A Sweet Deal for Consumers

Okay before I move on to a new topic, it would be remiss of me not to mention that there has been a withdrawal of the proposed bank tax by the government.

There were various calls for the recall as many detested the idea of being charged to withdraw their own funds.

Still the money must come from somewhere so since that tax was withdrawn other measures will have to be implemented in order to ‘plug’ the holes in the budget.

These measures include, “a withholding tax of 15 per cent on all insurance premiums paid by Jamaican residents to non-residents as well as  GCT on imported services.”

Is this a ‘sweet deal’?

There is a Jamaican saying which states, “Don’t swap magga dog fi monkey.”

It basically means we could be exchanging one set of problems for another which could be potentially worse. However, these are early days yet so I guess we will have to wait and see how much consumers will be affected by these new measures.

REAL SWEET DEALS

There are however some other  ’sweet deals’ on the horizon for consumers.

One retailer, Maxie’s is offering a discount on all items in the store in order to commemorate Mother’s Day and Teacher’s Day. The sale will only be from May 7-11, 2014.

Collectibles and Amar’s, which are both located in The Village Plaza on Constant Spring Road are also offering customers between 20% and 50% on selected items.

A word of advice though, many of the items on the sales rack are old stock which retailers are trying to get rid off in order to get new stock.

As a result of the long time which certain items have been stored they might have sustained damage. It is therefore a good idea to carefully examine any item on sale before you purchase it. Remember that some stores do not accept returns on sales items.

So enjoy the ‘sweet deals’ and keep an eye out for bargains! If you know of a ‘sweet deal’ drop me a line and tell me about it!

Teri Ann Renee Paisley

Gleaner Online Writer

Tags: discounts, withdrawal tax