According to Senior Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, the measures in last year’s budget will effectively return over time, $40B in disposable income to the pockets of Guyana. With the introduction of more tax breaks in the 2021 budget, Dr. Singh said that an additional $10B will be returned to the people in the form of increased disposable income. Below is a snapshot of these measures.
1) Restoring to zero rated status, food items such as breads, flour, oats, cooking oil, locally produced bed linens etc.
2) Five percent reduction in water tariffs
3) 10,000 house lots to be provided annually through clearing of backlog. And to ensure realization of home ownership, zero rate value added tax will be applied to stone imported for home construction from CARICOM states, locally manufactured roofing and PVC products for building construction.
4) Ceiling for housing loans moved from $10M to $12M at commercial banks along with an increase of the loan ceiling at NBS to $15M
5) Removal of VAT on data for residential and individual use
6) Removal of duties on ATVs for use in the hinterland
7) $15,000 cash grant to be given to Nursery , Primary and Secondary students
8) Old Age pension moved from $20,500 to $25,000
9) To reduce cost of government delivery goods and services, restore zero rated status in relation to importation of goods and works and services purchased
