The General Sales Tax was passed into law on December 28th of last year and you will start paying it tomorrow, July 1st. It is a consumption tax and it has caused mass apprehension, profound misgivings and general confusion in some quarters. But is the GST really all that bad? Keith Swift went shopping today to try and get a sense of what will really happen on GST day, July 1, 2006.
Keith Swift Reporting,
GST implementation day is tomorrow and today we found shoppers in store aisles across the city preparing for the worse.
Woman #1: Ready or not GST is here. We don't have any other choice but to be a part of it.
KS: How are you preparing for tomorrow?
Woman #1: Well today I am looking around and trying to see what the prices are like. I don't know what effect I just hear that everything is going to rise.
KS: So you think you'll do shopping today to save for later?
Woman #1: I can't afford to do any shopping, no money noh deh.
Man #1: You can't save any money in Belize. How will we do that? If everything is going up how will we do that? Your pay isn't going up. We are working hard everyday. They are the same ones talking about things will get better but how will things get better when everything is going up.
Woman #2: I am not ready for the GST and I think I'll never be ready for those thing.
KS: But in 24 hours GST will be what you will be paying.
Woman #2: Soon we will can't eat because they have us working and working but they don't raise your pay. We have to pay GST and this and that so take up the pay.
Man #2: You can't run from it, you've got to face it so I just have to get now before GST is put into place. I got to buy what I can today because I know tomorrow it will go out.
Woman #3: We went to buy some slippers and we were arguing about if they will charge the ten percent on the old stock and the Hindu guys was saying yes. The Hindu guy was telling us to actually buy now because by tomorrow actually it will be the ten percent GST plus the 9 percent tax so the prices for the slippers will actually increase greatly by 19%.
KS: And what you think of that?
Woman #3: That sucks.
And if it does, the Sales Tax Department's advice to Vivian is simple. Kim Burgess from the department told us the one thing you can do to save money tomorrow.
Kim Burgess, Sales Tax Department
"What I would advise to consumers come tomorrow first of July is to shop around and compare prices. They should expect a slight rise in prices. But if they want to visit different supermarkets, they can check on other prices but they should expect a little rise in some of the products."
Keith Swift,
So the best advice is to shop around?
Kim Burgess,
"At this present time, yes."
We did some shopping around of our own. In Brodies we found a store worker re-tagging these items in the bread isle. The prices aren't being marked up, they are being marked as zero-rated and that is why they now have the yellow tag. Store manager Sherman Sawyers says their prices will remain the same tomorrow.
Sherman Sawyers, Manager - Brodies Albert Street
"Tomorrow our customers can expect similar prices. We have decided to
absorb the ten percent. Most of our products, things across the board, and we will still have our incentive programs which are coupon programs and our five percent on holidays."
Keith Swift,
So what prices will go up on?
Sherman Sawyers,
"Prices that are, I would say, if our suppliers increase prices then definitely we will have no choice but to increase prices."
Keith Swift,
So you will lose money?
Sherman Sawyers,
"Yes definitely we will lose some money. We are prepared to take on that loss."
It's a loss Habet and Habet won't be carrying. The store has already told its customers that come tomorrow there will be an immediate price increase of ten percent. Habet and Habet's Carmeita Vasquez explains.
Carmita Vasquez, Habet & Habet
"They can certainly expect a ten percent increase on all the items we have. We're not absorbing anything so basically they'll be paying for the ten percent."
In Habet and Habet there will be no need to ask how much more you'll be paying because they have already labeled it. For example today this ceiling fans cost $329 and tomorrow it will cost you $361.90. At Habet and Habet the job of re-labeling prices is on the slender shoulder of this young man - Roberto Riverol.
Roberto Riverol,
"I'll have to take down all the items and tear off the prices and put
on the new prices which include the GST on it."
Keith Swift,
That's a lot of work.
Roberto Riverol,
"Well I get paid to do it so I have to do it."
Roberto will have to re-tag and shoppers will in most cases have to pay more. It is a reality not lost on those who flooded store aisles today.
The Sales Tax Department stresses that general sales tax can only be charged by businesses registered who will have their certificate prominently displayed. Again because of old stock, no one knows for sure how prices will change tomorrow. The Central Statistical Office will be conducting a survey on Monday of stores in Belize City. The data collected will be compared with prices collected later this year. That is because the Sales Tax Department says that prices should decrease after about three months when businesses restock.
And again, for clarity, the 10% GST is a consumption tax; designed to be paid only once, by the end user, the consumer of a product, service or a commodity. It will not be charged on fresh fruits, vegetables, and a short list of other basic food items, you will be paying 10% GST on everything ranging from your phone bill, light bill, soft drinks, and just about every other item. We will continue to track it next week to see how implementation goes.
