The New Democratic Party says that if elected to government, it would implement a policy that would see people who work for at least 10 years in the public sector receiving a 50% discount on the duties on a vehicle.
Opposition Leader Godwin Friday announced the policy on Hot 97 FM on Monday, along with three others, which he said would ease the cost of living for Vincentians.
He announced two VAT-free shopping days, a payout to parents on the birth of a child and a concession on equipment valued at up to EC$20,000 for creatives.
The vehicle policy announcement came two months after it was first floated by the incumbent Central Kingstown MP, St. Clair Leacock in Byera.
On Monday, Friday said the policy will have a broad impact on people, adding that public sector workers have been “carrying a heavy burden”, especially since the COVID-19 Pandemic, including the cost-of-living crisis and the cost of transportation.
He said the NDP wanted to do something to help public sector workers become more mobile.
Friday noted that higher categories of public servants get a 75% concession on the purchase of a vehicle every four years.
He said it was a very narrow bracket of people who probably need it the least, because they are better off.
“So, what we’re doing is we say we’re extending it to all public servants,” he said.
“… we will provide a one-time concession of 50% to public servants to purchase a vehicle. … And this will allow for public servants who have at least 10 years’ experience in the public service, who have been employed for 10 years or more, that they will benefit from this concession…”
He said this will make it cheaper for public servants to purchase a vehicle, adding that the changes in the duties announced by the government recently have made it more expensive do so.
“So, even if you want to do it, you can’t come up with the initial. So, we say, well, in this case, we will give you a one-time concession of 50% off the duty if you’ve given service to the public service for at least 10 years…”
In 2022, Minister of Finance Camillo said the effective tax rate on vehicles can be as high as 135% of the cost, insurance and freight value of the vehicle.
The average age of the motor vehicle fleet in St. Vincent and the Grenadines then was 11 years old, with an average total landed cost of EC$27,000.
The government banned the importation of vehicles more than 12 years old and linked the tax regime to the age of the vehicles, with older vehicles attracting higher taxes.
The opposition leader said on Monday there would be some conditionalities, adding that public servants would not be able to use the concession “as a backdoor …
“This is a one-time concession for persons who, when they get to that threshold, they can take advantage of and they can essentially become more mobile.”
VAT-free shopping days in August, December
Also on Monday, Friday noted that the opposition had announced since 2019 that if elected to office, it would reduce VAT from 16% to 13%.
“That is not rocket science. They did it in St. Lucia, and I consulted with respect to the impact of that, and it was positive. So, it’s not off the top of your head,” he said.
Friday said that as an extension of that announcement, an NDP government will make the first Monday in August and December of every year VAT-free shopping days.
“And the idea is that when people are preparing to go back to school in September, you have the first Monday in August, you will have a day where there’ll be no VAT on the purchases that you make, and so that they could have, essentially, what would be a reduction in the cost of the goods.
“… And the second day would be, of course, your favourite time of year. The first Monday in December, we will also have a VAT-free shopping day, so that, again, the objective is to ease the cost-of-living crisis that people are feeling in this country. My thing is, I want to get government’s hand out of people’s pockets.”
The opposition leader said he discussed the policy proposal with business people and acknowledged that it would be a challenge “doing the adjustments and the calculation, and so forth
“But we will work with them to make sure that it is done in a way that is it doesn’t in any way hamper them or create an unnecessary burden on them.
“It’s not something that is impossible to do. It may have its challenges, but once you do it the first time, it becomes easier for us to do it…
“Let’s give everybody a break on this day. And it also helps the businesses because when you collect the VAT, it’s not the business getting it — it’s government.”
‘special duty-free concession’ for creatives
The third policy announcement was intended to make it easier for creatives to procure equipment as part of the NDP’s focus on the new economy.
“… we will introduce a special duty-free concession on film camera, digital equipment … up to a value of $20,000 to help those persons who are in the creative industries get new equipment and so forth.”
He noted that the PRYME programme, under which the government gives out grants to small businesses.
Friday said the government’s policy will appeal particularly to young people but also to everyone who is involved in the creative industries.
“… the persons who are involved in creating online content, the DJs,
the videographers, the content creators, all of that, … producers, all of those people who can take advantage of this.”
He said this is a sector of the economy that the NDP wants to promote.
“We’re not treating it as just culture. We’re treating it as part of the modern economy of St Vincent and the Grenadines,” Friday said.
‘baby bonus’, maternity leave review
He said an NDP administration will also assist families on the birth of a child, by giving them EC$500 and will also look to review maternity leave.
“And the idea is really to assist immediately on the birth, you have this that you could buy some essentials and so forth. And in some countries, they call it a baby bonus. So, we could refer to that baby bonus.”
Friday said the NDP wants people to raise healthy families in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, adding that an NDP administration will review the maternity leave situation.
He said the trade unions have been pushing for this.
Currently, mothers are given three months’ maternity leave but Friday noted that childcare professionals encourage mothers to breastfeed their babies for six months, as this is good for their development.
“So, we will look to extend that period from the three months now to six months,” Friday said, adding that an NDP government will look at the cost to determine whether the full period would be paid maternity leave.
“I believe that these policies that have been announced thus far are going to have a far-ranging impact, and they are practical, they are doable, and so we are going to implement them during the first term of my government,” Friday said.