St. John’s, Antigua: According to an Antigua Observer report the Antigua & Barbuda Trade Union Congress (ABTUC) has warned of widespread industrial action if government follows through with plans to tax allowances and benefits without further consultation on the proposal, after Minister of Finance Harold Lovell announced the measure in the 2012 Budget presentation.
While Minister Lovell said the aims are to increase revenue and to close number of loopholes being used by some individuals and businesses to avoid paying their fair share of taxes, President of the ABTUC, Kim Burdon, said ABTUC is an amalgam of nine unions and increased taxation would be disastrous. “The measure would further reduce the workers’ already depleted income and further increase the negative effects on the current recession”. He added that the ABTUC’s declaration follows government’s lack of response to a proposal it submitted to a special revenue reform team currently in consultation with key stakeholders on the tax measure, the report stated.
The Union President said the ABTUC is not anti-tax, but the government has not demonstrated prudence in the management of existing tax revenue streams.
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