Scrutiny call for GST to be shown on shelves

Tuesday 25th September 2007, 12:00AM BST.

A SCRUTINY panel has concluded that the three per cent Goods and Services Tax should be shown on every item on shop shelves and not just added at the till.

It says that consumers will want to know exactly how much tax they are paying on every item and it is calling on the States to make a clear decision. The States are due to discuss ‘price marking’ at their current sitting. The Economic Affairs Scrutiny Panel is backing Economic Development Minister Philip Ozouf’s stance, although, under pressure from retailers who want to add the tax at the till, ministers decided to fudge the issue and propose leaving it up to retailers in the first year of the new tax, which is due to be introduced next May. But the panel, chaired by Deputy Geoff Southern, says that is not good enough and that further consultation will not achieve anything.

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