It's a whole new language for shopkeepers

By MATT WADE (SMH 20/6/00)

Many shopkeepers and restaurateurs with limited English skills in Sydney's south-west are not prepared for the GST, community representatives have warned.

An estimated 80 per cent of businesses in the Cabramatta area are owned by people from non-English speaking backgrounds and there is concern many have not made the necessary arrangements for the new tax.

Mr Thang Ngo, a councillor in the ethnically diverse Fairfield municipality which incorporates Cabramatta, said he had received dozens of phone calls from locals non-plussed by the GST.

"There is tremendous concern and a real sense of helplessness, especially among those running small mixed businesses with a lot of goods," he said. "Many of them have no idea of what prices will need to change on July 1."

Mr Ngo believes a significant number of businesses in the Fairfield area have even not registered for an ABN.

The Tran family, which owns the Eastlands Asian Foods store in John Street, Cabramatta, has worked hard to get ready for the GST. "We have more than 2,000 lines of stock in our shop so it has been a big job working out all the new prices," Mr Richard Tran said.

The shop, which is typical of many retail stores in the area, stocks a vast array of goods.

The Trans fear they will lose customers because their competitors will not be prepared for the new tax. "If we put our prices up in line with the GST and other shops in the area don't, we could be disadvantaged," Mr Tran said.

There are an estimated 500 business units in Cabramatta, according to the Cabramatta Business Association, many of them owned by recent migrants with little English.

The association's president, Dr Thomas Diep, said language difficulties, coupled with the nature of many businesses in Cabramatta, were causing problems.

The Tax Office held a seminar for local businesses last night, but Mr Ngo is worried the 45-minute presentation will not be enough for many of his constituents."They are just not ready," he said.

According to Mr Ngo, the busy traders in Cabramatta have not found it easy to access information about the new tax system. Interpreter services have been available to explain the GST, but this requires the caller to wait for a three-way hook-up involving the Commonwealth interpreting service and the Tax Office.

A Tax Office spokesperson said it had made a significant effort to inform non-English speaking communities about the new tax system, including producing fact-sheets in more than 30 languages.

But Mr Ngo said images in the recent GST advertising campaign had little relevance to the ethnic communities he represents.