Caribbean Net News: Tobago House of Assembly seeks VAT free zone

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad: The Tobago House of Assembly (THA) is planning to seek a declaration from the Trinidad and Tobago Government to make the island a Value Added Tax (VAT) free zone.

Chief Secretary of the THA, Orville London, is concerned about the high cost of living and low wage system that are imposed on the people of Tobago.

In a special article by Andy Johnson in the Daily Express it was noted that �a study last year by the Policy Research and Development Institute in Tobago has found the differential cost of living on both islands to be between 20 and 26 per cent with respect to food prices on the one hand and building materials on the other�.

Since these facts reveal an existence below the poverty line, the House of Assembly is seeking a reasonable reduction in the level of tax paid by residents in Tobago.

The study further indicates that the cost for retailed food items is 20 per cent higher in the capital of Scarborough than that of the mainland capital Port of Spain in Trinidad.

The THA is calling on the Central Government to help create a more economically viable existence for the residents of Tobago. Some fiscal policy options have since been identified for this purpose. They include:

Reduction of P.A.Y.E in Tobago;
Declaration of Tobago as a VAT free zone;
Increasing the tax allowance in respect of first-time homeownership for residents of Tobago;
Increasing the cost of living allowance for persons working in Tobago;
Setting higher wages/salaries for persons working in Tobago relative to their counterparts in Trinidad; and
Introduction of new fiscal protocol between Tobago and Trinidad, e.g., fiscal federalism.

Finance and Planning Secretary Dr. Anslem London hopes for a speedy implementation of these fiscal policy options, particularly �fiscal federalism�. In the introduction of the budget in the Tobago House of Assembly Dr. London expressed that it�s time to move ahead with the policies despite whatever new plans lies ahead.

�Led by Chief Secretary Orville London, the THA administration was said last week to be finalising arrangements to make its case to the Government on this matter,� according to Andy Johnson of the Daily Express.

Back...

Printable version