Nevis Junior Trade Minister – Hon. Dwight Cozier
PRESS RELEASE ON FOOD BASKET FOR TAX RELIEF ON NEVIS.
Fellow Nevisians:
The rising cost of oil on the International Market, coupled with other factors such as the extensive use of crops and farm lands by some countries for the production of alternative fuels, as well as droughts in countries as far away as Australia, have led to dramatic increases in the prices of food globally. The rise in food prices locally is not the doing of your Government.
Nevertheless, your Nevis Island Administration is committed to polices that will ensure that the cost of living in Nevis is kept as low and as normal as possible.
With this in mind your Government has decided to take steps which will lead to a reduction in the cost of imported food and some non food items, designed to counter the global crisis. The Nevis Island Administration has therefore decided to:
(a) cut consumption tax on a number of items by a 10% reduction, and
(b) compute the consumption tax on the said items on CIF only.
Your Government believes that a reduction in consumption Tax will reduce the cost of the specified items to you the Consumer.
It is important to note that the formula for computing Consumption Tax is CIF plus Import duty multiplied by the relevant percentage of Consumption Tax. Consumption Tax is varied between 7.5% and 22.5%.
The Nevis Island Government has decided to approve food items identified by the study of Food Consumption patterns done in 2007 which captured a wide cross section of food consumption patterns in the island of Nevis. Page 6 of the study points to four (4) basic groups of food eaten daily by the people of Nevis. With regards to the need to also maintain nutritional value for the Nevisians, the item groups approved were carefully selected to fall within the groups identified by the study. These are as follows:
Food Items:
(1) Rice100% reduction in Consumption Tax
(2) Flour 100% 100% reduction in Consumption Tax
(3) Cream of Wheat 100% reduction in Consumption Tax
(4) Sardines100% reduction in Consumption Tax
(5) Tuna Fish100% reduction in Consumption Tax
(6) Cheese 10% reduction in Consumption Tax
(7) Tin Milk 10% reduction in consumption Tax
(8) Vegetable Oil 10% reduction in Consumption Tax
(9) Baby Cereal 10% reduction in Consumption Tax
(10) White Potatoes 10% reduction in Consumption tax
(11) Oats 10% reduction in Consumption Tax
(12) Butter 10% reduction in Consumption Tax
(13) Vienna Sausage 10% reduction in Consumption Tax
(14) Dry Peas 10% reduction in Consumption Tax
(15) Carrots 10% reduction in Consumption Tax
(16) Bananas 10% reduction in Consumption Tax
(17) Orange Juice 10% reduction in Consumption Tax
(18) Apples 10% reduction in Consumption Tax
(19) Chicken 10% reduction in Consumption Tax
Non Food Items:
(20) Pampers (Adult and Baby) 100% reduction in Consumption Tax