Red Thread wants Govt to reassess new tax measures

Mar 01, 2017 News

The non-governmental organisation, Red Thread, held a protest yesterday calling for Government to conduct a reassessment of the tax measures which would have been implemented since its coming into office.

Dr. Melissa Ifill (right) and other protesters yesterday outside the Ministry of Finance.

Members of the group as well as civil society activists congregated outside of the Ministry of Finance on Main Street, Georgetown armed with their placards calling for the reversal of Value Added Tax (VAT) on certain goods and services.
Protesting was Dr. Melissa Ifill, senior lecturer at the University of Guyana. She said that the group is calling for Government to review the range of new taxes which would have been imposed over the past 22 months.
“In my assessment these taxes are burdensome on all categories, whether we are talking about parents, single parents, the elderly, the working class and the middle class. I think a reassessment is needed to realign some of the policies that have been implemented and are being implemented to campaign promises and what was promised in the manifesto.”
According to Ifill some of the burdensome taxes include the VAT on education. “We understand the condition and the state of our medical facilities. Often times you go there, even if you go to the public facilities, they have no medicine available.
“You have to go to the private facilities. So to impose VAT on persons approaching private facilities, medical facilities, I think it is unconscionable considering the condition of our public facilities; frankly, many people going in there die because of lack of care.”
Dr. Ifill said that it needs to be understood that persons do not seek medical care simply because they wish to expend money but rather to survive their illness. She said that unless the public facilities are rehabilitated to the point where the sector can provide an effective and decent service to Guyanese, no consideration should be given on imposing VAT on medical facilities.
The NGO has continued to be one of the many civil society voices against issues which they believe are unconscionable or oppressive. In October 2015 the group had protested outside the Ministry of the Presidency against the 50 per cent salary increase for the salaries of Parliamentarians and Ministers.
At that time the group had said that the APNU-AFC Government needs to be a listening administration for the people.

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