( Real News )Businesses are already facing challenges related to the newly
increased Antigua and Barbuda Sales Tax (ABST) and are reporting
insufficient manpower to re-price goods.
On Tuesday, January 2, says Orrin Steele, director of the Prices and
Consumer Affairs Division, the Division was flooded with calls from
various stakeholders requesting information on handling the
situation.
The 2 percent hike in the ABST, moving it from 15 to 17 percent,
took effect on January 1, 2024.
While businesses would have updated their systems to reflect the
sales tax increase, Steele says the difficulty lies with having the
manpower to change the physical items on the shelves.
He anticipates that this situation will pose some difficulty for
consumers, as well, at least for this week.
