Bridgetown businesses feel the squeeze of increased VAT

Business people in Bridgetown say their profits are on the decline with costs up and sales stagnant.
Store owners in the capital say they have been absorbing the recent 2.5 percent increase in the Value Added Tax instead of passing it on to consumers.
Eddie Abed owner of a large clothing and fabric store says ” sales for us for the month of December were on par compared to the previous year. So in terms of absorbing the VAT to realize the sales that strategy worked but the larger picture of profitability is that we are down.”
Richard Simpson General Manger of Cave Shepherd the largest store on the island agreed with Abed.
“Our sales for the Christmas season and the entire month of December were very close to last year’s so there was not a big difference.”
Last November, Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler, increased the VAT from 15 percent to 17.5 percent as of December 1.
Most businesses responded by absorbing the change during the month.