The Savusavu Chamber of Commerce believes the removal of VAT from 21 basic food items would boost business activities as a result of increased spending.
Chamber president Ravi Chhaganlal said people would save money as they got to spend less on basic food items
. “When that happens, people have more money in their pockets, and they will get to increase their budget, so they will spend more in town,” he said.
“The buying power will increase and so will economic activities, and we hope it remains that way.”
Mr Chhaganlal said impacts of COVID could still be partially felt in some sectors, including tourism in the hidden paradise town.
“We are still trying to pick up the numbers that we used to have before COVID, but it’s encouraging to see the return of recovery period,” he said.
“The wage rate increase will certainly boost business performance in terms of people spending, but as a businessman, we will need to work out options to cater for the increase.”
