Dear Editor,
A few questions occurred to me when I read Mr Khurshid Sattaur’s letter on the income tax threshold (‘The income tax threshold takes into account allowances granted under the previous system,’ SN, December 3). In the context of chiding Mr Michael Carrington of the AFC for his “misguided” call to restore tax allowances for dependants, the letter explains that out of “government’s continued commitment to alleviate economic hardship encountered by citizens, due to increases in the cost of living,” the income tax threshold has been increased to $35,000 to cater for basic family expenses and responsibilities for dependants, and in addition, relevant government ministries “provide support and assistance to families in various ways.”
Could Mr Sattaur say:
1. How many members of the government are covering their basic living expenses with $35,000?
2. Does he plan to lobby the relevant government agencies to ensure that all those unwaged Guyanese receiving government assistance, beginning with pensioners, are ‘topped up’ to at least $35,000 a month?
3. Has he volunteered to pay income tax on his salary, given the need to generate income through taxation, and the loss of revenue because of the “generous tax relief” embodied in the increase in the tax ceiling to $35,000 per month?
Yours faithfully,
Karen de Souza