The owner of Quids Inn has welcomed the upcoming tax threshold increase but warned that global pressures threaten to undermine any economic boost.
Andy Saunders, who is also the spokesman for the Licensed Victuallers Association (LVA), told Manx.News that while the changes will help put money back into people’s pockets, small businesses continue to face significant challenges.
“We’re very supportive of higher tax thresholds,” Mr Saunders said. “Our local people need to get more money in their pockets and that’s hopefully this will feed through.”
His comments come as the minimum wage increase and tax threshold changes are set to take effect next week.
Mr Saunders had previously raised concerns on behalf of the LVA about the scale of the proposed wage rise, describing a 10 percent increase as “not reasonable at all.”
He noted that many small businesses on the island have yet to recover from the pandemic. “There’s a lot of problems already in the businesses,” he said.
Looking ahead, Mr Saunders expressed concern about global factors beyond the island’s control.
“Unfortunately, we now get a global crisis which is going to drive prices up again and again and again. It looks like we just stutter from one to the other as a planet.”
Despite the challenges, Mr Saunders struck a cautiously optimistic note for the year ahead. “Once I get past the second weekend in March, when the darts people arrive, I tend to get very, very positive for the year,” he said.
He highlighted the return of Irish sailings as a significant opportunity. “I’m really looking forward to the operations going back into Ireland regularly. That’s really going to be a big boom.”