TT Chamber welcomes economic initiatives

THE TT Chamber of Industry and Commerce on Monday said it was encouraged by the economic initiatives announced by Finance Minister Colm Imbert and Social Development Minister Camille Robinson-Regis at a news conference at the Diplomatic Centre in St Ann’s.

In a statement, the chamber said the covid19 pandemic has caused some businesses to see sales decline substantially while others have no sales and need help now. The chamber welcomed the special effort being made by Government to expedite initial payments of VAT refunds up to $250,000 as soon as possible.

The chamber also noted that in the coming days, those businesses owed up to $500,000, will be settled by cash payments. The chamber also suggested that some form of assistance be provided to small businesses that do not have “the capital base to weather the storm and therefore need additional support if they are going to be around in one, two or three months.”

While many of the initiatives announced are laudable, the chamber said not all businesses may be in a VAT refund position and as such will not benefit from the planned VAT payments.