On Friday at the House Meeting, Prime Minister Briceno tabled the Lotteries Control (Amendment) Regulations, 2022.
It legislates a 12.5% lottery tax on boledo, lottery, and jackpot. According to the Prime Minister, SI 51 reverses what the former Barrow Administration did in September 2011 with SI 88 of 2011. In that previous SI, government lotteries were exempted from taxes - on the principle that government cannot tax itself. Well the PUP has always had a major bone to pick with the Brads Boledo contract - but the PUP claims that - by this exemption - Brads received a massive tax break to the tune of 10s of millions of dollars. In his presentation, the Prime Minister pointed fingers at a person connected to the former UDP Government.
Well today we were quite stunned at a UDP Press Conference when Leader of the Opposition Shyne Barrow supported the tax and agreed that millions of dollars in tax revenue were foregone:
Hon. Shyne Barrow, Leader of the Opposition
"I completely support the tax on BRADS, because that is an example of what I said earlier: taxing those people that are making millions and millions of dollars and certainly BRADS Boledo would fall under that category, so I have no difficulty with implementing that tax that should have been implemented for years."
"I am consistent. We need to get sharing of the burden and as I said earlier before you ask that question, those people that are making millions and millions of dollars, those are the people that need to pay the taxes. Before they want after the peddlers with this trade licensed, I prefer them to try to that that 60 million that was exempt."
"I don't know that Anwar Barrow owns BRADS Boledo. That is information to me. I don't do business with him; I don't know anything about his business ownership. I just know BRADS Boledo owned by BRADS. I support the 12.5% taxes and before we go to the small people, the peddlers, the entertainers - get those millions of taxes that were exempted for so many years. That would be a move that I would support."
In the past, Anwar Barrow has told us quote, "it's clear from the record that a few people in the PUP have a political vendetta against me." End quote. It's now unclear where his brother Shyne stands in this since he is now supporting the PUP's Boledo position.
But, that's the only support he gave to the PUP today - we'll have more later from his party press conference.
