New bill goes to house
Date: Sat 14-Aug-1993
Paper Page: 4
Publication: Sun on Saturday
BARBADIANS should soon know the items they would be allowed to import without
licences.
Another step towards trade liberalisation was made yesterday in Parliament
when Government introduced the Consumption Tax Bill.
If accepted, it would allow importers to freely bring in goods; however some
protection from imported substitutes would be provided for local industries.
That would come in the form of a 100 per cent (on the cost insurance freight
value) surtax.
But not all goods will be off-licence; primary agriculture products are among
a number of those to be kept on licence.
The bill was introduced in the House of Assembly yesterday by Minister of
State in the Ministry of Finance and Economics Affairs David Thompson.
Debate was deferred until August 24 to allow Government to provide
parliamentarians with all the necessary documents and give them time to
analyse the information.
Thompson told the House yesterday that the goods which would be imported
without licence were those whose importation would not adversely affect local
industries; but imports likely to adversely impact on domestic production
would attract a surcharge.