Offering essential services in a time of crisis
Health food stores carry essential food items like rice, pasta, cereals, milk, eggs, bread, vegetables, hygiene and cleaning products. Importantly, they are a source for special dietary products for allergy sufferers and people on restricted diets for long term illness reasons. Health Stores Ireland member stores are making important and sometimes difficult changes to their working practices to protect customers, staff, owners and the wider community. Depending on the size and nature of their stores, businesses are offering call & collect options, limiting access numbers to their shops...
Read MoreCustomer care during virus
Message to members health stores during virus: “Health Stores Ireland is now calling on all member stores to take action to ensure that 2m person to person advisory can be practised. This may involve closing your shop door and limiting the number of customers in your shop at any one time, putting up signage and placing guidance floor tape near checkouts and offering phone-in and click & collect services. Consider providing free delivery of goods to customer’s cars and homes. Many stores have already started taking these types of actions. It is vital that we, as a sector,...
Read MoreTaxing Food Supplements is Immoral
Health Stores Ireland, the organisation for which represents over 200 Irish Health Stores, has welcomed the timely interjection on the issue of VAT on food supplements by Professor John Nolan on Newstalks’ Pat Kenny Radio Show, which is aired today. Discussing the Minister for Finance’s intention to introduce 13.5% VAT on all Food Supplements, Professor Nolan explained the vital importance of the use of some Food Supplements in the reduction of sight loss for those suffering with Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) an eye condition which causes the gradual deterioration of vision...
Read MoreAnger at VAT Hike
Health Stores Ireland angry at Minister’s decision to impose 13.5% VAT on health food supplements. Health Stores Ireland has expressed anger at the news that Minister Paschal Donohoe is to implement VAT of 13.5% on health food supplements in the Finance Bill to be published tomorrow. Matt Ronan, Health Stores Ireland, “The move from the Minister flies in the face of this Government’s so called ‘Healthy Ireland’ initiative and will have a detrimental impact on the health of many people.” “There is a real danger that customers will be forced to buy their health food supplements...
Read MoreSupplements out of reach for many people
Higher cost could put beneficial supplements out of reach for many people. A leading Irish academic has expressed serious concerns at plans to impose taxation on food supplements. Professor John Nolan, founder of the Nutrition Research Centre Ireland stated, “Our research has extensively studied the role of Nutrition in Vision and the prevention of blindness and identifies how targeted supplementation can help to retain visual function for the large number of Irish people afflicted with age-related macular degeneration”. AMD is the leading cause of sight loss in the over 50s in...
Read MoreBudget Submission -VAT on Food Supplements
BUDGET 2020 Options for the VAT treatment of food supplements. Executive summary This submission sets out why the decades old practice and policy of applying the zero VAT rate to food supplements should continue. It demonstrates that there has been no credible case put forward for applying the standard or a reduced VAT rate to food supplements from a legal, health or business impact perspective.It recommends that the Finance Act 2019 should confirm the zero rating of food supplements to provide political and policy clarity to retailers and consumers and certainty for the Revenue...
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