According to the Government Press Release dated 23rd March, 2021, the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) has been deferred to 1st July, 2022. The GST was initially scheduled for January, 2021, and was moved to 1st January, 2022 before being further deferred to 1st July, 2022 – following what the Release described as a successful series of negotiations and a renewed commitment to Government transparency and accountability.
The further deferral of the GST to 1st July, 2022, came as Anguillians registered their objection to the implementation of GST at a time when the Anguillian economy is at an all-time low and many persons and businesses are struggling financially. A petition objecting to the first reading of the GST Bill in the House of Assembly was not effective, as the First Reading progressed on 23rd March, 2021, as scheduled. It does not appear that those who objected to the First Reading of the Bill have been appeased by the deferral of the implementation date. In fact, the price to be paid for the deferral has been the subject of social commentary – with many persons suggesting that the price we will pay will be too great.
According to the Government’s Press Release of 23rd March, 2021, to secure the approval of the relevant UK Minister to defer the date for the implementation of the GST, certain tough decisions had to be made to meet the shortfall expected to result from the delayed implementation of the GST. Our Government has determined that:
1. the promised introduction of the Medical Assistance policy for seniors 70 years and older will not be effected in 2022;
2. the allocation for training in 2022 has been reduced by removing the allocation previously made for increased scholarships in 2022;
3. the allocation made for new Education initiatives in 2022 has also been removed;
4. the payment of deferred salaries for public servants will be frozen; and
5. social security payments on deferred salaries of public officers will be withheld.
While it is unclear what is the exact cost savings expected to be realised by the decisions taken by our Government, the general feeling is that the cost to Anguilla, its development, its people’s development and their overall wellbeing, extend well beyond the actual anticipatory monetary savings.
Sadly, health issues and their health costs increase at a time when persons are in their retirement years and living on a fixed and reduced income. These persons will be unable to access the necessary medical care or medical products because of high costs. The Government will then have to assume the higher cost of the care of these elderly persons when they are forced to succumb to ailments that could have been effectively managed if access to care and products was not hindered by cost.
Despite the Government’s continually expressed commitment to greater transparency in Government, it is unclear what Education initiatives will be delayed. Whatever these initiatives may be, when coupled with the removal of the allocation for increased scholarships it suggests an increased need for the importation of foreign labour for a longer period, while we wait to train Anguillians to occupy positions in the public and private sectors.
It is unclear what the freezing of the payment of deferred salaries means. One can only assume that it refers to provisions previously agreed for the repayment of deferred salaries in certain circumstances including where persons required funds to meet medical costs and when leaving the public service whether by virtue of resignation or retirement. To deny public officers their deferred salary under previously agreed circumstances will further erode the already extremely low morale of public officers. As already noted, the inability to access medical care or medical products can have a roll-on effect that will be more costly to Government, and Anguilla, in the long term.
Clearly, the cost of the deferral of the implementation of the GST cannot be measured solely in terms of the sums of money allocated for certain initiatives in 2022. Is a six-month delay worth the price to be paid? We will measure the success of the negotiations resulting in the deferral in years to come. Hopefully, the price paid will not be more than Anguilla and its people can bear.
