Dear Editor,
It was surprising to learn from a letter in the ‘Chronicle’ headed “Speaking on issues affecting all poor women”, that some food items carried VAT. Cheese, I think, one could go without, but flour is a staple. When a loaf of bread costs between $190 and $240, one wonders how mothers with young children cope.
I had a look at the UK VAT Legislation website: it contains the following: “Zero-rated items for VAT include: Food, sewerage and water services, books, construction of buildings, international services, transport, caravans and houseboats, gold, bank notes, drugs, medicines, imports and exports, tax-free shops, charities, clothing and footwear.”
Reduced-rated items include: Domestic fuel or power; Installation of energy saving materials; Grant funded installation of heating equipment or security goods or connection of gas supply; renovation and alteration of dwellings; residential conversions; women’s sanitary products; and children’s car seats.
I hope this information helps some of the “poor women” to build a case for the removal of VAT from some items, particularly of food.
Yours faithfully,
Geralda Dennison
