‘Measures difficult to enforce’

THE Government’s temporary relief measures on goods and services tax (GST), plus fuel excise to combat inflation, has been problematic to implement, according to the PNG Manufacturers Council.
Chief executive officer Chey Scovell was commenting on why some businesses had accrued hundreds of thousands of kina because of the temporary lifting of the GST.
“It hasn’t been implemented smoothly,” Scovell said.
“The implementation has been difficult and there have been a number of business that have accrued hundreds of thousands of kina because of issues with Customs complying with the Government’s position to temporary waive the GST.
“So it hasn’t been implemented smoothly.
“The Government has a limited amount of resources and revenue, so they have to (find) the most appropriate means of disbursing that.
“Rather than trying to forgo revenue on GST which has been problematic in its implementation, it might be better if that money was just spent on TVET, or something to provide skill for the workforce.
“The cost of living pressures are real, but globally, countries are going to be dealing with inflation over the short to medium-term.
“They probably need to have some holistic reform to put in a fiscal policy that is conducive to investment and profit generation and wealth generation.”
Parliament on Friday passed three money bills: the Excise Tariff Amendment Bill 2022, Goods and Services Amendment Bill 2022 and the Supplementary Appropriation Bill 2022.