APP wants to see VAT reduced, land tax abolished among measures in upcoming budget

Ahead of the presentation of the national budget next Monday, the Alliance Party for Progress (APP) insists Government must tackle the high cost of living head on, through a reduction in Value Added Tax (VAT), among other measures.

The Bishop Joseph Atherley-led party, in a statement on Thursday, issued a list of 12 demands that included moving the VAT from 17.5 per cent to 15 per cent and urgently addressing the tax policy on petroleum products.

The APP noted that while considerable attention is fixed on rising prices at the pump resulting from surging world oil prices triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Government must pay urgent attention to food security and take “appropriate steps to ensure that no Barbadian would go to bed hungry”.

Pointing out that the scarcity of commodities such as wheat and corn – also caused by the war in Ukraine or drought in other parts of the world – will drive up prices, the APP warned this could be bad news for those already struggling.

“Having to cope with any increase in the price of food items could have disastrous consequences for those already navigating along the edge of a food crisis. It is for this reason that we demand Government to make the appropriate adjustments to The Estimates, which we believe might have been prepared before the war in Ukraine started.

“The APP is concerned whether the projection for a deficit of some 6.6 per cent was understated. If so, it could see Government going back to Parliament for a number of Supplementaries, which when added could see the gap between projected revenue and actual expenditure widened,” it said.

The minority political party is also adamant that Government must step up its response to rising fuel prices.

It said that Barbadians have expressed concern about Government’s tax policy on petroleum products long before the war in Ukraine started, and questioned why local consumers have been paying more at the pump than most countries.

It proposed, therefore, that the Mia Mottley-led administration “seriously and urgently address the tax policy on petroleum products; create a plan of action to replace all government gasoline and diesel vehicles; outline a plan of action that will assist PSVs to transition to electric vehicles; reduce the price which BNOCL [Barbados National Oil Company Limited] sells fuel to the Barbados Light & Power (BL&P); inform the country on the status of The Offshore Oil Exploration Program; update the country on the projection for growth and increased drilling in the energy sector for crude and natural gas”.

Minister in the Ministry of Finance Ryan Straughn told Barbados TODAY earlier this week the budget will reveal details on Government’s intention to review VAT on fuel as well as the timeline for implementation of a plan to return freight costs to pre-COVID levels by “putting a freeze on [freight] prices” and removing VAT on some personal care products.

Meanwhile, APP has also appealed to Government to disburse to Barbadians their income tax returns from 2018 to present; abolish the payment of land tax; take steps to ensure that the new electric buses will result in an improved and more reliable transportation system; prioritise measures to strengthen the local livestock sector, as regards to feed, water and fuel; and develop concrete steps to ensure that nurses and other public officers are paid on time. (SD)