BGN Entrepreneur

VAT will return to 17.5% in January after it was cut to 15% at the beginning of the year. Experts had predicted sales would rise by 0.5% as shoppers bought now. However, the expected rise in high street sales before VAT goes up in January failed to materialize last month. Official figures indicated that, it was the second month in a row that sales have shown no monthly change.
The Office for National Statistics said that, the retail sales were 2.4% above the level seen in September 2008. But the rate was predicted to be around 2.8%. However, the household goods sector notched up a 3.3% rise in sales to the end of September, which become the largest increase ever since June 2006.
Economists said that the monthly sales result ‘reinforces suspicion that consumers still need significant encouragement to put their hands in their pockets and spend’.

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