The Fiji Labour Party is calling on the Minister of Finance Prof Biman Prasad to stop beating around and to tell the people whether taxes are going up or not, particularly VAT.
In a statement, FLP Leader and former Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry told Prasad to stop accusing him of creating alarm and panic unnecessarily among the most vulnerable people.
Chaudhry said Prof Prasad has a short memory – either that or he is looking for scapegoats to blame for the mess he is in.
“The warning about increases in taxation came from the Minister himself. He is the one who told the nation…. And if anyone jumped the gun, it was the Minister himself by pre-empting the work of the Fiscal Review Committee,” he said.
The former Prime Minister said that at the National Economic Summit, Suva Lawyer Richard Naidu states quite categorically that the Committee’s recommendation was that the zero-rating of VAT on basic food items be scrapped and VAT increased to 15 per cent across the board.
Chaudhry said Naidu’s statement made media headlines and this is what created the alarm and panic among the public.
He said it forced the Deputy Prime Minister Viliame Gavoka to make a public statement last weekend saying that recovery should not come at a cost to the people.
“My advice to the Minister is that he should be more circumspect about statements he makes in public.”
“He is obviously back-tracking under pressure – hence, the new narrative that “government will decide” whether taxes will go up,” he added.
FijiLive has reached out to the Minister for Finance Prof Biman Prasad for a comment.
