22,000 no longer paying income tax in Guyana after threshold is increased

The Guyana government is providing an income tax break that will see 22,000 people no longer having to pay on their earnings, and is also easing the tax burden on people working overtime or multiple jobs.

Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance and the Public Service, Dr Ashni Singh announced on Friday as he unveiled the 2025 budget to the National Assembly, that the income tax threshold will move from GUY$100,000 (One Guyana dollar=US$0.004) to GUY$130,000.

The income tax threshold is the established amount of money that is taxable. When a person earns more than the established amount, they must pay income tax.

Increasing the threshold will place an additional GUY$8.5 billion in disposable income into the pockets of taxpayers while removing 22,000 people from the tax bracket.

The minister also announced two other significant tax breaks, set to reduce the burdens of thousands of citizens while incentivising hard work.

For people who work overtime, the first GUY$50,000 of their monthly overtime pay will be tax-free.

Additionally, for people with a second job, the first GUY$50,000 of their monthly income from the second job will be tax-free.

“These measures reward and incentivise those who work extra, those who do additional jobs and those who work longer hours,” the minister emphasised.

The government announced a reduction in personal income tax rate from 28 per cent to 25 per cent.

This measure will increase the disposable income of more than 100,000 taxpayers and is estimated to return GUY$3.6 billion to their pockets.

These interventions join a host of other measures implemented by the government since 2020 to inject additional disposable income into the economy.

SOURCE: CMC