Dear Editor,
I refer to your recent coverage of government’s interventions to ease the cost of living burden on Guyanese. One of the measures includes a $4,000 tax free cost-of-living allowance for government workers who earn $50,000 and less. Quoting from the GINA release dated May 7, 2008, President Jagdeo said: “Also, I have approved a temporary cost of living adjustment to be paid to government employees whose basic salary is below a specified threshold. This initiative will see a temporary adjustment of $4,000 per month free of income tax during the months of May to December 2008.”
Government employees currently receive several benefits free of tax which their private sector counterparts do not, including use of their leave passage allowance for more than just travel, tax free overtime (in certain quarters), and tax free gratuities sometimes twice per annum, among others. The employees in the private sector are therefore subject to a higher effective tax rate than those in the public sector. This is unfair.
There is serious poverty in Guyana and the benefits need to redound to those who need it. It is time for tax rates and allowances to be rebalanced for the system to be considered equitable!
Yours faithfully,
(Name and address provided)
