‘SPREADING THE PAIN’

“Tax relief on one hand and a tax grab with the other.”

Democratic Labour Party (DLP) President Verla Depeiza used this statement to describe the 2019 Financial Statement and Budgetary Proposals.

Speaking at the Errol Barrow Gallery yesterday, she outlined that while direct or indirect taxation were ways to generate revenue, a “muddling” of the two created “too much of a burden”.

“When you have relief from income tax but then you have to pay higher land taxes and worse, you have to pay a penalty if you cannot afford to develop your property, then the net effect hurts. On top of that, tax on online transactions – which was not dealt with in the budget – would come on stream shortly…

“On top of that it seems like you are spreading the pain when you move businesses from being zero rated to being exempt… For example, if you have inputs like stationery and you have to spend VAT you can claim it back even though you have a zero-rated business. Moving it to exempt, you don’t have to report it at all, so you would not have an opportunity to set off the VAT you have paid out, and that seems as though it is making businesses pay more on their tax liability, but what are these businesses to do other than transfer it to their consumers. So once again the cost to the consumer goes up,” she added.

Depeiza also outlined the ongoing issue of retrenchment, while saying that more information was needed on the process.

“Adjusting income tax only benefits you if you have a job. It will have zero impact on the thousand that have already lost their job from the public sector, the thousand to come or any number, because we have not been told any number in relation to the job losses in the private sector, but we know they are happening,” she stated.
(JMB)