TTMA IN THE NEWS
Energy Chamber calls for speedy tax reform for sector
The Energy Chamber of Trinidad and Tobago has called for immediate reform of the supplemental petroleum tax (SPT) and value-added tax (VAT) refunds to spur investments in oil production. In a statement on Wednesday, it said the changes introduced in 2020 for small onshore producers have contributed to increased activity onshore and new discoveries. The chamber was responding to the 2022 budget presented on Monday, when Finance Minister Colm Imbert said the Government intended to do a comprehensive review of the oil and gas taxation regime to ensure international competitiveness in hydrocarbon. Read more here
NEWS
Economist: Productivity needs improving in Trinidad and Tobago
While there were several welcome measures in the 2022 budget, more needs to be done with respect to improving overall productivity in Trinidad and Tobago. UWI economist Dr Roger Hosein expressed these opinions during a virtual UWI Economics Department post-budget forum on Thursday. Read more here
POLITICS
Tewarie: Lots of ‘maybes’ in budget
Former planning minister Dr Bhoendradatt Tewarie says Finance Minister Colm Imbert did his best in the 2022 budget to address concerns raised by various stakeholders, and present a fiscal package that gives a modicum of hope to TT as it navigates its way out of the pandemic. But despite the best intentions of Imbert and the Government, Tewarie said there remains a lot of maybes as to the success of some initiatives in the budget in the short, medium and long term. Read more here
BUSINESS
What the budget should have contained
We do not intend to restate various comments and analyses that have been expressed in the many public discussions and in the media since Mr Colm Imbert’s budget speech. It must be said however, that many people do not believe that their lives will be better as a result of the budget. This is what a Movement for Social Justice (MSJ) budget would have said. It would have been structured so that the man and woman on the street could understand, follow, see where we are and where we are going and feel how the changes would make their lives better. And it would have been done in much less time than Mr Imbert took. Read more here
REGIONAL
Guyana’s oil resources exceed 10 billion barrels
EXXONMOBIL Guyana has made yet another lucrative oil discovery within the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana, pushing the nation’s petroleum resources well over 10 billion oil-equivalent barrels. The latest find at the Cataback-1 well brings the total discoveries within the Stabroek Block to more than 20. In a statement issued on Thursday, the oil giant said that the Cataback-1 well encountered 243 feet (74 meters) of net pay in high quality hydrocarbon bearing sandstone reservoirs. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
US deeply concerned over Taiwan-China tension
The US is "deeply concerned" about actions that undermine peace across the Taiwan Strait, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan has told the BBC. His comments come after China sent a "record number" of military jets into Taiwan's air defence zone for four days in a row, in a public show of force. Taiwan considers itself a sovereign state - but China views the island as a breakaway province. Beijing has not ruled out the possible use of force to achieve unification. Read more here
8th October 2021