Taxing dreams vs funding futures: Who really has you in mind?

Dear Editor,
The year was 2017, and VAT on private education had just been announced, prompting a natural public outcry. I remember signing and sharing the popular petitions with my mother, and urging neighbours to come on board as signatories.
Infamously dubbed “The Brain Tax”, this measure charged parents a 14% tax per child to attend private learning institutions, placing a burden on working families who lacked confidence in the public school system, and thereby widening educational inequality.
I am the eldest of three sons in a household run by my mother and my grandmother. At the time, I was 14 when I publicly warned the Coalition in a Kaieteur News article that the measure would cost them votes in the next election, making personal disclosure of my young sibling attending a private primary institution — having lost our dad just months prior. My warning, like many others from civil society and students, was initially ignored.
According to figures reported by Demerara Waves, Government aimed to collect approximately $350 million through this draconian tax before its eventual repeal in 2018. That very year saw the then Government strongly proposing capping the number of CSEC subjects students could sit, with one commentator dubbing it a “Brain Cap”. Thankfully, public backlash led to its quiet withdrawal before implementation.
In the 2022 Budget Debate, when responding to heckles about extensive Coalition tax measures, former Minister Khemraj Ramjattan stood in the Parliament and hollered: “Aaaand it is not an over-taxation, but you cyant undertax people!” That line alone summed up the entire APNU-AFC’s guiding praxis in Government: Tax their parents, cap children’s dreams, and label it “Change” and “The Good Life.”
Contrast this with President Ali’s recent move to cover in full the cost of up to eight CSEC subjects for all students —public or private. What does this mean? 1) No more worries about the high cost of exam fees. 2) The financial burden on students sitting exams —whether in public or private schools — is virtually eliminated, promoting equal access for all. 3) Students can now enroll in more subjects with fewer financial constraints, fostering greater academic ambition and excellence. This move bridges the gap in educational inequality.
This Government is sending a clear message: “Your potential and ambitions are being invested in; and with that, so is your success.”
This is a game-changer, and young people must take full advantage of this opportunity .
Contrast this with the “Brain Cap” and 14% VAT on private education prior to 2020, and this leaves me with two pivotal questions, which I hope can solicit the public’s input. Question 1: Who talks up youth empowerment and upliftment?
Question 2: Who actually practises it?

Sincerely,
Nikhil Sankar