By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

COMPANIES that supply food and drink are questioning the government’s plan to implement new legislation that will create a tax for sugar and excess salt as well as try to eliminate trans fats being imported into the country, with one general manager saying there are “negative consequences anytime they move any piece on the chessboard”.

Health and Wellness Minister Dr Michael Darville unveiled the plans on Monday, but could not give specifics on what is being proposed.

 Matthew Kemp, of J-CO Trading Company, which sells items such as drinks and tobacco products, said more details are needed.

 “I need them to define excess salt. I like the idea, but there are too many variables, you know, to just go in and act as if we have a checkers board or chessboard type of thing. The government, first they did price control, like everything, just as in a chessboard, where they could move pieces up and down,” he told The Tribune yesterday.

 The general manager expressed fears for the impact on restaurants and those already experiencing food insecurity.

 “My full answer, hardly knowing anything, is there’s always going to be negative consequences anytime they move any piece on the chessboard —it’s not going to work. To me, it’s always going to fall on restaurants, who like the business owners who you know have to cook the food and then sell it.

 “I don’t think they should do anything at all in terms of taxing imports. It’s only going to raise the cost of food. I believe at least access to food on the whole could be the primary concern rather than trying to make people healthy because (some) people aren’t eating at all. I’d rather them eat unhealthy rather than not eat at all.”

 The managing director at Lightbourn Trading Company does not have much hope about using taxes to improve people’s behaviour.

 The company distributes food, beverages, ice cream, candy, frozen vegetables and paper towels.

 “It doesn’t work,” John Lightbourn argued. “Well the Bahamian diet first of all — the government has listed a bunch of things which it says we’re going to make artificially cheap for you and they will eventually kill you. They will make you fat, diabetic, diseased and it will eventually kill you and the other stuff we’re gonna do the opposite.

 “We’re (the government) going to put full duty on it and full markups and all this kind of stuff and make it (healthier items) so expensive that you have no choice. So price control eliminated all choice and it just gave the average man stuff to eat. It was cheap and so that’s what they’re eating. So that’s what’s killing people now at a young age.”

  As for how the proposed tax on these foods with sugar and excess will impact the industry, Mr Lightbourn stated “any tax is a negative thing” and all it does is “it goes into the government’s coffers”.

“It doesn’t change behaviour —taxes don’t change behaviour realistically. People still smoke, people still drink, it’s just it’s just a money maker. It’s more things to take care of and follow up and this and that. Is our customs department now meant to be experts in reading the contents of everything and finding out - it’s ridiculous.”

 Super Value’s president and CFO Debra Symonette questioned if the tax was for the customers or stores and admitted the plan would impact their bottom line if the tax was levied on those selling the items.

 “Now, if it’s us paying the tax, then, of course, it would affect the bottom line. We’d have a little more to pay out and that could result in a little higher price. If it’s like an additional tax for customers to pay, then well, that wouldn’t affect our bottom line,” she said.

 However, she stated the company supports healthy living.

 “It’s all in the best interest of the people and their health. So if it’s really an item that’s to the detriment of the people, well, we would go along with that programme. We try to follow the rules, so if that’s the rule they make, that’s the rule , we’ll have to keep.

“We also encourage, we try to encourage healthy living as well because of course, that’s the way to go if we want our people to live longer. You will notice that we have a lot of healthy items in the store to give customers a choice as to what they can buy.”