| St.Lucians prepare for the introduction of the value added tax, there is raging debate in Dominica |
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| Written by hotfm |
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Dominica’s value added tax (VAT) should be sent on holiday, as far as hotelier and former minister of agriculture Athie Martin is concerned. Martin says the tax should be revisited. Although admitting that he could not offer an alternative. According to Martin, the current 15 per cent VAT has been harmful to Dominican business. He is of the view that governing politicians and their technicians “just see VAT as a cash cow”. He is recommending a three year break from the VAT, after which he says it could be reinstated in stages. Martin says he is not expecting his recommendation to be being taken up “because he believes that the government has run out of money”. There is concern on the streets of the country that the VAT could be increased in the coming budget. However there has been no official confirmation of this to date. During his presentation of the 2010 Budget Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit had indicated that the government expected to receive revenue totaling EC$125 million from the VAT. |