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  • 5 weeks ago
Economist and Independent Senator Dr. Marlene Attz is sounding a note of caution on several of the Government's new fiscal measures.


Speaking at a post-budget forum hosted by the University of the West Indies, she questioned the practicality and possible fallout of some key proposals.
Transcript
00:00Economist and senior UE lecturer Professor Roger Hosein notes that according to the IMF,
00:07Trinidad and Tobago ranks among the weakest performing economies in the world.
00:13He says, while the government's fiscal package sounds good on paper for now, it remains just
00:20that, words on a document.
00:23Professor Hosein adds that the population is now looking to see whether the government's
00:28plans and policies will actually take effect.
00:31He also points out that the administration had little choice but to raise taxes on certain
00:37items to boost revenue, some of which, he says, are quite reasonable.
00:42All of those things are good things.
00:44People have to pay their taxes.
00:45If you want more money, go after alcohol and cigarettes.
00:47They could have even put more.
00:48I have no hesitation with that, no objection to that.
00:51If people like to smoke their cigarettes and drink their rum, that's an easy place to get
00:56some taxes, tax them.
00:58Because later on, when they are in the hospital and they have diabetes and all kind of long
01:02problems and all kind of problems related to it, we have to subsidize those type of consumption
01:09habits.
01:10So taking some money from them up front, I think it's a very good idea.
01:13Professor Hosein further says, any credible push to expand non-energy revenue must prioritize
01:21sectors with sustainable potential, notably agriculture and technology.
01:27The main target variable has to be agriculture, both import substitution and export oriented
01:34production, manufacturing, especially, I didn't notice E-Tech mention at all of specialised
01:40economic zones in the budget, but I suspect the details will come out during the discussions.
01:45And of course, tourism, our tourism performance is very bad.
01:50Meanwhile, economist and former minister in the Ministry of Finance, Mariano Brown, with
01:56extensive experience in both public and private financial sectors, cautions that the country's
02:02economic recovery cannot happen overnight.
02:05He notes that beneath the surface of the budget presentation, periods of hardship are inevitable.
02:12There is going to be a period of sufferance, and budget or no budget, whatever has been
02:16said, however good it sounds, you get back a dollar, whatever else, that is not going to
02:21change that position, right?
02:23So the UNC has done a good job, the government has done a good job of selling optimism and confidence.
02:29Now the reality is, how do I grow the economy?
02:33How do I get businesses to export more?
02:35When is that going to take effect?
02:37Not immediately.
02:38It's going to take time.
02:39He emphasizes the need to address the country's depreciating foreign exchange position, noting
02:45that that restructuring will inevitably entail some losses.
02:50To move in a different direction, sometimes things will die, and some businesses will close.
02:56The marginal businesses that are not making a lot of money, that's going to happen.
02:59Nicole M. Romany, TV6 News.
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