Changes proposed for the Value-Added Tax (VAT) system are necessary to strengthen a revenue source which had been weakened by the excessive granting of tax exemptions, waivers and concessions under the former People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) government, Minister of Finance Winston Jordan said yesterday.
During his two-hour presentation to close the five-day budget debate, Jordan told the National Assembly yesterday that the new tax measures included in the proposed $250B national budget for 2017 were crafted after two reviews of Guyana’s tax system recommended that measures, such as a VAT charge on high consumption of water and electricity, should be implemented.