Retailers have informed the government that the Conservative Party’s proposed net zero taxes on groceries would result in an annual rise in food costs for the British population of almost £4 billion.
Instead of attempting to lessen the burden on Britons, who have endured crippling inflation for the past two years as a result of the government-imposed coronavirus lockdowns, the government is determined to take more money out of their pockets with a number of taxes to subsidize the recycling of packaging that will be required at the supermarket.
The government initially estimated that the so-called Extended Producer Responsibility net zero scheme, which Michael Gove developed while serving as environment secretary, would cost consumers about £1.7 billion. However, retailers have now stated that, due to inflation, the cost to consumers will likely be more than twice that amount.
The British Retail Consortium said in a statement to The Telegraph that the green tax, rather than affecting companies, would be passed on to consumers, who will likely see a rise in their annual grocery prices of around £4 billion a year.
Helen Dickinson, CEO of the British Retail Consortium, stated: “Over the course of the next year or so, a number of new rules and levies will increase costs for shops and, eventually, for customers. These new initiatives endanger the possibility of inflation turning the corner just when it seems to be. Each of them has to be examined by the government, which must then decide whether to execute, delay, or abandon each one.”
The information comes in the wake of claims that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s administration had tried to negotiate price ceilings with key food suppliers in an effort to lessen the effects of rampant inflation, which has driven up the price of basic foods like bread and cereal to a 45-year high.
Even if salaries have grown numerically, according to a study, they have not kept up with inflation, which means that in real terms, the great majority of individuals in the nation have seen their income decrease. Despite this, the neo-liberal Tory administration has argued that the people must bear the biggest tax burden since World War II.
Lord David Frost, a former key Brexit negotiator, stated: “It makes absolutely no sense to attempt to restrict food prices while enacting a new tax on food. People in a cost-of-living crisis the very last thing they need is for food prices to increase because we are adding additional unneeded expenses to businesses under the bogus pretext of net zero.”
Comments are closed.