Oropouche East MP Dr Roodal Moonilal says Government’s proposed tax against online shoppers is discriminatory and is calling on the Equal Opportunity Commission to investigate it.
Speaking at a budget consultation at his office yesterday, Moonilal said he wanted to know why the Government wanted to increase taxes for air freight purchases and not sea freight taxes, noting the seven per cent tax on the items purchased online using a Skybox courier service was discriminatory.
“It is very interesting that the tax is not on the sea freight, it is on the goods bought and if you buy this good and bring it on a boat, you don’t pay tax. That is a matter for the Equal Opportunities Commission.”
Predicting that someone will eventually challenge the legality of discrimination against an air freight purchaser, Moonilal said the additional taxes will undoubtedly put a strain on online shoppers and may lead to further unemployment.nHe also said the tax on the rich was a hoax.
“Three per cent of the people in this country would declare their income at $83,000 and more per month. That is a hoax, that is a smoke and mirrors, he cannot tax those people that way, they would take their income and they would use legal tax avoidance measures and declare it as non-taxable income, so that is a hoax,” he said.
Moonilal also said the perceived benefit of reduced electricity bills for the poor was a hoax.
“People who believe that their light bill is $300 dollars or less, you getting 25 per cent less, that works at $1.25 cents per day. That will be offset by more than they can afford to pay by the cost of transportation in the rise of diesel,” he explained.
Moonilal also called for the installation of CCTV cameras in all schools following the kidnapping of mother Ria Sookdeo. Saying the cameras will be a serious deterrent to crime, Moonilal said many teachers and principals were now fearful over the levels of crime and violence occurring in and near their schools.
Meanwhile, police said yesterday that they were still working aggressively to find Sookdeo. However, all leads which have been followed have yielded no positive results.