The 2013 tax concessions

LUCAS STOCK INDEXThe Lucas Stock Index (LSI) declined by 1.37 per cent in the fourth week of trading in March 2013. The stocks of five companies traded with varying results. Citizens Bank (CBI) came alive with a 325 increase in value. Demerara Bank Limited (DBL) rose slightly by 0.35 per cent. Like the previous week, the stock of Republic Bank Limited (RBL) recorded a loss, declining 34 per cent in value. Banks DIH (DIH) and Demerara Tobacco Company (DTC), which also traded, recorded no change.

Sudden willingness

Without getting into the merits or demerits of the case, it is reasonable to say that the 2013 Budget has an unusual orientation towards the individual taxpayer. This article does not seek to address the political motives behind the unusually favourable treatment of the Guyanese taxpayer by the administration. Instead, it intends to examine how the administration might have used the tax structure in this budget to improve the position of the wealthy Guyanese far beyond their current pleasures under the guise of seeking to help the poor and aged. One cannot help wondering about the sudden willingness