33 / 55
Page | 32
Protecting the Poor
Mr Speaker, whenever this government announces a tax package, the Minister
goes out of his way to boast how kind and helpful they are in protecting poor
people.
After taking policy steps that are hostile to job-creating investment and growth in
the economy, punishing citizens with high prices from runaway currency
depreciation, they come running to talk about protecting poor people.
It is wearing thin and patronising. One constituent told me after the Minister’s
latest confession of love for the poor: “Tell Mr Phillips that poor people tired of
his love while we have hungry belly. We want jobs and a better life, not hand-
outs for the rest of our lives. We want to move from ‘dependency’ to
‘independency’. Halleluyah!
The Tax Man Cometh
In looking for new sources of taxation, the Minister of Finance targeted lower oil
prices even as the beleaguered people of Jamaica got a little relief at the petrol
pump, having been robbed of a sharper decrease due to the runaway devaluation
of the Jamaican dollar.
In addition, the Minister gleefully told us “we have seen a 30% reduction in the
price of electricity.”
Celebration time, we thought, but our Minister says “not so fast – hold the
applause – the tax man cometh!”
Since the price for gas gone down, why don’t we stick them with another $7.00
per litre for gas tax, and JPS bill gone down, let’s break another election promise
and stick them with another GCT tax on electricity.