The 2023-2024 Budgetary Proposals and Financial Statement fail to give much-needed relief to overtaxed Barbadians.In a brief live-streamed response to the budget presentation of Prime Minister Mia Mottley, President of the Democratic Labour Party Dr. Ronnie Yearwood said while there are no new taxes or tax increases, the government’s decision not to cut several of these fees will be a bitter pill for the average Barbadian to swallow as their struggles with the increased cost of living continue.“The Prime Minister claimed gloriously that there were no tax raises in this budget but in effect, there were no tax cuts in this budget either and that is what Barbadians have been calling for and what they require as we try to address the cost of living. Last night, my team and I in preparing for this budget read the previous budgets and recognised that the Prime Minister and the (Junior) Minister of Finance have added about 30 new taxes to Barbadians over the last two terms of this government. So the Prime Minister bragging that there are no new taxes while not reducing any of the 30 taxes is not a victory for Barbadians,” he said.
