VP Jagdeo announces $2B in relief measures for mining industry

– final taxes, VAT on lube oil slashed; tributors tax removed

In yet another series of Government interventions geared towards providing relief in light of the rise in cost of living and input costs, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) will be rolling out close to $2 billion in relief for the mining community.

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo announced several measures that will benefit the mining community on Tuesday, while meeting with miners from the Guyana Gold & Diamond Miners Association and other stakeholders in the mining industry.
According to the Vice President, they are trying, even in their second year in office, to fulfil their manifesto promises across the board. Among the measures is $2.4 billion which he said will be spent on upgrading roads in mining areas.
He further explained that a decision was made to reduce the final tax on the income of miners, from 3.5 per cent to 2.5 per cent. According to Jagdeo, this reduction will put a total of $1.4 billion back into the pockets of miners.
Another decision was to remove the tributors tax, which was 10 per cent. While this was not a manifesto promise, he noted that some of the factors that went into this decision were the difficulty in collecting it and also the fact that it would benefit small miners.

“So that is going to result in probably a loss of $300 million in taxes also. The third issue is this is something across the board for all industries, not peculiar to mining, that we want to do. Because the gasoline and diesel, we removed all the taxes.”
“We’re going to remove the 14 per cent VAT on lube oil. This will have across-the-board impacts across all industries, cause anyone who uses lubricating oil will be impacted. So this is a combined package of maybe $1.9 billion, that the industries would see returned to it,” Jagdeo said.
Jagdeo’s announcement came on the same day that President Dr Irfaan Ali announced the rollout of a one-off cash grant to the tune of $150,000, which will go to each of the thousands of registered local fisherfolk, across the country.
Earlier this month, President Ali had announced a series of ground-breaking measures, ranging from cash grants to households in hinterland and riverine communities for the provision of free fertilisers for farmers, which are aimed at improving the lives of citizens.
Among the announcements was the distribution of a one-off $25,000 cash grant to every household in the riverine and hinterland communities of the country. This measure, according to Ali, will result in $800 million being pumped into the economy and will cushion the impacts of the rising cost of living.
“The second measure I wish to look at is fertiliser support to farmers. In order to cushion the impact of the rising cost of fertiliser on farmers and to limit the pass-through to food prices, my Government will be purchasing 1 billion dollars’ worth of fertiliser for free distribution to farmers for use in planting and replanting activities,” President Ali had said.
According to the President, this initiative is being done “considering that fertiliser accounts for between 15 to 30 per cent of the total operating cost for farmers. This initiative will significantly reduce input cost, and help ensure scaled-up production and adequate supply of output, which is critical to maintaining price stability.”
The third measure announced by the Government is the setting up of a special unit to help landowners of both private and Government-owned lots to build their houses. President Ali has said the unit would support applicants with the process of applying to banks for financing, and with the initial phase of construction by releasing the necessary resources.
Persons would also have the option of choosing $7 million, $9 million or $12 million house models for the Government to help them build. The other measure would see the removal of Value Added Tax (VAT) on additional construction materials until the market stabilises. These include sheetrock and concrete boards.