A Fukuokan's Notes from Sapporo

It has past about nearly two months since our consumption tax was raised to 8%. Consumption tax may look like equivalent to your VAT, but ours is crueler. Although the rate is much lower, food and other necessary items are not exception. So, lower your income is, the heavier burden you have to shoulder.

As I mentioned earlier, there have been some confusion and betrayals related to this tax hike. Some grocers apply tax-including method, in which what is on the price tag is what you pay, while others have switched to tax-excluding method, which means 8% will be added up at the till.

I don’t know which method is better. One thing I have found so far is and am feeling unforgivable is some has raised the price itself taking advantage of this confusion.

Here is some of my findings since 1 April.

Nishitetsu Store:

Price tags do not include tax. Prices seem to stay the same as before the tax hike.

AEON and Daiei:

Tax-including style. Also, prices seem to try staying the same before April. I used to look down on these mega chains as second-class grocers because of the lack of freshness of their products and unnatural business strategies, but now I feel I have to change my mind. At least they didn’t let me down.

Marukyo:

A big disappointment! Not only did they take the tax-exclusive method without prior notice at all, but they seem to have raised the price. As I have personally been in favour of this local grocery store, I am feeling betrayed.  After all, you are doing the same with Sunny.

In terms of other independent, or family-run shops, I feel:

·        Butchers raised the price about 20-30 yen per 100grams of any kind of meat. But considering the prices still include the tax, this is acceptable.

·        Fishmongers have not changed the price. Maybe a size of fillet became slightly smaller? Very much acceptable. Or rather, heroic, I would say.

·        Green grocers take mixed approach. Some stay the same way they did before April and some take the adding-up approach. As a whole, each veggie got 10-20 yen more expensive.

To some up, I would give AEON, Daiei and independent shops higher marks. They look trying hard not to do what their customers don’t like. Meanwhile, Sunny and Marukyo are the worst grocers in this particular issue. They are lowest-pricing grocers, so I understand they are doing their best to keep the price as low as possible and there had been no room for them to absorb the shock (including costs for updating their highly intelligent cash register and labour costs to switch the price tag).  But they could have handled this matter more wisely so that they would look more “customer-friendly.”

As consumption tax hike is also applied to postage, 2-yen stumps have been re-issued to use with 80-or-50 yen stumps used regularly before April.

This is the 2-yen stump（↑）. Very cute, isn’t it?  

I don’t agree with this tax hike at all, but this rabbit is so cute I couldn’t help getting some 2-yen stumps even though I have no plan to snail-mail anything.

Does anyone volunteer to be a recipient of a card or letter from me?