THE American Chamber of Commerce in Trinidad and Tobago (AMCHAM T&T) is calling for the establishment of a high commission in Guyana.
This was one of the points it made in its response to the 2022 Budget presented by Minister of Finance Colm Imbert in the House of Representatives on Monday.
In a release that same day, AMCHAM T&T stated, “The announcement of trade facilitation offices in overseas markets such as Guyana, Jamaica and England are welcome. However, we continue to strongly advocate for the establishment of a High Commission in Guyana.”
It stated that the Budget was an attempt to re-inject confidence in the economy.
AMCHAM T&T stated, “The tax incentives announced are clearly designed to encourage business activity. These incentives must be complimented by other efforts to improve the ease of doing business. Together this will create more jobs and revenue for the country.”
It added, “In the current environment, we appreciate that the Government has to play a significant role in stimulating the economy and, as such, that this would be another year of deficit financing.
“While the Minister spoke of a return to a primary fiscal surplus in 2024, that can only be achieved through a commitment to co-ordinated execution to bring these measures into effect.”
AMCHAM T&T stated that it was comfortable with the Budget being pegged on an oil price of US$65 and a gas price of US$3.75 Metric Million British Thermal Unit (MMBTU).
It also applauded the commitment for digital transformation of the economy.
AMCHAM T&T called for announcements in past budgets to become a reality.
It stated, “We note the re-committment to several initiatives announced in previous budgets such as the National Statistical Institute, the introduction of a National Digital Identity and electronic funds transfer implementation. AMCHAM T&T welcomes this and looks forward to the creation of the enabling legislative framework to facilitate the digital economy.”
It stated, “We note the intention to make the upstream sector more attractive and trust that these changes will be made ahead of the 2022 bid-round. We also look forward to the expansion of the voluntary compliance program under the Customs and Excise division so that shipments can be fast-tracked from compliant logistics companies.”
