Government will remove taxes and duties on items for personal use

by Linda Straker

• Several incentives are currently under consideration by Cabinet of Ministers
• Fiscal incentive package to support rebuilding and repair of homes and other structures
• Taxes and duties on relief supplies imported for personal use to be waived up to 31 December

Government has announced two proposed arrangements for those affected by Hurricane Beryl’s devastation: removing taxes and duties on imported items for personal use, and a fiscal incentive package for businessmen and women in Carriacou and Petite Martinique.

Finance Minister Dennis Cornwall says the Cabinet of Ministers is currently considering several incentives. They will be rolled out after consulting with several stakeholders who are directly affected.

“Government is considering incentives in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl, and so Government will implement a fiscal incentive package to support the rebuilding and repair of homes and other structures as well as the reactivation of businesses affected, on 1 August,” Cornwall announced during a news conference on 17 July.

“We also going to have a consultation with businessmen and women in Carriacou and Petite Martinique to get their views on matters affecting them in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl. The feedback from this consultation will inform our fiscal incentives,” said the finance minister. “We are also going to look at other incentives in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl, which include the government waiving all taxes and duties on relief supplies imported for personal use, and this includes barrels or boxes or crates up to 31 December 2024.”

“The contents of these must be items of foodstuff, clothing, and household items. Households will be limited to 2 barrels or boxes or crates for a family or a household,” he said, without announcing the date for the start of that incentive.

However, before the removal of duties and tax incentives becomes a reality, the Government must first amend the relevant legislation by members of both the Lower and Upper House of Parliament and then publish it in the Government Gazette with a date of effect.