Other Business

joker
I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again – it is the retailers alone who are responsible for the high cost especially food prices. The comparison in costs between Jersey & the UK cannot be justified by an additional 3% when VAT in the UK is 17.5% for most food stuffs not to mention the much lower duty we have here on wines & beer etc.

Shipping costs are a lie because most of the produce in UK supermarkets has been shipped half way around the world already & the shipping companies here do not make much of a margin.

Inflation is roughly the same as the UK & the minimum wage is cheaper here so retailers can’t justify high salaries as the cause.

Utility costs, rates and company taxation are all cheaper here than UK so you can’t blame the Government/Parish or the JEC etc for increased costs.

It all comes down to greed by shareholders of these companies. If Tesco etc are making massive annual profits by comparison to other industries, how well off do you think our supermarkets are with their high prices?!

Alphonse Le Gasteloi
Lets be honest...a concept not in favour with our politicians. The limited scope of retailers took the introduction of GST as a licence. Not to print money, but fleece the consumers of theirs. If you look at the retail figures a month or so prior to the introduction, then a 3% increase would probably cost the average household a figure somewhere between Senator Le Suers figures and the JDA's. But the reality is that prices have increased far and above the 3% and there is NO consumer protection. Both Senator's Walker & Le Suer said (during the radio interviews prior to implementation) that although they would take stringent punitive measures against profiteering, consumers were free to vote with their feet and shop elsewhere. If they would only give us the freedom of choice and allow in other retailers, then we would see how much we have been fleeced by the incredibly high charges imposed by retailers and worst of all, the carriers that bring the goods in. By the way, who does own Condor Shipping? Are there any States Members on the board of directors? A long time ago, Senator Le Suer actually said it was acceptable for the poorer sections of our society to pay more to bring in the wealth to the island. I wonder where the successful economy and moral standpoint that could operate harmoniously together are coming from, because it isn't from him or his cabal.

Trevor
Do I trust Terry's figures - a man who let's not forget thinks you can clothe a child for £150 a year? Think not. The JDA figures are the accurate ones and this response is just another example of the usual spin. If we got rid of the Communications Unit (£300.000 for loads of glossy half-truths and downright lies at the taxpayer's expense and similar waste/over spending Ministers might actually find the books a little easier to balance without shafting the ordinary working public.

Ryan (Host)
Gull - no the figures are right - they're based on my 'current' shopping bill so it shows exactly what GST is CURRENTLY costing me.

However it may be that I'm 'spending' more now than I did pre-GST but that doesn't havea bearing on what my GST bill is every year (or would be if we had to pay it to the States ourselves).

Also there are other reasons your food bill might have increased by that much - the price of food, the price of fuel, the price of raw materials have all gone up drastically over the last few months.

Sqn Leader C Gull
Ryan, I don’t think you are doing your sums correctly my old friend. GST may be costing you £328 per year based on a 3 per cent increase but have you dug out an old shopping receipt ( pre GST ) ?.Check your numbers, the cost of essentials has increased more like 25% . My food bill alone – four chicks in the nest and Mrs Gull – has increased by approx £50 per week … and I bet I don’t eat as much as you!