New Govt levies affect consumers

THE Government’s move to impose new levies and taxes across a number of its departments and agencies is now affecting end consumers, Farmers and Settlers Association president Wilson Thompson says.
Thompson noted changes like the 50 per cent increase in National Agriculture Quarantine and Inspection Agency (Naqia) charges for activities like export clearances and fumigation. He added that the increases in factory and warehouse registration fees, work permit fees, fertiliser levy, airport departures levy, verified gross mass inspection fee, port security charges and export fees constituted a significant change over four different departments.
Thompson said the fees charged by the Government starting last year, were directly affecting agriculture production, rural business and processing.
He said Government had to reduce or do away with unnecessary levies and taxes in order to allow businesses to grow.
“The more chicken products or rice or fruit that goes away from the producers and factory, people along the route charge the government fees and charges including fuel, air and shipping and land costs, storage fees,” he said, while clarifying that agriculture producers and processors had not increased their prices.
“If a product leaves a manufacturing site, taking into consideration the price of transport, the fees at the wharf to outside provinces and warehouse storage, in reality the consumer price will be increased even if our processors and producers like Zenag or Laga Industries or Arabica Coffee have not increased their price.
“Once these products are transported out the costs is increasing until we see it in the stores.”
Thompson said his association had warned the Government and relevant state agency (Independent Consumer and Competition Commission) about the likely effect of increased taxes on end-consumers.