Saint Lucia is to remove the service charge on all price-controlled goods as the government seeks to cushion the impact of the cost of living increases on the population.
“This week the Minister of Trade will announce that we have removed the service charge on all price controlled goods in the country. The six percent service charge has been removed from all price controlled goods. So the next shipment of price controlled goods that arrive the price should go down by at least six percent,” Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Philip J. Pierre told reporters on Monday.
Pierre explained that his administration was trying its best under trying circumstances. And he said he wanted people to understand that cost of living increases are a global problem around which no one should play politics.
“It’s a world situation there are issues in the supply chain, issues in with the price of fuel worldwide. Saint Lucia is not unique and anybody who wants to pretend that Saint Lucia is unique is not being truthful,” the Castries East MP asserted.
The Prime Minister noted that there was a shortage of baby formula in the ‘great United States’.
The US President had to activate the defense production act for the first time to import the commodity.
The act allows the US government more control over industrial production during emergencies and will enable it to direct suppliers of formula ingredients and prioritise delivery to manufacturers.
President Joe Biden also announced ‘Operation Fly Formula’, allowing the Defence Department’s Commercial planes to import formula.
But Pierre observed that Saint Lucia’s options are limited, while at the same time, the government has to meet payables, including debts and salaries.
He reiterated the need for people, not only the government, to conserve, save energy and eat what is grown locally.
“These times are crucial,” Pierre asserted.
It would have been helpful to include a list of those said items…..
Somebody, help me. When I buy a pound of rice or flour in the supermarket, do I pay SERVICE CHARGE? Please help!!!!!
I bet my last dollar the price will never change in stores and the Gov. won’t do shit about it either. For eg. if service charge is 8% there will never be 8% price reduction on the shelves. Let PJP hold his rear TBH.
This is the case in UK too. Companies pocket the tax reduction.
You already now we wouldn’t see those reductions at Massy’s or any other retailer. Unless we have proper regulation of retailers they will just use this as an opportunity to increase their profit margins.
How much you wanna bet that we won’t see any reduction in prices on shelves, Massy will just add that 6% to their profits, won’t be surprised if prices increase and they’ll blame it on some other factor.
And what makes the US so great, when referencing the baby formula shortage. That’s their own doing, it isn’t happening elsewhere. The world is bigger than just the US, stop looking at them like some shining beacon
i heard a rumor that the VAT has been increased to a 20 something percent and is no longer 15. does that mean they remove the 6 percent service charge and add it to the vat to make it seem they are doing something?
@GW. You pulled tat one out of your pA$$!
awa i heard it from your muda thats whos own i pull it out from whilst i was in search of answers for questions.
I thought so myself , these people think they to sleek
Just imagine we paying duties on the freight of the items as well. This shouldn’t be, time this is changed as well.
……we too foreign mind eat what we grow and grow what we need. Times has changed things has changed and they will never going back to been the same NO MATTER WHO IS IN OFFICE. Food is expensive overseas far less St Lucia, but some people don’t GET THAT. Some ships use diesel and what is the price of diesel ??
That I won’t ever understand. Just wrong and doesn’t make sense.