UPP MPs and caretakers send New Year messages of outrage over tax hikes and how these will negatively affect the people
UPP MPs and caretakers send New Year messages of outrage
over tax hikes and how these will negatively affect the people
Several United Progressive Party (UPP) parliamentarians and
caretakers are appealing to the public to spend prudently this year,
as several taxes have been increased.
In their New Year’s Day messages, the Opposition MPs were critical
of the Browne Administration for the state of the economy and for
the hardship in which many people now find themselves – even as
the Government boasts of the amount of revenue it collected in
2023.
Richard Lewis, MP for St. John’s Rural West, speaks of the
uncertainty that lies ahead – in spite of the Customs Department’s
record-breaking collection of $403 million for 2023, and despite
claims of significant economic growth.
Lewis says it is shocking that the Antigua Labour Party (ALP)
administration has imposed a plethora of increased taxes on the
people. This is an unconscionable move that will bring serious
hardship, particularly on the vulnerable members of the society, he
says.
The Rural West MP says this new tax regimen will surely break the
backs and the will of the people. Accordingly, he calls for all
residents to be financially prudent in these uncertain times, even as
he urges them to voice their displeasure with this heavy tax burden.
In the meantime, the UPP continues to demand more accountability
and transparency from the Gaston Browne Administration.
Lewis is calling on the Government for an account of how the
people’s tax dollars are being spent, and he is hoping that this year
will be one in which the wealth gap between the rich and the poor
can be narrowed.
Meanwhile, in his New Year’s Day message, MP Kelvin “Shugy”
Simon also refers to the spike in the cost of living, noting there is
little help from the Administration to cushion its effects.
Simon says the increase in the ABST, in particular, will make life
even more difficult, as too many people – especially the youth
–remain unemployed and underemployed.
He chides the Administration for mismanaging the country’s
resources, with wasteful spending and poor revenue collection.
Now, he says, it is passing the financial burden on to the people and
offering flimsy excuses for its bad decisions.
The MP also speaks to the increase in violent crime (especially
among young people) that has many residents living in fear. The
crumbling infrastructure, poor health services, and the lack of
regular water are also areas of great concern for the St. Mary’s South
representative.
Additionally, MP Anthony Smith, representative for All Saints West,
describes the tax increase as “unwarranted” and describes the
Labour Party Government as “wretched.”
In spite of boasting about its record-breaking tax collection, he says,
there has been government wastage and poor spending, even as the
Cabinet ministers continue to enrich themselves.
Hence, Smith is encouraging the people to remain resilient, prudent
and wise with their finances and spending.
In the meantime, Pearl Quinn-Williams, the UPP caretaker for St.
John’s Rural North, looks back at 2023 which, for many, was a very
challenging year and one of death, both literally and metaphorically.
However, Quinn-Williams is hoping that 2024 will bring renewed
hope, vigour, determination, and vigilance to the people.
