The Opposition talks out of three to four sides of their mouth, says PM

Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves has responded to criticisms from the opposition New Democratic Party (NDP), about the state of the economy in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG).

Among the complaints from the opposition circles is the rising cost of living and the need for the government to reduce the rate of the Value Added Tax (VAT) from 16 per cent.

Gonsalves responded to his critics when he spoke on NBC radio on Wednesday morning, September 11, 2024.

As it relates to the rising cost of living, the prime minister said it “is an established fact that the cost of living in this country rises and falls, largely dealing with imported inflation”.

He argued that when speaking on matters affecting the country, members of the opposition “talk out of three to four different sides of their mouth.”

He said on one hand, the opposition is calling for a further increase in the minimum wage but on the other hand, they are saying that the recent increase in the minimum wage is contributing to inflation.

Gonsalves said they NDP had earlier suggested reducing the 16 per cent VAT by one-third, which would result in government losing a out $80 million in revenue.

“Where are they going to find the $80 million from?” the prime minister queried.

A later suggestion is to reduce VAT by one-fifth, which would result in a revenue loss of $55 million.

The prime minister noted that reducing VAT would also mean enriching the pockets of the supermarkets and vendors.

He added that the money that would be lost by reducing VAT, would have to be recovered by the imposition of other forms of taxation.