ILP against online tax

A statement by ILP leader Rekha Ramjit said this tax on courier airfreight should not be inflicted on citizens “The Government could have explored other ways to direct local resellers into being more competitive, since the reasons people purchase items online are because the items are either unavailable in TT or they are overpriced on the local market. In some cases, sub-standard goods are being sold,” Ramjit said.

She said the new tax helps excuse local resellers from being competitive in the price and quality of their goods. The ILP leader said the Budget speech had nothing extraordinary nor exciting, but was “less money with more talk.” She added, “We would have hoped that the ‘more talk’ might have resulted in the minister providing more ideas and inspiration for how citizens could partner with the Government in boosting productivity and our economic capacity; instead we were treated to about three hours of ‘buffing’ as to why we have to do what the minister says, and why we must endure his fiscal offerings.” She deplored Finance Minister Colm Imbert’s tone of delivery.

“The Budget lacked creativity and innovation, particularly with respect to diversification of the economy, dealing with the current foreign exchange crisis and phasing away from our dependence on the hydrocarbon sector,” Ramjit said. Admitting that the Budget was predicated on oil and gas prices below those forecast by world agencies, she nonetheless said they should have been set even more conservatively at about US$40 per barrel (oil), due to ongoing market volatility.

“Regardless of the energy prices used to forecast revenues, the ILP urges the Government to be extremely cautious in its spending over the next year.” Ranjit said a 15 percent diesel price hike could have a domino effect on the cost of living.

“Diesel is the fuel used by maxi-taxis, some taxis and delivery trucks. This increase will therefore raise the cost of goods and such cost increases are usually passed on to consumers.” While many advocate the phasing out of the fuel subsidy, the ILP said this should be delayed until citizens can “catch their breath” in the midst of the general hardship they now face, with the economic decline and rise in unemployment and the cost of goods and services. The ILP, she said, “welcomes the news that the public procurement policy will be implemented and we hope that this is done in a manner that will not hamper the policy from achieving its objectives, one of which is to prevent corruption in State contracts, and to ensure that taxpayers get value for money.” While glad with the Budget’s nod for cocoa and coconut production, as previously urged by the ILP, the party wanted details of incentives to help farmers boost production and lower their costs. It wants Agriculture Minister Clarence Rambharat to say how he’ll do this, noting a $36 million cut in his allocation.

“The incentive for agro-processing is another area that is consistent with proposals previously espoused by the ILP and we hope that the Government will implement a monitoring unit to ensure that persons who access this tax break utilise it for no other purpose than it was intended,” added Ramjit