OPT vs store markup

On the other side of the coin, the OPT will also be used as a tool to encourage the “Buy Local” thrust, thereby helping to stimulate the economy and create more jobs etc. That is all well and good. For anyone who really knows me knows that I am a patriot and I am always in support of developing Trinbago. But sometimes there comes a point when the line has to be drawn.

I have absolutely no problem with paying my taxes. Although sometimes I wonder why when I look at the state of the Health Sector, and the fact that I have to be a prisoner in my own home for fear of what may happen if I dare to venture out too late.

I totally support buying local, as long as I am getting value for my hard earned money. I prefer mangoes, watermelons and Governor plums over apples, grapes and American plums on any given day. But mind you, if it comes down to a choice of me paying $10 for three apples or $25 for three starch mangoes, the apples will win.

Give me a nice, rolled-up bundle of dasheen bush rather than the overpriced kale, or a snow cone instead of imported ice cream. I am always on the lookout for local designers who produce clothes and accessories that suit my fancy and that are within my budget – all of this because I understand how the cycle works, or at least is supposed to.

As a parent of a boy who is into gadgets, action figures, Pokemon cards, and video games, this new shopping tax fell right into my garden and I was forced to nurture it whether I wanted to or not. For since Xboxes, phones, PS whatever number they are up to, Marvel Avengers Age of Ultron Titan Hero Tech action figures, and all those other generational ‘must haves’ are not manufactured in TT, I would either have to order them online or get them at the local stores. I can tell you, with no apologies, what my choice will be.

Consider this: A tech action figure that weighs less than one pound costs US$11.31 on Amazon, and will soon be slashed to approximately half that price during the US Black Friday sale. Based on one courier company’s inbound shipping estimator, my total bill, including the OPT, works out to be approximately US$31. At an exchange rate of 6.8, I would pay TT$210.80 right?

But if I bought this same item from a ‘local’ toy store, which I will not name and whose owner I’m sure would have paid the wholesale price for his goods, I would have to pay, drum roll please, $423. I kid you not!

Why should I have to pay twice the amount for a toy that I could just as easily get with a swipe of my credit card from the comfort of my own home? And not to mention avoiding the screwed ups faces of the store clerks, whose phone or WhatsApp conversation I dared to interrupt in order to get some information on the item I wanted to purchase (but that is another story by itself). It’s a no brainer.

I understand that staff and overheads have to be paid, and the store owner has his own personal financial obligations. But twice the amount? Hell no, not at my expense! Can you see the line?

I am not a big fan of the OPT, especially in this guava season of a time. But as far as I’m concerned it is the lesser of the two evils. Granted the boy would have to wait a few days for his stuff. But I’m certain he will live. Plus, delayed gratification is reputed to have its merits. As one author puts it, “The harder it was to get, the more you want to keep it,” although with this generation you never know.

Generate your revenue

Mr Minister!