VAT on education
Ahead of today’s meeting with stakeholders on the controversial imposition of Value Added Tax (VAT) on private tuition, Education Minister Dr Rupert Roopnaraine has stated that he would be listening to the concerns raised by stakeholders, and their proposals on the 14 per cent VAT before approaching Cabinet.
Speaking with reporters on Thursday, Dr Roopnaraine said, “I’m going tomorrow to
Dr Rupert Roopnaraine
listen, and then, in terms of finding solutions, we have to sit with them and then sit with my colleagues in Cabinet to see… Because, you know, the VAT on education was really thought through by the Ministry of Finance, and came to us as a proposal,” the Education Minister said.
“They have a lot of financial reasons, you know, why they are bringing this. I myself have been talking to teachers, talking to parents, and it has not gone down very well, and so we have to address it,” Roopnaraine stated.
The Education Minister said he is trying to lobby the support of his colleague Ministers before approaching Cabinet. “Before I approach Cabinet, I’m trying to win the support of other Cabinet Members; and once I do that, then I think we can approach Cabinet with a more-thought-out and agreed on position; but it will go before Cabinet,” he assured.
Since its implementation, Government’s tax on private education has received widespread criticism, with many calling the decision one that has not been thought through and needs to be urgently revised or repealed. To this end, there have been several protest actions calling on Government to rescind the imposed taxation on private education. In fact, at one protest exercise held on Wednesday outside the Education Ministry’s Brickdam Head Office, those affected by the tax imposition were not confident that today’s meeting would yield any action in their
favour.
While Wednesday’s protest did not attract a large crowd like it did in the past, many parents, including educators and religious leaders, still believe that the Government is not serious about removing VAT on education. Swami Aksharananda, Principal of the Saraswati Vidya Niketan School on the West Coast of Demerara, believes the meeting scheduled for Friday at the National Cultural Centre will not change Government’s position. The school principal and religious leader has said that if Government decides not to remove VAT on education, then those affected would have to continue to agitate.
Other parents told this publication that they hope Government would remove VAT on education in its entirety, and not merely try to lower the imposed 14 per cent.
