–finance minister announces
FINANCE Minister Winston Jordan on Monday announced that no new taxes will be implemented in the 2018 National Budget, even as government reviews the 14 per cent Value Added Tax (VAT) on private tuition.
The 2018 budget is scheduled to be presented in November, and will cater to the long overdue construction of the East Bank Berbice (EBB) road, which is expected to cost approximately $1.5B.
“We said those people were promised that road endlessly; we have to build the road. The road is going to cost between $1.3B and $1.5B,” Minister Jordan said.
“But it’s not going to be the whole road; it’s going to be a significant part of the road. So we have provided half the sum in the budget to start the road,” he told reporters at a press briefing at his Main Street office.
Noting that the APNU+AFC coalition government has not added any new taxes since taking office in May 2015, Minister Jordan said:
“When you look carefully at the last three budgets, there was never a new tax; all we were doing was shuffling them around.”
What they’ll be doing with next year’s budget, however, is cleaning things up; delivering on a few promises.
“We have promised some sectors to see how we could support them,” he said, adding that one such sector that readily comes to mind is forestry.
TAX ON PRIVATE TUITION
And in response to a query as to whether the government will be reviewing the Value Added Tax (VAT) on private tuition, which was implemented early this year, Minister Jordan said:
“It will be reviewed; it is under consideration in the 2018 Budget.” He, however, declined to say whether the tax is likely to be removed altogether.
Amid protests by parents of students attending private schools across the country and even some of the students themselves, President David Granger had in April committed to having the 14 per cent surcharge on private-school fees reviewed before 2018.
“We are asking people to be more patient; more tolerant. We have committed to reviewing it, and I would like to see it lowered,” the president had said, adding:
“We have explained that we had to widen the tax base; that there was widespread tax evasion. We need to collect taxation; that is how governments work. Once you see there is massive evasion and non-compliance, it then means that the government’s work will be hampered.”
CONSULTATIONS
As to the obligatory budget consultations, Minister Jordan said they are progressing smoothly, although the Opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP) has failed yet again to be a part of the process.
He recalled that the last time they did, which was back in 2015, they’d requested a plethora of public documents from his ministry before doing so.
Other than that, he said the process this year is “intense and ongoing,” since the Ministry of Finance took a decision to broaden its pool of stakeholders.
He said that thus far, his team has met with traditional groups of persons, including the private and public sectors. But they’ve also made it a point of meeting with young entrepreneurs, professionals, and youths from across the country. Meetings have also been scheduled with the Upper Corentyne Chamber of Commerce and Industry, as well as the Berbice Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
“Generally, the budget consultations have been positive; none of them I recall being acrimonious,” he said, adding that while the suggestions have been many, some are more long-term in nature rather than immediate measures to stimulate the economy.
Speaking of which, Minister Jordan said that the present goverment, ever since it came to office, has done everything humanly possible to stimulate the economy.
“We have done measures to stimulate the economy from Day One when we came in,” he said.
“We removed a range of VAT from a range of products. We removed tax on NIS, ramped up salaries, and gave a one-off bonus to the entire public service. We have done quite a bit.”
