The General Sales Tax (GST) was implemented on Saturday and chances are that by now you have already felt it, whether it be through a few extra cents on a bottle of soft drink, one or two additional shillings on a plate of food, or a couple more dollars on clothes. Yes the GST is here and though it is a consumption tax, consumers aren't the only ones complaining. Keith Swift has more.
Keith Swift Reporting,
Its only four days into the General Sales Tax and already businesses up and down Albert Street say the 10%, or in most cases anxiety, about it has brought commerce to a screeching halt.
Mukesh Gidwani, Asha's Store
"We losing business because customers used to come and buy from us and they stopped buying because they are afraid that the prices have gone too high. But not many prices have gone high. We used to give discounts. Like on dresses and blouses we used to give $5 to $10 discount but we can't do it now."
Burton Young, Miami Fashion
"Things are bad right now. Nobody comes to buy. Everybody is afraid of the price. They are the same but nobody wants to buy, they are afraid of the price. Everybody thinks that because of GST the price went up but the price has gone only like $1.50 more but nobody wants to buy. Things bad. Look at the store, it is peel."
Rithesh Kumar Nardev, Mirage Store
"GST started from Saturday so I've had bad business from Saturday. I used to do good business on Saturday, not very good, but after the GST it has gone down. There is no business now, not only here, everywhere it has gone down."
Keith Swift,
Have you increased your prices?
Rithesh Kumar Nardev,
"Yes I am telling customers that I am adding on 10% for GST. But my old customers they don't want to pay the 10% so they are just going on, they don't want to pay the 10% GST. Things are bad right now."
Restaurant owners are also feeling the pinch. Icenie Herrera runs Cenie's Deli in downtown Belize City. She has no choice but to charge her customers the GST and she says it's hurting business. For proof she says to just look at all this food from lunch she had left at 4 pm.
Icenie Herrera, Cenie's Deli
"It has slowed down business a lot. If you look at my counter you will see how much food is left because I had to raise the price."
Keith Swift,
So you have increased the price of your food?
Icenie Herrera,
"I had to."
Keith Swift,
And people just aren't buying?
Icenie Herrera,
"They are buying less and complaining."
Another restaurateur hearing a lot of complaints is Olive Leslie. She runs Olive's Kitchen. A meal at Olive's Kitchen is now ten percent higher. Here there is no need to ask why because Olive has spelt it out for you.
Olive Leslie, Olive's Kitchen
"I need to the public know that I am not the one that raised the tax.
My food is still the same price but we have to collect tax because that is what the government said. So I feel for my customers because I live in a poor neighborhood and a lot of these people don't have the tax to pay and a few of them would come in and they didn't have the tax and I just can't turn them away. I had to explain it to them. So instead of explaining it through the day, I put up a sign.
I am not being disrespectful to anybody because a country cannot be run without tax but I think they should educate the people on what the tax is about. And also the tax is not for me. I am not going to keep it. I have to go down by the 15th of next month, I have to take in every penny of tax that I collect."
That is also what Courts Belize has been telling their customers. On Saturday the prices for everything at Courts increased by ten percent. Ray Hohenkirk is Courts' Operation Manager.
Ray Hohenkirk, Courts Belize
"Because of the tax that government has just brought into effect, we have had to increase our prices to take into consideration the tax increase. You could recall that most business places have stock on which the 9% sales tax were paid on and now government has decided they were going to institute the GST which also is going to be taxed on goods that have already paid the 9% sales tax. So it may look as our prices have gone up by 10% but that 10% increase is going to government for GST."
Again, the General Sales Tax Department reminds you that only businesses registered for GST can charge you GST. They also predict that while prices will spike, they should taper off in three months when new stocks are introduced. That, we stress is a prediction, and hardly consolation for consumers who are feeling the effect of increased prices in their pockets right now.
