And while the constitutional amendment may be one of the most widely discussed issues – the most pressing “bread and butter” issue is, “when will the price of fuel go down?” The Prime Minister has been taking political heat for not living up to his commitment to go back to the House of Representatives if the price went over seven dollars after applying the one dollar gas tax. But today he did – or at least indicated that he will, once his finance technicians figure out a mechanism that will be sufficiently flexible to deal with fluctuating prices.
Hon. Dean Barrow,
“We’re trying to do the calculations. We are also trying to find the right mechanism before we move. But I just wanted to assure the House and the nation that no later than when the House meets again next month, we will have to come back for a second reading of a number of the bills we are introducing today, and certainly not later than when the House meets again in July, the government will unveil the move that it is making to reduce government’s share of the take in order to help to stabilize the prices. Now people need to understand that there is a degree to which this thing is beyond our control. If prices internationally go as high as $120 per barrel it doesn’t matter what government does, the pump prices locally will be intolerable. But as long as there is any kind of room within which we can manoeuvre, government is prepared to take a hit by way of less revenue for government so as to try to offer relief to the consumer.”
And the price of fuel is reportedly up again. Over the weekend, the price for a gallon of premium gas will increase by 60 cents – from $8.61 to $9.20. Regular gas will increase by 30 cents from $8.30 to $8.60. The price for diesel will stay the same.
The other politically explosive issue this week has been the business tax charged on casinos. As we’ve reported the nominal rate set in the law was 15%, but through a series of letters, in 2006 the last government reduced it to 4% - a change known only to cabinet and the casino owners. The Barrow administration has taken the position that such an administrative reduction was unlawful – and they’ve taken the decision to set the rate at 8%. Depending on where you sit or stand on political issues, this is either an unforgivable and shameful halving of the nominal rate on a social scourge or a bold and laudable doubling of the actual rate on a key source of job creation. PM Barrow is of the latter view – and today said that even the opposition leader agrees with him – that it was wrong to have secretly reduced it to 4%.
Hon. Dean Barrow,
“I believe that the casinos said to them if you don’t lower that 15% we are going to walk away. I want to give them the benefit of the doubt. They agreed to do it, I would have because they were concerned about employment but yet I hear the Leader of the Opposition saying there was no rationale for it, it was wrong then and it is wrong now. He seems to be suggesting that the
rationale, I would have thought appealed to the two comrades, was not in fact the real reason for the lowering of the rate. Now you start to begin to feel that he is perhaps suggesting that there was some under the table consideration. I think that is a matter for his colleagues to take up with him. All I want to say is that he makes it plain, he makes it plain that he doesn’t accept that they had any rationale for doing what they did.”
Hon. Johnny Briceno, PUP Leader
“Mr. Speaker a point of order, let me look at section 38-5, ‘no member shall impute improper motives to other members of either chambers.’ I think the Prime Minister is alleging improper motives so it is a point of order. I think he needs to correct that.”
Hon. Dean Barrow,
“Mr. Speaker I am not the one imputing improper motive, I am saying that your, that what you said….”
Hon. Johnny Briceno,
“You just did.”
Hon. Dean Barrow,
“What you said.”
Hon. Johnny Briceno,
“You’re not correct all the time.”
Hon. Dean Barrow,
“When it comes to you I am always correct because that is not hard. Any right thinking person will have to accept that what this government is doing is raising the real rate of business tax currently being paid by the casinos. That the 4% that they’ve been paying was arranged by the last government in a manner that is completely despicable goes without saying but the fact is that is what they were paying.”
And there’s much more fireworks coming up later from a very full day at the House of Representatives, and we’ll also have the story of some major cases from the Court of Appeal.
