No ease for taxpayers, no serious reforms – Yearwood

ByJenique Belgrave

The 2023-2024 Budgetary Proposals and Financial Statement fail to give much-needed relief to overtaxed Barbadians.

In a brief live-streamed response to the budget presentation of Prime Minister Mia Mottley, President of the Democratic Labour Party Dr. Ronnie Yearwood said while there are no new taxes or tax increases, the government’s decision not to cut several of these fees will be a bitter pill for the average Barbadian to swallow as their struggles with the increased cost of living continue.

“The Prime Minister claimed gloriously that there were no tax raises in this budget but in effect, there were no tax cuts in this budget either and that is what Barbadians have been calling for and what they require as we try to address the cost of living. Last night, my team and I in preparing for this budget read the previous budgets and recognised that the Prime Minister and the (Junior) Minister of Finance have added about 30 new taxes to Barbadians over the last two terms of this government. So the Prime Minister bragging that there are no new taxes while not reducing any of the 30 taxes is not a victory for Barbadians,” he said.

On the topic of the island’s growing debt, Yearwood accused Mottley of ‘kicking the can down the road’ and not addressing the issue upfront.

“The last two terms have seen this government borrow $4 billion in total and this includes the almost $1 billion that they are borrowing this year and you can have a Minister of Finance talk to Barbados about the economic issues facing the country and not address the debt?” he asked.

The law lecturer expressed disappointment that the budget will not “get us where we want to go for 2030”, noting in particular, that amongst other things, it did not speak on how issues of crime, violence in schools and delays in garbage collection would be addressed.

“That budget will not move the trajectory of Barbados and will not add to the valued lives of Barbadians. In effect, the budget keeps the status quo in check. The $1 billion of debt was not addressed, NIS reform was not addressed, pension reform was not addressed, education reform was not addressed. The Prime Minister, as the Minister of Finance, addressed no serious reforms in the budget, and the budget read like a throne speech rather than an actual budgetary statement,” he added.

The DLP leader said that after 15 years of non-economic growth, Barbados is no longer punching above its weight.

“We have had 15 years of non-economic growth in our country compared to our neighbors who have had four, one or two (years of growth). We are at the bottom of the pile for economic development, our tourism is not growing, there have been no growth measures in this budget and yet, we had hours of the Prime Minister talking as usual but saying nothing as usual,” he argued.

Yearwood insisted that the country would not be saved by any political party, and he urged citizens to speak out against the things that are going wrong.

“This is about you and what you want and the dreams you have for yourself and your children and the Barbados you want to see,” he said, while adding that a national conversation must be held with the public to help create solutions for matters facing the island.

jenique@barbadostoday.bb