PROFESSOR Rosalea Hamilton, head of the MSME (micro, small and medium-sized enterprises) Alliance, is calling for clarity on Wednesday’s implementation of an increase in gas tax.
“The ripple effect of this tax is devastating, as it affects all sectors. Therefore, more clarity and transparency are required on how it is being applied,” Hamilton told Auto.
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HAMILTON… the ripple effect of this tax is devastating, as it affects all
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Hamilton said with this week’s increase in fuel prices, a representative of the state-run refinery Petrojam should explain how the new tax is applied.
“It’s the responsibility of the people who have the authority to make these decisions to properly inform the public. They are to say, very clearly, that in addition to the US Gulf reference price and movement of the American dollar, we now have a tax of whatever the figure is so that we’re all clear,” she said.
According to Petrojam’s weekly billing prices, the price of gasolene went up on Wednesday by $2.31 per litre, while the price of diesel rose by $2.50 per litre.
The professor said this situation compounds an existing problem of Petrojam’s pricing formula “which is not transparent”.
However, in confirming the application of the new tax on fuel prices on Wednesday, Winston Watson, managing director of Petrojam, said: “The tax was applied and the effect was minimal. The tax is a like-for-like replacement.”
Watson explained that the Government had replaced the Custom User Fee (CUF)