Home owners looking to repairs their houses can benefit from a new initiative which waives both import duty on building supplies, and Antigua and Barbuda Sales Tax (ABST).
Work costing up to EC$100,000 is eligible for the waivers which will remain in place indefinitely.
The move was agreed to by Cabinet this week, and is an extension of the rules which usually only apply to new-build homes. The goal is to improve the quality of housing across the country. Home owners will still be required to pay the revenue recovery charge.
Works Minister Minister Lennox Weston said “Some of the housing stock need substantial repair as opposed to a brand-new home.”
“When you look at the last census, the quality of housing in Antigua is deplorable, and the whole issue of your environment and where you live, what kind of property you live in – that has so many psychological and economic benefits for those individuals,” he explained.
He said the initiative will create small contracted jobs for community contractors giving them an opportunity that they may not otherwise have on the bigger housing projects. The discount is open to everyone. Families are not expected to undergo a means test which would determine, based on income, who may be able to afford repairs on their own.
According to the Minister, repairs might range from new hurricane shutters to repainting, noting that “within the next four or five years we should have a brand-new housing stock.