PM Doulgas: “We have nothing to hide”
By Joyette Mills-Ward
Business Reporter-SKNVibes.com
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Prime Minister, Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas
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BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – ST. KITTS-NEVIS Prime Minister, Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas has overtly declared that his government made “no apologies whatsoever” for the manner in which duty concessions were being granted to businesses.
The affirmation came at the Prime Minister’s most recent press briefing (Aug. 27) when a question was posed regarding comments made by the president of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Mark Wilkin, when he called for transparency in the granting of duty concessions. Wilkin also said suggested that specific guidelines and legislation be put in place to regulate the process.
“My government has a very systematic way in the granting of concessions, and let me say we make no apologies whatsoever in granting concessions, especially to start up or small businesses which need the support of government in this regard to get them off the ground. I want to make it clear that concessions are granted mainly through legislative guidance,” Douglas asserted.
Douglas referenced the Hotel Aids Ordinance passed in the 1970’s, which he said was “very clear” regarding the conditions and criteria under which any new investment would attract concessions especially in the Hotel and Tourism Industry. He also spoke to another Ordinance that related to the development of the manufacturing sector in St. Kitts and Nevis. ~~Adz:Right~~
“Those who are getting engaged in manufacturing, depending upon the number of people employed etcetera, they also qualify for concessions and this usually comes in the form of a holiday tax period,” Douglas informed.
He noted that the Ministry of Finance had announced that it was going to allow small businesses that were starting up to be given duty free concession for six months and at the end of the period it was found that many small businesses were in fact mushrooming.
“I hope that in the budget for 2009 we may have something similar to assist in the development of the small business sector in St. Kitts and Nevis. Let me say that in December of last year, we passed the St. Kitts Investment Promotion Agency legislation, which would take over all of those responsibilities [domain of the granting of concessions]… thus bringing transparency and accountability that we so dearly want to be expressed in our good governance programmes and policies of this government.
“So we have really nothing to hide. The concessions that we give, they are not being given willy-nilly; they are not being given according to political party affiliation or anything of that kind. They are given as recommended through SKIPA or through the existing legislation that we have or through well established policies that my government has put in place in cases where they are not being governed by existing legislation,” the PM countered.
