GUYANA/SMEs: Investment, Small Business Bills Tabled

Investment, Small Business Bills tabled 
By Chamanlall Naipaul 
05 August, 2003

Three bills were introduced in the National Assembly at yesterday’s sittings 
and were read for the first time. They include the Fiscal Enactments 
(Amendments) Bill and the Investment and Small Business Bills, and were 
introduced by the Ministers of Finance and Tourism, Industry and Commerce 
respectively.


The Fiscal Enactments Bill which was introduced by Finance Minister 
Saisnarine Kowlessar, is seeking to amend eight Acts dealing with tax to 
accomplish tax reform in several areas. One of them is the repeal of 
provisions allowing unlimited exercise of discretion in the remission of tax 
as well as including provisions that will broaden the tax base.


Among the Acts to be affected by the proposed Bill are the Motor Vehicles and 
Road traffic Act, the Financial Administration and Audit Act, the Tax Act, 
the Consumption Tax Act, the Travel Voucher Tax Act, the Income tax Act and 
the Customs Act to institute certain policy reforms as regards remission of 
tax, the reduction of tax rates and allowing tax administration resources to 
be used more efficiently.


The Investment Bill tabled by Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, 
Manzoor Nadir provides for the Investment Promotion Council which has 
responsibilities to review and recommend to the Government alterations to the 
priority lists, alterations to the regime of fiscal incentives established 
for investment, including incentives relati8ng to tariffs and taxes, import 
duties and to export-oriented enterprises, and in circumstances which merit 
special consideration by the Government recommend incentives to be granted to 
investors or to investment enterprises that are not included in any priority 
list.


The Bill also provides for the Guyana Office for Investment (G0-Invest) to be 
a corporation responsible for facilitating and promoting investment in Guyana 
and the administering of the fiscal incentives investment system as well.


The Small Business Bill also introduced by Nadir provides for the 
establishment of a legal and institutional framework to nurture the growth 
and expansion of small business and to offer assistance to the efforts of 
small and micro-enterprises.


The proposed structure would comprise the Small Business Council, a Small 
Business Bureau and a Small Business Development Fund.


These are interlinked with clearly defined lines of authority and functions. 
The Council will have overall responsibility for the Bureau, which would be 
the administrative arm of the Council and would also be responsible for the 
administration of the Small Business Development Fund.


SOURCE: Guyana Chronicle