FOR THE BARBADOS Government to continue fully funding a University of the West Indies education for citizens it might be forced to jack up income tax rates to 50 per cent and Value Added Tax rates to 25 per cent.
Government Senator Verla Depeiza said this morning that was a grim prospect people seeking a UWI education might have to face if Government did not share 80 per cent of the cost of education and students 20 per cent.
Barbados has a personal income tax rate of about 35 per cent and a VAT rate of 17.5 per cent.
Senator Depeiza said that while Norway, Finland, Sweden, Germany and Denmark had a system of free tertiary education the downside was high VAT and income tax rates to help fund the programme.
She was commenting on the Appropriation Bill containing Government’s $4 billion budget for the financial year 2015-16. (TY)
