In this post, I will be sharing the impact of GST Implementation on some of my purchases around Kuching town.
This is purely my personal view as a consumer.
Strong impact of GST implementation on local food
Two weeks ago, I went to a bakery to look for sweet potatoes bread. A few months back, I remember the price was RM5.50/loaf. I was surprised to see the new price tag RM6.80/loaf (inclusive of GST).
No wonder, there’s quite a lot of sweet potatoes bread left.
I decided not to buy the sweet potatoes bread too. Not because I can’t afford it but I strongly disagree with the way some businessman running their business.
Local drink increased by 25%
Last weekend, hubby and I went to one of the local Kopitiam for kolo mee and tea-c. The kolo mee is still the same price, RM3.00 a bowl.
The kolo mee operator complained that she absorbed some of the additional costs such as soy sauce and raw kolo mee. I think if she increases the price by RM0.20, as a consumer, I still can accept it.
For the tea-c, hubby and I were surprised that the price had gone up to RM1.50 a small cup from the RM1.20 a small cup. That is an increment of 25%!
Today’s lunch, I went to one of the local restaurants which I used to go at least once a month. From the menu, I saw that the food’s price all increased by RM0.50/plate. On top of that, this restaurant still charge 6% GST!
No wonder there are fewer customers compare to before.
I am planning to reduce my visits to this restaurant. Again, not because I can’t afford it, but because I believe, as a consumer we need to be smart.
The impact of GST implementation is strongly felt everywhere. Most business owners transfer the cost to the consumer. Thus, the consumer has to pay a much higher price for the same goods.
I have more to share but let’s save it for my next post.
Update on 23 May 2015
Today I visited the same bakery again. I noticed the price tag is now RM5.80 a loaf (inclusive of GST) for sweet potatoes bread. This new price is more reasonable. Hubby asked me if I saw the price wrongly last month. But, I am sure I saw the price correctly. Anyway, this is great to know.
photo credit: radiantjustice Himpunan Turun 2.0 anti-price hikes rally via photopin (license)