Consumer news
Regulator Reaches Out
In an attempt to educate and empower consumers about their rights and responsibilities the Consumer Affairs Division launched an outreach exercise in supermarkets to educate consumers called Be Educated, Be empowered.
The exercise gave consumers information and guidance for consumer redress and protection.
Camille McIntyre, director of consumer guidance and protection says the exercise is one of many advocacy initiatives conducted by the consumer affairs division to help raise consumer awareness.
“We all recognize the importance of educated and empowered consumers in the marketplace since these consumers are expected to make better and more informed shopping choices,” she said.
“supermarkets are major enterprises that engage directly with hundreds of consumers sometimes at multiple branches everyday. Their partnership for this exercise is a demonstration of their willingness to embrace their responsibility to consumers.”
The role of the Consumer Affairs Division is to safeguard the economic interests of consumers through consumer redress and protection, consumer education and empowerment and consumer research.
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Inflation
Consumers can breathe a sigh of relief as inflation remained unchanged for March 2024.
According to its April 17th statement, The Central Statistical Office says, “the inflation rate for March 2024 which measures the percentage change in the all items index for the month of March 2024 over March 2023 was 0.8 %. CSO adds that this remains unchanged from what was recorded in the previous period February 2024/February 2023. the inflation rate for the comparative period March 2023/March 2022 was 7.3%.
The All items index calculated from the prices collected for the month of March 2024 was 123.8 representing a decrease of 0.3 pts or 0.2 per cent below the all items index for February 2024.
According to CSO the index for Food and Non-alcoholic beverages decreased from 147.9 in February 2024 to 146.2 in March 2024 reflecting a decrease of 1.2%. What exactly contributed to the decrease? the downward movement in the price of fresh whole chicken, tomatoes, cucumber, cheddar cheese, table margarine, celery, fresh king fish, plantains, fresh Carite and soya bean oil.
But the full impact of these price decreases were offset by the general increase in the price of grapes, hot peppers, oranges, melongene, bodi, ochroes, pumpkin, frozen whole chicken, parboiled rice and other fruit drinks.
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Property Tax
Government intends to reduce the rate of residential property tax from 3 percent to 2 percent.
What would this mean for the homeowner? It means that this is intended to reduce the impact of new valuations. Property Owners are still continuing to believe that old valuations should be used in the modern era-but soon this would change as the intention is to gradually adjust and correct that erroneous belief that old valuations should be used in present day.
Concerning deferral, homeowners who fall under Section 23 of the Property Tax Act such as indigent elderly and infirm persons who satisfy the criteria under Section 23-they can make applications to the Board of Inland Revenue t have their Property Tax deferred.
As for objections, to Notices of Valuations from 30 days to six months-an order will soon be published to extend the time period.
The Government assures that it has undertaken to take all necessary and future legislative and operational measures needed to ensure that Property Tax is implemented equitably across T&T. Property Owners are also assured that Property Tax will be stopped until the new tax rate is implemented.
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