Banking levy not beneficial to economy, says executive

Business

KINA Bank chief executive officer Greg Pawson says it is counterproductive to impose any increase in the banking levy on the banking sector.
Pawson was responding to questions from The National in regards to the Government flagging a possible increase in tax paid by the banks.
“The announcement of the proposed additional levy or tax was a surprise given that there had been no prior consultation by the Government with the financial services sector in PNG,” he said.
“At this point, we haven’t been approached to engage with the Government on the concept and would strongly discourage any such proposal.
“Our view is that is it counter-productive to impose any additional levy or tax on the financial services sector, the stability of which is critical for the economic growth and prosperity of this country.”
The Bank South Pacific (BSP) also told The National last week that it had not been approached by the Government on this matter.
It, however, said the increase in tax would not affect customers but only shareholders such as the superannuation funds and other financial institutions.