TTMA IN THE NEWS
Business groups want sales tax to replace VAT
Several business experts and groups are in favour of a sales tax to replace the Value Added Tax (VAT) system - a proposal favoured by Finance Minister Colm Imbert and Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar. At a T&T Manufacturers’ Association (TTMA) post-Budget forum last Tuesday, Imbert commented on the annual problem of VAT refunds. He said exemption on VAT for the energy sector is being considered, as well as a sales tax. Imbert said he preferred a sales tax to having to give VAT refunds, adding that Government will have to consider the revenue generated from the sales tax compared to VAT and there would also be the issue of compliance with a sales tax and its size. Read more here
NEWS
WASA plans to work on water shortage
The Water and Sewerage Authority’s acting CEO Kelvin Romain says it has short, medium and long-term plans address water shortages being experienced by communities in the country. He attributed the shortages to climate change and decreased rainfall. The authority issued a media release on Saturday which advised customers in northeast Trinidad served by the Hollis Water Treatment Plant that temporary water amended water-supply schedules were implemented in areas served by the plant. The release also said it had become necessary,in order to prudently manage operations at the reservoir, which currently stood at 43 per cent capacity, while the long-term average was usually 74 per cent. The plant would normally produce 8.4 million gallons of water per day, but at present was producing 5.7 million gallons. Read more here
POLITICS
Residents back Kamla’s call to review marijuana laws
Freeing up of “weed” use is causing secondary smoke health issues for some. Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s call to Government to review legislation allowing marijuana usage has been echoed by residents in several locations who blame it for secondary smoke respiratory problems. Persad-Bissessar made the recommendation in her response to the 2024 Budget reply. In her list of suggestions to deal with crime, she said there is an exponential increase in marijuana usage and addiction among teens and young adults. “Due to the absence of state agency oversight and control of supply, users are smoking marijuana laced with cocaine illegally imported. My Government gave this country’s youth laptops to learn. This Government gave them marijuana,” she said. Read more here
Hinds: Police, army already securing construction sites
National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds said military forces are already collaborating with the police to secure construction sites. The minister spoke to Newsday in response to calls by the president of the Joint Consultative Council, Fazir Khan, for military forces on construction sites to protect businessmen from criminals seeking to extort contractors. “In this land of opportunity, it is sad that some young men have decided that crime must be their business model and they must rob, pillage and extort to earn a living,” Hinds said. “We expect the laws of TT and law enforcement to move swiftly and forcefully against them (and) as Minister of National Security, I am aware that this is happening.” He said the military and the police have collaborated to fight crime for decades. He added that police act swiftly once a crime is reported. Read more here
BUSINESS
Regional role attracts top T&T banker
Last Wednesday, Gregory Hill officially stepped down as the managing director of ANSA Merchant Bank, a position he held for 16 years. On Thursday, he started a new job as vice president of Finance and Corporate Services at the Bridgetown, Barbados-based Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), taking charge of a portfolio that includes finance, human resources, information technology and communications. In a news release announcing his appointment, the CDB said Hill’s remit included resource mobilisation, and that he would lead the thrust to increase access to development finance for CDB’s Borrowing Member Countries (BMCs). “As a matter of high priority, the Bank is focused on enhancing the financial ecosystem supporting the region’s economies to meet the unique and varied needs of our Borrowing Member Countries who must balance current fiscal obligations with strategies for future growth while building resilience to withstand financial, climate or social shocks. Read more here
Unions: Budget falls ‘woefully short’
Trade unions say the 2024 national budget fel “woefully short” in reaching people of lower income. In a joint statement from the Joint Trade Union Movement (JTUM), The National Trade Union Centre (Natuc) and the Federation of Independent Trade Unions and NGOs (FITUN) yesterday, union representatives said more could be done to address the vulnerable of society. Unions, according to the statement, had estimated approximately 450,000 people earning less than $5,000 a month, which it said was contrary to Minister of Finance Colm Imbert’s figure of 196,000 persons working for minimum wage. A $3 increase in minimum wage, it said, was a “blatant insult” to workers. Read more here
REGIONAL
Guyana’s housing programme ‘a star’ in the region – Minister Rodrigues
Minister within the Ministry of Housing and Water, Susan Rodrigues, has said that Guyana’s current housing programme is “a star” among similar initiatives in the region. The minister made this remark during an airing of her show, “Making the case”, where she indicated that Guyana’s political will sets its housing programme apart from those around the world. At the time, she was speaking of her recent visit to Ecuador where she attended a housing forum and discussed the ways in which Guyana is addressing the housing deficit. She noted that she explained a lot about the housing programme at that forum including how it operates, how subsidised lands are transferred to low-income families and middle-income families and how housing units are being constructed to enable persons to acquire home ownership as fast as possible. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
US moves warships closer to Israel after Hamas attack
The US says it is moving an aircraft carrier, ships and jets to the eastern Mediterranean and will also give Israel additional equipment and ammunition. It follows the Hamas attack on southern Israel, which President Biden called an "unprecedented and appalling assault". A US National Security spokesperson said several US citizens were among the dead. Israel says more than 700 people have been killed and 100 kidnapped. In Gaza, more than 400 people have been killed following retaliatory Israeli air strikes, according to Palestinian officials. Read more here
9th October 2023