The Isle of Man’s latest inflation report is a powerful reminder that we need to ease the squeeze on the cost of living: making housing more accessible, and reduce the pressure on household budgets.
“Consumer prices are soaring, with prices now up by more than 2% compared to before the pandemic,” said Michael Josem, the Liberal Vannin candidate for Douglas East1.
“Businesses in Douglas East are telling me that they’ve had to increase prices to reflect the cost of importing higher products from across, and price changes will add stress to many household budgets,” said Josem.
“We need to ease the squeeze on household budgets by making housing more accessible, by extending the VAT cut on hospitality, and by stopping the introduction of any new COVID tax hikes.”
- Consumer price index in January 2020: 132.8. Consumer price index in May 2021: 135.6 (latest available data). Source: Isle of Man Government Inflation Report May 2021.