| The issue of a proposed 14 percent Value Added Tax (VAT) on electricity and water bills saw twoPublic Security Minister, Khemraj Ramjattanseasoned politicians,NFL Jerseys Cheap, Public Security Minister, Khemraj Ramjattan and Opposition Member, Anil Nandlall, going head to head during the fourth day of debate on the 2017 budget.During his contribution to the discussion on Thursday night, Ramjattan sought to set the record straight regarding the implementation of VAT and the coalition’s promise to reduce it.The Parliamentarian reminded his colleagues that he was actually present in the House when the VAT Act was first brought for consideration. At the time, he held a spot in the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) before branching off to form the Alliance For Change (AFC) with Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman.Ramjattan said that in 2005, VAT was intended by the PPP to be placed on all forms of goods and services that were taxable. He also referred to quotes from Parliamentary documents to make his point.He made it clear that when the Bill came before the House,custom nba jerseys, it never stated what rate would be implemented for the VAT. He said that based on discussions with colleagues in PPP at the time,Wholesale Jerseys, it was agreed that the set rate would have to bring in $16B. Ramjattan said that it was accepted that the rate would be 12 percent.Ramjattan said, however, that elections came in 2006 and the rate was not announced, so VAT was obviously not implemented. But after the elections, to his “utter dismay” VAT was implemented at a rate of 16 percent.“Now today, the Opposition wants to tell this nation that what we did with VAT is legal larceny,cheap nfl jerseys, but what they did was legal larceny,” expressed an impassioned Ramjattan.The Minister of Public Security, who sought to school members of the PPP on the basic principles of economics, said that in keeping with the reduction of VAT from 16 percent to 14 percent, it is only logical that Government would have to widen the base of things that would attract the tax.“We cannot erode the tax base. We will not allow PPP to cast us adrift in an ocean of lies. The truth and the whole truth must be known.”The Minister maintained that across the board,Wholesale Jerseys Online, all Guyanese will benefit from Government’s measures in relation to VAT.However, opposition member Anil Nandlall was still not convinced by Ramjattan’s arguments.The former Attorney-General said that the net effect of widening the number of items that attract VAT is that the consumers would end up spending more in the areas they saved before.Nandlall concluded that Government, in order to satisfy a campaign promise,NFL Jerseys Authentic, deceived the nation, as it is only taxing them more. |
