WITH the announcement of the date of the reading of this year’s national budget, I humbly submit the following suggestions as my budget wish list for the coming year:

1. Improved access for the differently abled-

Offer financial incentives to business places to provide access to customers using wheelchairs, as well as to improve access to its onsite facilities and suite of products and services. This can take the form of ramps and wheelchair-accessible restrooms, as well as the conversion of documents to Braille, and support for the hearing impaired (e.g., closed captioning or ASL).

Pass legislation now with a ‘grandfather clause’ that will allow businesses five years to meet full compliance.

2. Employment opportunities for the differently abled- Offer tax breaks to companies that employ differently abled workers.

Perhaps this can be done as a pilot project, with a view to possibly restructuring how grants are paid to this under-utilised segment.

3. Community-based upgrades- An offer of tax breaks to businesses to adopt the communities where they may be operating. A business may upgrade a community playground, clear unsightly piles of garbage or clean/ paint over graffiti-filled walls, and they should receive a tax break in a vein similar to the cultural one in operation now, i.e., a write-off of 150 per cent of the cost.

4. Local content- Advances in the recording process have now made a mandatory 25 per cent local content quota for all radio stations a possibility that would not only support and encourage our creatives but also create real economic value.

5. Import substitution-

Provide economic incentives to local food processors/ manufacturers to replace imported inputs with locally sourced ones. And target a 25 per cent reduction in the import of these inputs by 2027. Naturally, this would have the effect of reducing demand for foreign exchange by reducing purchases of imported products.

6. Clear the customs backlog- Through a six or 12-month moratorium, make all courier-sourced imports into Trinidad and Tobago duty-free. These packages will still be subject to inspection, but in extraditing the many deliveries already sitting there and awaiting assessment, revenue officials can now redirect their energies on clearing the backlog of containerised cargo.

7. Diaspora bonds-

Target the very large and economically powerful group of T&T-born persons who now work and live in other countries in a lowyield US$ bond issue. With a diaspora population of over a million, we should be able to raise US$1 billion in hard currency that can be used for economic and infrastructural strengthening or to help improve our supply of foreign exchange.

8. Eliminate the gap between buying and selling rates on foreign currencies – The spread between the two rates (for cash, it can be as much as 13 per cent!) acts as a disincentive to both public and corporate citizens to remit foreign exchange to the banking system. We must find ways to make the system more equitable and e beneficial to the customer.

As it stands, even persons with US dollar accounts find it challenging to access their funds when necessary.

Additionally, the Central Bank needs to crack down on unregistered buyers of foreign currency and put an end to hoarding.

9. Go cashless- We need to follow the examples of countries such as Norway, Denmark and Sweden, and spare no effort in transforming the local economy to one where there are disincentives against the use of cash notes and incentives for the banks, businesses and consumers alike to instead use bank cards, virtual wallets, etc.

To begin, commercial banks must be mandated to remove or reduce fees associated with the use of point-ofsale machines. Stop penalising merchants by charging them 2.5 per cent on every credit card transaction. Those fees are counter-intuitive to any attempt to make the conduct of legitimate business a safe enterprise.

10. Water tank tax incentive- In an effort to improve access to water, provide a tax incentive to homeowners who choose to invest in an dome upgrade of their domestic water storage. If all homes had access to 2,500 gallons of tank water and a pump, would the vagaries of the pipe-borne supply be as noticeable?

11. Creation of gated communities- As an additional security measure, authorise communities to restrict thoroughfare access to non-residents via the installation of barriers and guard booths. Give the regional corporations and the Police Service the authority to grant these approvals based on a specific set of rules.

12. Introduction of community service for persons serving non-custodial sentences or in lieu of fines- Give individuals who have received notices of fines (or who have been convicted of petty crimes) the opportunity to perform community service in lieu of payment. These individuals could be deployed to collect garbage on the roadsides or at beaches.

Here’s hoping that a meaningful dialogue can be kick-started as a result.

G Elias
Cascade