GTUC calls on Government to take action and abolish PAYE tax payments

GTUC calls on Government to take action and abolish PAYE tax payments

The General Secretary of the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC), Lincoln Lewis said the Government has missed another opportunity to completely abolish the Income Tax – Pay As You Earn (PAYE).

In an interview with News Source, Mr. Lewis said the move to increase the income tax threshold from $100,000 to $130,000, and the lowering of the income tax rate from 28% to 25% as part of the 2025 budgetary measures are totally inadequate.

He said for too long, the working class has been saddled with hefty taxes while businesses and companies continue to benefit from a range of tax concessions.

“We would want to see a removal of PAYE because the concessions that are being given to foreign companies alone is far beyond what the government will garner or the country will garner from PAYE. You are giving away tax concessions to foreign companies, and you have people who are paying their dues in this country, born and bred here. We can’t allow that. We are calling again for PAYE to be removed totally from the system,” the GTUC General Secretary said.

The veteran trade unionist said there are avenues that can be explored by the Government to fill the void, if it heeds to the Union’s call for the elimination of PAYE from the tax system, without plunging the country into an economic crisis.

Adjustments to taxes for children, taxes paid on overtime, and taxes paid on a second job are among the other tax related measures in this year’s budget. But Lewis said those measures would only benefit a few, explaining that a large percentage of Guyanese work for $100,000 or less, and not many have a second job in the formal labour market.

 The GTUC General Secretary also took issue with the Government announcing the continuation of its part-time job programme. Under the programme, those hired as part time workers, are paid $40,000 per month for 10 days of work in public offices.

The Government has set aside $11 Billion for the initiative in 2025, but Lewis questioned whether that the best that the Government can do for its citizens.

“You have in this country today, what you call the 10-day work month, these workers, what are we doing, what is the programme there for them to move them from this mendicant state that they are in to train them and to create new avenues. We have a document, which shows that they are even recruiting labourers from Asia, labourers from Asia, and those people work for a week, a full month but we have people working 10 days per month,” he said.

In general, the GTUC General Secretary said the national budget fell short of the expectations of the union, failing to adequately address many challenges confronting the working class and the impact of the rise in the cost of living.

He said the Government also does not appear to have a clear infrastructure development plan in place to guide its spending, noting that while billions are being injected into infrastructure projects, those projects are being rolled out in a haphazard manner.

He said to date, some recently developed housing communities still lack a provision of water and electricity services.

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