Contractors laud tax relief for home building

The raft of relief measures announced by His Excellency Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, President of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana continue to attract positive responses from citizens.

The most recent is the President’s announcement that emergency Budget 2020 will  his government will remove the Value Added Tax on construction materials-a policy that was imposed by the previous administration. Dr. Ali’s announcement received thumbs up from local contractors .

Speaking with the Department of Public Information (DPI), construction worker Steve Samaroo who is spearheading the building of a house in Farm, EBD said, “I think that’s a great move by the Government and our President. It will benefit a lot of poor people.”

With no tax to be paid, Samaroo stated there will be, “money in your pocket, so eventually, you can complete and build again.”

A few corners away in the same community, DPI heard from Terrence Singh, a contractor that noted the tax break is a generous initiative for the average Guyanese.

“That is a very perfect move by the Government because you calculate if you’re spending a million here, and you take out 14%, right there, it’s a $140,000,” Singh related.

In further praise of the remarkable initiative that comes 5 years after the tax was originally imposed, Singh added, “I think this Government doing a really good job for the Guyanese people.”

Referencing a $2Million house foundation being built, contractor Bisram Ramrattan held that the tax removal would result in a significant balance available to complete other aspects of a house, thereby making construction more inexpensive.

Ramrattan added that Guyanese will now have an opportunity to be homeowners, citing, “more houses will be more affordable to build because a lot of poor people will come on and will get into their own home. A lot of people are renting houses and they are glad to own their own house.”

The contractor also underscored the domino-effect home building under the new tax relief. He anticipates less taxes will transcend to more spending, and more spending will result in more job opportunities for him and his crew- thereby enabling them to provide for their families.