President Bharrat Jagdeo said yesterday that government is looking at how pensioners and persons in need of special assistance could benefit from some of the VAT revenue collected.
From January when it was implemented to the end of June, VAT alone realized $17 billion for the government’s coffers. Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh made the announcement in the National Assembly on Thursday last when he presented the half-year report on the new taxation system.
Questioned about where those funds will be directed, Jagdeo yesterday told reporters, “I am looking to give them [pensioners] more money and I am exploring that to see how we could deal with them and people on special assistance.”
Jagdeo noted too that there were plans to raise the income tax threshold, and he promised that an announcement on this would be made shortly.
