Whether we like it or not, from all indications the Goods and Services Tax (GST) will be implemented with effect from 1st July 2022. Despite the outcry from the populace, despite the representations from the Concerned Citizens of Anguilla, despite the voice notes and pleadings by respected professionals, GST is coming.
The APM Government has made it clear that it is committed to the implementation of GST. While the Government has been at pains to point out that the implementation of GST was agreed to by the previous administration, since being elected to office this Government has not in any meaningful way signalled its disapproval of GST. In fact, the administration seems to have wholeheartedly embraced it; save for the objections of the two Ministers in the House of Assembly when the GST Bill was passed last year – and even those Ministers, based on recent statements, seem to now have a more favourable view of GST. It does not seem that the APM Government has made any effort to delay or defer the implementation of GST – or seek any viable alternatives. The Government seems incapable of challenging the UK Government even when it is clear that what is proposed can be devastating for ordinary citizens. Could it be that the provision of funding by the UK Government for Covid-19 assistance, budget support, and infrastructure projects – like The Valley Main Road – have silenced our Government?
I have no doubt that the Government is between a rock and a hard place. However, this is not unique to this Government. Every Government has found itself in a similar position at some point in time. However, the test of the Government’s mettle is where it stands in times like these. On whose side is it standing? Is it standing with the people it was elected to serve, or is it standing with the UK Government?
The Government has been making significant efforts to sensitize and educate the public about GST. The media campaign to “sell” GST is going strong. The technical persons have held stakeholder meetings with several groups of persons all with a view to preparing them for GST implementation – and demonstrating the positive impacts of GST. For the business community, in particular, it has been pointed out that registering for GST can yield positive benefits when entities are able to reclaim GST paid.
However, what seems to be missing from the discussion is that the persons most impacted by GST will be you and me – the ordinary consumer. In the stores, when we access services, when we go out to eat, we will pay and we can’t reclaim a single cent. The cost of living will increase while, for many, there will be no commensurate increase in salaries. We will have less buying power – and will have to get by with less. Some persons who are already vulnerable may be plunged into poverty. What is to become of them? Who is looking out for them? On whose side is our Government standing?
The country and our people must brace ourselves for GST, because it is becoming increasingly clear that our Government is not going to lift a finger to stop it. We are on a collision course and there’s no turning back. The most we can do is try to prepare ourselves for the impact by making prudent financial decisions, eliminating non-essential spending and counting our pennies. I’m not sure how effective this will be, given the ongoing impact of inflation caused by various international events. We cannot control global pressures that affect prices and, when this is compounded by GST, we really have nowhere to turn. Isn’t it ironic that Government claims GST is necessary to generate revenue to run the country, while the same GST has the potential to cripple the very people for whose benefit the country is being run? In another setting this may seem laughable, but alas, GST is no joke.
