SWEET AND SOUR.
This in essence were the views of Trinidad and Tobago on Tuesday on Colm Imbert’s $57b 2022/2023 budget, which he delivered on Monday in the House of Representatives.
The contrasting reactions could sum up the pulse of two halves of TT’s society – with big businesses generally sweet on Imbert’s fiscal plan for the next 12 months; while average Trinis said the budget left them feeling very sour.
The American Chamber of Commerce TT (AmchamTT), the TT Manufacturers Association (TTMA) and the Energy Chamber – in separate responses – all were unified in endorsing the budget.
However, average citizens from Scarborough in Tobago, to Woodford Square in Port of Spain, and the southen city of San Fernando generally gave the budget a thumbs-down.
AMCHAM: It was balanced
The American Chamber said the budgeted gas price was reasonable, given the current climate. It said Imbert clearly tried to balance several considerations.
Amcham welcomed several budget initiatives, including the reduction in tax rates designed to stimulate upstream oil and gas production; reduction in taxes for financial technology companies; and the financial service hub.
“We are pleased Government would be implementing feed-in tariffs and is moving towards implementing a renewable energy policy. We believe this would not only reduce demand for the scarce natural gas to generate electricity, but the renewable energy policy would assist us in reaching our Paris agreement targets.
“We would like to hear concrete timelines for these during the budget debate,” AmchamTT said in a release.
It said it looked forward to the operationalisation of the special economic zone legislation and the rollout of the developers’ hub, and applauded the effort to develop software as a service for the government sector.
“This software also has the potential to be exported and the hub could incubate smaller technology companies.
“The identification of specific initiatives to support the transition to a cashless society and to remove the friction of transacting business with the government are also likely to have a positive impact.”
Amcham said it welcomed the announcement that the National Statistical Institute legislation would be brought to Parliament and encouraged bipartisan collaboration, as accurate and timely data is necessary for effective planning for national development. Amcham said it stood ready to collaborate with all stakeholders on matters of national development.
TTMA hails ease of doing business
TTMA head Tricia Coosal hailed the budget, saying it would boost local businesses by assisting in their ease of doing business, but she urged a continuation of VAT refunds.
In a statement, she hailed the Government’s partnership and dialogue with the private sector to stabilise and grow the economy after the impact of covid19 and the Ukraine war, as shown by news of real GDP growth of two per cent and non-energy-sector growth of two per cent.
“The importance of ensuring the ease of doing business was once again stressed
