HAVING TAKEN A LEAF from Barbados' tax book, Antigua & Barbuda is keeping its eye on its Eastern Caribbean neighbour when it comes to the value-added tax.

"We have looked very closely at what Barbados has done with respect to VAT and how they sought to use it and make changes as they go along," said Baldwin Spencer, Prime Minister of Antigua & Barbuda.

"We are really looking at our arrangement and taking a close look at the Barbados experiment. We think we have quite a few good lessons to learn from that," he added.

Spencer, who was in New York recently to address the United Nations, also met prospective investors and nationals of his country.

Spencer said he was convinced that the introduction of VAT or sales tax was the right move because it had stabilised the nation's finances, which were precarious when his party took over.

"The big question always is, are you doing the right thing for the country and its people? In the end it's the judgement of the people that matters," he told BARBADOS BUSINESS AUTHORITY.

Although Olga Kalinina, a Wall Street Standard & Poor's economic analyst, did not comment directly on the introduction of VAT in Antigua, she said Caribbean countries that had stabilised their government revenues by using VAT and other tax measures had moved in the right direction because they had brought a measure of certainty and strength to the revenue picture. (TB)