OFFERED PROPOSALS from the private sector that could slash the deficit, Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler said he had to reject a recipe that was too potent for his palate.
Among the offerings from the two working groups set up by Prime Minister Freundel Stuart to deal with the foreign reserves and the deficit was a proposal to cut the value added tax (VAT) to 15 per cent, but eliminate all zero-rated food items.
Sinckler, Member of Parliament for St Michael North West, said it was “inappropriate in light of the fact that the overall impact of removing such things as the near 300 basic items from the VAT basket for the poor, and the imposition of VAT on water, financial services, prescription medicines, medical services and hospital supplies, would be dangerously devastating on the population”.
In his 2017 Budgetary proposals in the House of Assembly yesterday, Sinckler said the Stuart administration also poured cold water on a private sector proposal to hike the VAT to 22 per cent. (GE)
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