Government is well aware that the increase in the National Social Responsibility Levy (NSRL), which now stands at ten per cent up from two per cent, has resulted in an increase in the cost of living in Barbados.
According to Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, Christopher Sinckler, it is not an unexpected development. He was at the time responding to comments made by Member of Parliament for St. Michael South East, Santia Bradshaw, suggesting that the increase in the NSRL has resulted in an increase in the cost of living in Barbados and more undue hardship on Barbadians.
“Relative to the comments made by the Member for St. Michael South East, I recognise and (acknowledge) the contribution. I didn’t think that there was anything particularly earth shattering for me to respond to. There are a series of questions which basically answer themselves,” he said of her call for answers in relation to the NSRL.
“The first one is that if we are aware that the increase in the levy has been causing an adverse effect on the cost of living, but we said so in the Budget. We conceded that if you increase the levy from two per cent to ten per cent, it will have an inflationary impact on those items on which the levy is applied. So it is not an unexpected development,” Sinckler stated in the House of Assembly this week, during debate on the National Social Responsibility Levy (Amendment) Bill, 2017.
“People make this point in Barbados as though we said that it would not have impacted on prices and now look what has happened. That is not so. We said that it would have an inflationary impact. We expected that it would have it, but we did it for very specific reasons,” he maintained.
“One, to raise the additional revenue for the Government to assist in helping to close the fiscal gap; two, to also assist with the containment of the expenditure of foreign exchange … and to ensure that we have resources that are made available to the Government, through the Consolidated Fund to do certain things,” Sinckler outlined, noting that Government was on track with financing the country’s public health-care institution – the QEH as promised and also moving ahead in sourcing trucks and equipment for the Sanitation Service Authority, via gains from the NSRL.
Pointing out that no one enjoys paying taxes, he however suggested that if Barbadians want to continue to enjoy good social services, such as subsidised public transport, subsidised water, free health care, free education, social welfare and the like, they will need to appreciate that these services can only be provided via the revenue which Government collects.
“We enjoy those services, complaining to the hilt about them, but we enjoy the privilege of having those services, but when you have to ask for a little bit, everybody complains that it is too much,” Sinckler meanwhile lamented. (RSM)