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Commenting on the announcement in the chancellor of the exchequer's pre-budget report, Michael Baxter, an economist at Defaqto, said the move was unlikely to make a big difference to the cost of items on the high street.
He commented: "Shops will cope, but implementing a new VAT rate in just a week will be exceptionally difficult for customers and retailers at their busiest time of year.
"IT system changes, replacing shelf labels and stickering-over prices on packs will be a mammoth and costly task."
Among the other measures announced in the chancellor's report was a permanent £600 increase in the income tax personal allowance and bringing forward of £3 billion of capital spending from 2010-11 to 2008-09.
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