatment. McNoe wants New Zealand to follow Australia’s example by eliminating GST on sunscreen, which would make it more affordable and, in turn, more widely used.
The results of a 2023 survey commissioned by Consumer NZ support that view: 83% of respondents said the price was “important” or “very important” when buying sunscreen, while 22% and 38% of people either agreed or strongly agreed (respectively) with the fact that “sunscreens are too expensive”.
Removing the tax could reduce barriers to access. Advocates for the move argue that sunscreen is a necessity rather than a luxury, particularly in New Zealand, where the sun’s rays can be exceptionally harsh.
The move would also make fiscal sense. As of 2022, melanoma was forecast to cost the healthcare system $70.7 million by 2025, well above the $4.2 million the government collects each year in GST each year from sunscreens.
There’s also the wider moral argument around removing GST on all essential goods. Take, for instance, Australia’s decision to remove the “tampon tax” — GST on sanitary products. Many perceived this tax as a form of gender discrimination, given that sanitary products are essential for those who menstruate and access to them is a matter of basic human dignity. Removing the GST helps to make these products became more accessible to all.
Another example is the UK’s decision to remove VAT from children’s clothing and footwear. That move was aimed at helping lower-income families who spend a larger portion of their income on such essentials.
The case for sunscreen is more nuanced. In NZ, people from higher socioeconomic backgrounds have an increased risk of being diagnosed with melanoma (about a quarter to a third higher than low-income New Zealanders), but as cancer patients, they have a better overall prognosis than low-income New Zealanders.
Raaie’s sunscreen product, the Sun Milk Drops Tinted SPF50, currently retails at $100; it normally retails at $115, but Raaie has removed $15 to show the difference the GST would make. (GST in NZ is 15% so strictly speaking, taking it off a $115 sunscreen would make it $97.75 but that’s an awkward number.)
Raaie’s product is undoubtedly at the luxury end of the sunscreen market. Yet as Raaie’s founder, Katey Mandy, points out, “Whether you use a boutique facial sunscreen or an all body, everyday sunscreen, we can all benefit from making sunscreen more accessible.”
She also addressed the issue of whether the petition is more than a marketing stunt: “If the government removes the GST from sunscreen we may see an uplift in our sales. But so would all our competitors, so there is no real benefit there for us. If we can provoke this change, the real winner will be New Zealanders, who will have access to more affordable sunscreen.”
On the other hand, there are credible arguments against the move. For one thing, removing the tax introduces potential complications to New Zealand’s GST system, which currently has no exemptions and is praised for its simplicity. Adding exemptions could confuse the system and increase the costs of administering it.
The change could also lead to disputes over what qualifies, given that other products, such as insect repellents, sometimes have an SPF rating. In 2017, Harriette Carr, deputy director of public health for the Ministry of Health, told Stuff the ministry had no plans to subsidise sunscreen. Carr said, “If the ministry were to consider this, there could be an argument that we should also consider subsidising clothing, sunglasses and sun hats which is not practical or realistic.”
However, these difficulties don’t seem insurmountable: the law could set a clear definition of what is and isn’t a GST-exempt sunscreen. Legislators can look to the Sunscreen (Product Safety Standard) Act 2022 which defines the nature of sunscreen products and excludes hybrid skincare like foundation and lip care.
There’s also no guarantee that the savings from the removal of GST on sunscreen would be passed on to consumers. In a competitive market they likely would be, but the Consumer study suggests that around 56% of us buy our sunscreen from supermarkets. Given the market power of their duopoly, supermarkets might not necessarily feel they have to pass on the full savings to consumers.
On the other hand, regulators like the Commerce Commission’s new Grocery Commissioner could be given powers to ensure savings were passed on.
Ultimately, removing GST from sunscreen may well be worth it if it saves lives. Melanoma is a killer and making sunscreen cheaper will undoubtedly make it more accessible—as one signatory has commented on Raaie’s petition, “This tax is abhorrent and should absolutely be removed to save Kiwi lives.”
If you’d like to support the mission to gather 50,000 signatures and help the petition on its way to Parliament, sign here: www.change.org/p/remove-the-gst-on-sunscreen-products-in-new-zealand.
