South Yorkshire Times, July 19th, 1969.

S.E.T Tax Increase Forces Shopkeepers Prices Up.

Mexborough Chamber of Trade said last week that they expected prices to rise as a result of the increase in the selective employment Tax, so we went out to find out what traders and the customers thought about the tax. The general reaction was that the tax was a shocking thing; most people seemed to blame the Government not the shopkeepers for prices going up as a result of the tax.

A butcher in Mexborough for the past 43 years, Mr. C. H. Gorst, said he thought all traders would object to the tax, “As far as i can see it is just an imposition by the present Government, and i think myself that it will eventually have to be taken off,” he said.

The unfair thing about the tax, he said, was that it stopped people who wanted to work in shops from doing so, because shopkeepers would not take on extra staff. So the people were being employed in jobs in factories, which they did not like.

He said he would have to cut down on small things in his business to take the increase in S.E.T He could not continue putting prices up, because people were very price conscious and would only pay up to a certain point.

Greengrocer, Mr. Sidney Long, who has been in Mexborough for 45 years, said the prices of his goods fluctuated during the year. But he added the prices of goods from wholesalers were going up and so the increase had to be passed down the grapevine and finally to the public.

“The large businesses will probably be able to stand the increases but the increased tax will hit the small traders hard. it will practically be impossible to sell a small business under the present circumstances,” he said.

Mother of four, Mrs. M. Shearon, of Belmont Street, Mexborough, said she was finding tings very difficult with the increase in prices, and she felt that perhaps the shopkeepers could be a little more lenient when passing increased charges on to the public.

“You cannot go anywhere and get food for a decent meal at a reasonable price, and the prices of clother for children are terrible,” she said.

Steelworker, Mr. E. Daykin, of Beech Crescent, Mexborough,said traders were always being faced with increased prices and the only thing tehy could do was pass it on to the public.

“When people put their money into a business they do it for one reason – to get some profit from it. We would not put our money into anything from which we would not receive a profit. The traders want a profit and they have to pass on the increased costs,” he said.

The idea behind the tax was to force people out of non productive jobs into productive industry, which meant people were going into jobs they did not want. he said.

Wath housewife Mrs. R. Jackson was adamant in er criticism of shopkeepers. “It’s all very well these shopkeepers jumping on the bandwagon and putting prices up to the extent they are doing, but my house keeping bill is now about a quarter as much again as it was six months ago. My husbands wages are Government controlled, and cannot be raised to cover the increases,” she said, “And we cannot afford to go to the Continent for our holidays like shopkeepers do,” She added. Park Gate steelworkers Mr. G. Baker, thought that the tax was a Government method of raising money and passing the criticism on to the shopkeepers, “Shopkeepers immediately blame the trader,”he said. e could not see how the tax could take people into manufacturing industries from service industries. “There is already a big pool of unemployed men,” he said,and added that 500 jobs were affected by redundancy at his works.

Mrs. M. Noble of Wortley Avenue, Swinton, said she could appreciate the increase in prices because her husband was self employed and she knew that he was facing rising costs and consequently having to increase his prices accordingly.

“Increased tax cut his profits down quite a bit, i understand the problems of the shopkeepers, because they can keep costs down for so long but then they must reach a point where they can no longer absorb the higher costs, and it has to be passed on to their customers. There is nothing we can do about it; we just have to accept teh increased costs,” she said.

Mexborough housewife Mrs D. Earnshaw admitted she could not understand S.E.T., but thought that shopkeepers were always ready to increase their prices if they could lay the blame at somebody else’s doorstep.

Mexborough man Mr. P. Stone said the tax was just another way of raising money. “wages are clamped down,income tax goes up, and now we have to help shopkeepers run their businesses. I suppose they cannot help it, but where is it going to end?” he asked.

“Everything you touch goes up,” said a Mexborough mother of two.”I don’t understand S.E.T.; all i know is that it is difficult to keep a family.”

Another mother of two pointed out that her housekeeping money did not go up, and she asked the shopkeepers to help her bear the costs. “My husband cannot afford to pay me more, so how do shopkeepers expect e to buy their goods?” she asked.