Jagdeo says ‘visionless’ budget all about taxes...
people from our productive capacity. He is absolutely right, I don’t like it,” Jagdeo declared.
Pointing to local remissions, Jadgeo posited that it was hypocritical for government to take away remissions while simultaneously taxing the productive sectors. He pointed to the period between 2015 and 2016, saying that more than $5B in companies’ remission was pulled. “How are you going to talk about growth strategy? Isn’t it hypocritical that you are taxing them and are taking away their remissions too,” he said.
Fiscal Space
Using the controversial rental of the Sussex Street pharmaceuticals bond from PNCR member Larry Singh for some $14M per month, the opposition leader flayed government’s spending choices. Mention was also made of the D’Urban Park Project and the allocation of $225M for the Prime Minister’s office,
“In one year we will be paying close to $170M effectively for a bottom house. You had the fiscal space for that. Do you know… the money we set aside to pay an individual to single source condoms and lubricants, this is the urgency we heard of. Remember in this Parliament, they said ‘we could not wait we had to get it (the bond) urgently because the drugs spoiling.’ The condoms doms spoiling. The health services cap-ital budget for Region 4 is $88M, you are spending twice as much on a bond to store some condoms than Region 4 health services," he said
"It is bigger than the public works budget for Region 6, that one invest-ment, for a region that maybe has 100,000 and that that is governance? The entire education budget for region 10 is $98M and we are spending more on Larry Singh's bond) that for the entire education budget far Region 10. We are spending as much on this bond as the entire capital budget for Region 8, which is $206M. 96170M on a single bond? Is it not shameful? "We don't have fiscal space to give the constitu-tional agencies what they asked for... no fiscal space again is the cry although we will be increasing the budget of the PM's office [by] $225M. That is more than the cost of six constitutional agen-cies. The budget there alone is equiva-lent to six agencies," he added.
‘Reliability on research
He blamed government's 2017 tax regime on its reliability on too many research studies not relevant to Guyana and its economy. The former president reflected on not only his 10-year tenure as leader but the many years he worked as an economist with his party and sat in on discussions during budget plan-ning period. "We had hundreds of stud-ies, people came al the time but when these studies came to us, the judgement
had to be exercised in taxment. Studies can recommend anything under the sun, sometimes you have these people who just out of university, just wet behind their ears come and tell us all sorts of things,” he said.
“Any president who is worth his salt will never allow any study to come here and tell us what to do in a sovereign country and use that as justification for passing burden. When they came and they said to me that to increase revenue neutrality you have to do 16% (VAT) across the board without any exemptions, I said not while I am president. This slavish mentality to studies done by foreigners is unbelievable,” he added.
“Obsession with indices don’t change countries’ policies; clarity of thought, direct incentives to the private sector do. We see a minister of finance that believes that every study done abroad must be implemented here,” he further said.
Jagdeo assured that the PPP/C will not go against any policies that are beneficial for the populace and the advancement of the country. “In this budget, anything that this APNU+AFC government does that will enhance growth and development in Guyana, we will be supportive of it. Anything that will ensure that there is more disposable income for people or that they access healthcare or education and other benefits, we will support on this side of the house,” Jagdeo said.