Skerrit has no plan to end tax

ROSEAU – Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit says he has no intention of abolishing income tax as his ruling Dominica Labour Party (DLP) gears up to contest a general election due by March next year, but widely expected before that date.

Addressing the launch of a water project in Belles, east of here, Skerrit said his administration would not seek to removes takes “just because you want to gain votes.”

“What happens to the country after that, what happens to our well-being, what happens to our schools, what about our students, how are we going to repay our debts so how are they going to give you money when you have no taxes.”

Skerrit said that Caribbean countries with no income tax or a sales or value added tax (VAT) had to introduce such fiscal policies “because countries that give us aid are saying to us we are paying taxes and you can’t come to us asking for money when you are not willing to make your people contribute.

“So they (Caribbean countries) have had to institute and impose on their citizens, taxes, and of course many of us would like to live in a country where there are no taxes, but is this a realistic option knowing how the world operates.”

Skerrit said countries “around us” are laying off workers, but Dominica has not lost “one job, notwithstanding the global crisis”.

The prime minister described as “foolishness” those who promise to remove certain taxes.

“So when you hear people are saying that they will remove this tax and that tax and those taxes and these taxes, it is foolishness they are talking because you must now tell us if you have EC$200 million to spend and to pay salaries, you must show in a very clear manner where you will get those EC$200 million to pay for salaries and services,” he noted. (CMC)