Citizens should ask for more goods to be zero rated
Last week I was dealing with improvements that I would like to see during this year, 2009. To have improvements in the Guyana Power and Light we would need a hearing called by the Public Utilities Commission. To effect changes in the Landlords and Tenants Act requires study of the act as it is comprehensive and deals not only with tenants in guest houses, but with leases of land.
Today I want to turn to noise nuisance. Every now and then one sees a letter in the newspaper complaining about the noise habitually made at discos and other places. There is no relief for residents who live in close proximity to the disco. The police are called and make visits to the errant proprietor of the disco. Nothing happens.
There is no relief for nearby residents. Then there are the generators which are placed in close proximity to neighbouring houses; the residents are unable to enjoy a night’s rest when there is a blackout in the night. Sometimes the generator is creating a noise when there is no outage in Guyana Power and Light.
Unless you experience this kind of noise nuisance you will not understand how it shatters the brain. A friend of mine who was good at ceramics could not pursue her trade. Guyana therefore loses from the noise nuisance that prevails in many areas. The Commissioner of Police should ensure that the law is enforced and that noise nuisance no longer obtains in Guyana.
Value Added Tax is creating additional hardship for consumers. There is no point in asking for a reduction from 16% as the request will fall on deaf ears, but we can ask that more items be added to the list that attracts 0%. At the moment the list includes:
Essential food items
Essential consumable items
Essential domestic goods and services
Agriculture
Investment/Local manufacturing
Building/construction
Health and medical services/supplies
Computers and computer accessories
Sports gear/sports equipment
Export of goods
Export of services
Goods/services used by the state
Transportation and travel
Others dealing with coins, bank notes, etc
It is surprising to note that although diapers and pampers in general are exempted from the tax, adult pampers are taxable and these are used mainly by sick, elderly persons.
We would like to see VAT removed from drinks that are used by the elderly and others to gain strength. These are drinks such as Bragg, Apple Cider and Suppligen which are subject to VAT.
We hope that driving under the influence of alcohol will cease when the bill The Evidence And Motor Vehicles And Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill 2008 becomes law.
Government action is being taken to deal with trading in persons (TIP), domestic violence and the protection of children from violence. We hope to see this continue throughout the year.