GOVERNMENT IS TO EXTEND indefinitely what was to have been a temporary 2.5 per cent hike in the VAT rate when the House of Assembly meets today at 10 a.m.
According to the Order Paper for the sitting, Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler is down to pilot an amendment to the Value Added Tax Act to extend the rate of (a) 17.5 per cent on the supply of goods and services; and (b) 8.75 per cent on the supply of accommodation by guest houses, hotels, inns or any similar place, including a dwelling house normally let or rented to persons for use as a vacation or a holiday home.
The extension will be from Friday, June 1, 2012, “until further notice”.
Sinckler had announced the increase in VAT from 15 per cent to 17.5 per cent in the November 2010 Budget which was to last for a period of 18 months, expiring on Thursday, May 31.
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