UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST INDIES (UWI) lecturer and economist Professor Michael Howard has criticised Governor of the Central Bank of Barbados, Dr DeLisle Worrell, for his opposition to the value added tax (VAT) and said any move to get rid of it would lead to a collapse of Government’s tax revenues.
Referring to Worrell’s recent comments on the issue as “unscholarly” and “without merit”, Howard told the SUNDAY SUN: “The VAT has served Barbados well because it is our major source of revenue. The decline in tax revenue in recent times cannot be blamed on the inefficiency of the VAT but on the stagnation of the economy as a whole.
“The VAT in Barbados is our major source of revenue and to replace it by a simple sales tax with a highly unpredictable yield would lead to a collapse of tax revenues for the Government.”
He also took issue with Worrell’s suggestion to replace the VAT by a simple sales tax.
