No new taxes were introduced in the 2023 Budget, but none were removed.
The Democratic Labour Party calculates about 30 taxes were imposed on the people since the Mia Mottley Administration took office in 2018, and president Dr Ronnie Yearwood says issues like the high cost of living were also not addressed.
“The Prime Minister and Minister of Finance claimed gloriously that there were no taxes raised in this Budget, but in effect there were no tax cuts in this Budget either. That is what Barbadians were calling for and that is what Barbadians required as we try to address the cost of living,” he told viewers during a livestream of the party’s response to the Financial Statement And Budgetary Proposals.
Yearwood said it read more like a Throne Speech as it did not address the high debt burden. There were no reforms in education, pension or the National Insurance Scheme, and “the reality is after this Budget, your struggles as Barbadians, housewife, dad, taxi driver . . . will continue”.. (Nation News)
