By Kenicia Francis
The government is being urged to forgo controversial new tax increases said to be placing undue burden on residents and small business owners.
Richard Lewis, St John’s Rural West MP, has openly challenged the prime minister in a press release to remove the recent two percent ABST hike.
Other hikes introduced in December’s budget included a 10 percent excise tax on alcohol, tobacco and cannabis products, along with an increase in the money transfer tax from two to five percent.
Lewis’ release calls on Prime Minister Gaston Browne to instead consider a number of alternative revenue measures promised in the March 2023 budget.
“It is only ethical for any government to first improve the utilisation of existing tax dollars and reduce wasteful spending, rather than massively increasing the tax burden as their first option,” Lewis stated.
The alternatives are: improved collection of existing taxes, reduction of discretionary waivers and reduction of spending, cutting wasteful spending, as well as improvements in the efficiency of the public sector.
The release also suggested that these alternatives have yielded enough new revenue to address salary increases and other fiscal needs, without increasing taxes on the public.
“The people of this country are rightfully asking why is Gaston Browne fighting to keep this massive tax burden on their pockets, even after he has found more than enough new revenue from other measures?” Lewis added.
The prime minister was approached by Observer for comment but did not respond up to news time.