SHOPS and restaurants could face fines up to $1.1 million if waiters or sales staff wrongly blame the carbon tax for price rises or exaggerate the impact.
ACCC deputy chairman Dr Michael Schaper told the Herald Sun companies were entitled to increase their prices and did not have to justify or explain why.
But if they blamed the carbon tax they must be able to prove it and not use it as a cover for other price increases related to wages, rent or stock.
"If a business claims that a price is linked to the carbon price, that claim must be truthful and have a reasonable basis,'' he said.
Dr Schaper said the warning applied to comments made by staff over the phone, on the shop floor or in meetings.
It also covers advertising, product labels, websites, invoices, contracts and contract negotiations.
www.dailytelegraph.com.au/nocookies?a=A.flavipes
Where were the GST cops when it started. golf club manufacturers had to pay a 25% importers tax, GST come in no importers tax. did the price on golf clubs drop Noooooooo
What next, thought police?
Fair dinkum, the ACCC are great at intimidating the little guy, but where are thier balls when it comes to the big guys?
Let me see if ive got this right... So a moderately unpopular government bringing in a unpopular carbon tax, which will propably make them less popular is going to spend extra taxpayers $ on policing what people say so they don't become more unpopular?.
If a business owner claims the sea-level is not rising due to the burning of fossil fuel then the penalty must surely be death ![]()
Yeah where is the guts to go after petrol co's?
Everything causes a rise - Aussie dollar up, prices up. Aussie dollar down, prices up. Long weekend - prices up
Etc
I regularly go to an outside cafe in August in Melbourne. It's a beach themed restaurant and patrons are encourage to dine in bikinis and boardies.
In order to keep it warm they usually have all the gas burners going on full.
The cafe tables are very spread out so the waiters fly from table to table aided by rocket packs that they wear on their backs.
It's an English-themed cafe and all the food is flown in fresh every morning from London and then each menu item is driven individually to the cafe from the airport in a refrigerated hummer limo.
Last week they suggested that a long black may increase to a wallet busting $3.56 from $3.40. I'm outraged and I hope that the government fines the living **** out of them.
The Government have shot themselves in the foot as everyone can now put their prices up and blame the carbon tax.
Ie: A fisherman now uses more fuel to catch his fish because the sea level is rising and there fore there is more of it, he has to travell farther to catch fish. Now if they ask him to prove it, his agument would be straight back on the governments reason for implementing the tax.
The trucking company now has to fix more overheating trucks due to the warming climate - cost of freight goes up. (not to mention fuel costs)
The cafe because workers now pay more to get to work because fuel has gone up and demand a wage rise.
The government believes in climate change and its effects or it would't impose a tax, right? So, if you can use climate change as an excuse, you can blame the carbon tax. It would then be up to the prosecuting body to prove there is no climate change, or, there are no effects of climate change.
Problem here is the right to free speech.
We are not free when we are threatened with fines for voicing an opinion.
Are you ever going to wake up ginger pom?
The old man that came across in dangerous sailing ships...that traversed the length of the continent...that was based on freedom and liberty and strength and honor...is a dying breed. And the new man is an individual who can't put 2 and 2 together,who can't think,and who accepts whatever he is told.
Alex Jones radio show 2007
Ha ha, you can only tell porky pie's if you are in government (we wont be having a carbon tax) and they get away with it. But the government that told the BIG porky pie is going to spy and slap anyone who they find telling a porky pie about the governments porky pie.![]()
ginger pom, i think you have a tendency to believe the spin.There will be no carbon tax in my gov,then she does exactly that!
I love the bit in the article that says 'the claim must be truthful and have a reasonable basis.'
You don't see a problem with this line pom?
I think the best thing you can do,is go down to the white coats and get your 6 month flu vax,must always practice what we preach now
Because of the carbon tax the bulk bottles of R134a refrigerant that I purchase will increase by around 300% ![]()
If you need your cars air con regassed my advice is get it done before 30th of June 2012.