Party to write off debt to Govt

A Solutions Barbados administration will forgive all debts owed to Government by Barbadians – and introduce a ten per cent flat tax across the board to replace the many taxes now in place.

Candidate for Christ Church East Central, Scott Weatherhead, announced this during the launch of its candidates to contest the next general elections. It took place in Independence Square, The City, on Saturday night.

“So if you owe the Government of Barbados money in land tax, solid waste tax, road tax, VAT, corporation tax, personal income tax or any money whatsoever, we will write off your debt completely, and you will no longer owe the Government one red cent on the day we are elected to office in this country. That is a guarantee so everybody will have a clean slate to start off this new tax system with, but we will expect everybody to be tax compliant from then on,” Weatherhead promised.

He said they would also eliminate VAT, the current corporation tax and personal income tax, as well as the controversial National Social Responsibility Levy.

“We will replace all of these existing taxes you currently pay today with a simple, easy tax to calculate, and easy to audit ten per cent flat tax on gross income with no deductions. This new ten per cent flat tax will be applied to all citizens and all local businesses equally,” he said, adding that by reducing the cost of living in Barbados, there would be more money available to all to spend.

“There will be no such thing as VAT in this country under a Solutions Barbados government. That means that the cost of living in Barbados will go down by 17.5 per cent immediately. We are going to completely remove the ten per cent National Social Responsibility Levy. This means that the cost of living will go down by a further ten per cent immediately. We are going to remove the two per cent foreign exchange commission.

“We will remove the 25 per cent corporation tax on profits. That will reduce the incentive for local businesses to hide their profits through offshore entities in places like St Lucia, St Vincent and the Cayman Islands which currently places strain on the foreign reserves. We will remove the 35 per cent personal income tax. That means that your PAYE deductions will be reduced and you will get an immediate net wage increase on your next pay slip. We will remove the excise tax on fuel. That means that gas prices at the pump will go down right away, and electricity bills will go down even further,” he declared.

Weatherhead said the ten per cent flat tax was not something they had invented.

“It is a modern, tried and tested tax system which has worked extremely successfully in at least 37 countries around the world, including some right here in the Caribbean and 11 states of the USA. Our current tax system is antiquated and outdated, and it must be replaced with a modern and efficient tax system that addresses all of the issues plaguing tax efficiency in this country . . . . It captures everybody while our existing tax structure does not.”

He told the gathering his party’s economic solution also did not include going to the International Monetary Fund to borrow more money. (NC)