Kamla appeals to govt: Hold hand on property tax, remove VAT on more food

Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar
Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar

WITH the 2020/2021 fiscal package to be announced in under a week, Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar has challenged Finance Minister Colm Imbert to tell the truth next Monday.

“Don't come with propaganda. Tell the population what the government spent the billions on and what you plan to do to improve the lives of citizens,” Persad-Bissessar said at a virtual meeting of the United National Congress (UNC) on Monday night.

“One thing I have learned from listening to their budget every year," she told her audience, "is that they lie. They repeat the same promises every year, but none materialise.”

Accusing the Prime Minister and the People’s National Movement (PNM) government of mismanagement and incompetence in the last five years, Persad-Bissessar said the October 5 budget is critical because the nation is in the grip of a severe economic crisis.

“At this crucial time, instead of leading our nation through this crisis, as his job requires, Keith Rowley is instead looking for people and things to blame.

“For the past five years, they tried to blame me for everything. Now, knowing that they can't use that excuse any more, they are blaming covid19.

“They crashed the economy long before covid19,” she charged.

At the government’s Spotlight on the Economy on Monday, she said, Imbert gave an indication of revenue and expenditure estimates, but nothing about any measure to make life better for people.

“They talked about how they would raise revenue from borrowing again, from taxing again, from fire sales, selling out assets.

“He spoke about expenditure. But given the figures they have mentioned, there is not likely to have much development taking place. If you live in the real world, you will know the job losses are massive, businesses are closing down.

"Yet they come at their Spotlight with more lies about unemployment.”

She called for a wage subsidy for businesses.

She predicted in Monday’s budget government will come again with doom and gloom.

She said the “show” at the Hyatt on the government’s handling of the impact of covid19 on the economy was nothing more than a “spotlight on their incompetence...on their lack of ideas and inability to manage our economy. We are still waiting to hear of any plans to deal with the fallout from covid19.”

While she said she understands the country has covid19 to deal with, she said there must be care and consideration for the most vulnerable.

“We have to raise revenue, we have to diversify the economy.”

She said people want to hear about job creation and more affordable food prices, not additional tax burdens.

“I appeal again to government to hold its hand on implementing the property tax, as there are many other ways of generating revenue aside from taxation.”

In a year when many have been financially weakened, she asked government to consider removingf VAT on a wider variety of food items so people do not go hungry.”Persad-Bissessar also renewed her call for laptops for students, saying an entire generation is being lost. She said no child should be left behind because their families cannot afford IT devices and that there must be focus to ensure students are well equipped with the knowledge and skills to take advantage of the fourth industrial revolution.

She chided Dr Rowley for his statements at a virtual UN meeting last Saturday in which he said the government remains attentive to the needs of all children, and as TT navigates these challenging times, it remain committed to ensuring no child is left behind.

“Is this man for real? He, who cancelled and scrapped the laptop programme, leaving thousands of children without any means to learn today, is saying he is committed to leaving no child behind?"

Comments

"Kamla appeals to govt: Hold hand on property tax, remove VAT on more food"

More in this section