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The Minister in the Ministry of Finance Senator Ubaldus Raymond has welcomed the results of the latest Business Performance Survey released by the St Lucia Chamber of Commerce saying that it reveals the fruits of his government policies and the impact of the reduction in the value added tax.
According to the survey, 69 percent of businesses reported higher sales for the period January to June 2017 compared to the previous six months June to December 2016.
Business owners also say they feel optimistic about future economic prospects.
Raymond said the results are the fruits of the policies implemented by the United Workers Party government to encourage investor confidence and spur economic activity.
We were not surprised when we saw the Chamber of Commerce performance survey report; very very positive. The local business community, they are very optimistic about the future when compared to the time of the Labour party governance, Raymond stated.
Raymond said the government understands the importance of the private sector in economic development and job creation.
A lot of us believe that when the government reduced the VAT from 15 percent to 12.5 percent, it was a loss of revenue for the government but that’s not true. We believe that the deduction in the vat would have filtered to the average consumer and of course it starts with the consumer, it starts with the business person, he added.
Raymond said there has been an increase in the number of investors showing interest in doing business with St Lucia and lenders are also coming to the island in droves with lower interest rates and better terms.
