Rationale behind VAT Removal
(ZIZ News) – When Nevis’ Premier, Hon. Vance Amory was in ZIZ’s Radio Studio this week, he suggested that the rationale behind the Government’s decision to remove Value Added Tax or VAT from food, medicine and funeral expenses was simple.
He said, “I feel the rationale for this is that even though you have people, maybe some of the technocrats like the IMF and so on, questioning whether or not we should do that, is that it makes no sense that the government continues to tax the people and tax them into poverty.”
“If people are poor, they become disgruntled. If people have more money to spend on the necessities of life: food, shelter, rent, those kinds of things, medicines, that they will certainly be happier because they will be able to satisfy their own simple needs for life and living,” the Premier continued.
In March, the country’s Prime Minister and Minister responsible for Finance, the Honourable Dr. Timothy Harris announced that effective April 7th 2015, VAT would be removed from food, medicine and funeral expenses.
