With no more excise tax to be subtracted from the fuel cost, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday said government has done all it could to keep prices low and affordable.
Responding to a question on whether government has any plans to further cushion the rising fuel prices, Jagdeo at a press conference replied in the negative.
“You know the excise was at fifty percent and we reduced it to zero that is what we have done and that is what we could have done. There isn’t anything else we can do at this stage because that is the only thing the government uses to collect in terms of revenue and it is at zero, down from 50%,” Jagdeo stated.
The Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) in March announced that the government had approved a further reduction on the excise tax on gasoline and diesel to zero.
Since taking government, the Irfaan Ali-led administration had reduced the tariffs paid on fuel importation to cushion the rising cost of living.
During his 2022 budget presentation, Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh had announced that the excise tax rate on gasoline and diesel would be cut immediately from 20% to 10%. This was one of the measures to ease the cost of living burden.
He had noted that twice in 2021 the government lowered the excise tax rate on gasoline and diesel from 50 to 35% and then from 35 to 20%.
“I am pleased to announce that, utlilising the same established mechanism, we will be lowering the excise tax rate further on gasoline and diesel from 20 per cent to 10 per cent, with immediate effect”, Singh had said at the time.
It was later cut to zero.
