Promised remittance tax reduction may be delayed

Financial Secretary Jeremiah Frett has hinted that there may yet be some wait for persons anxiously looking forward to the promised reduction in the government’s controversial money transfer levy.

Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley recently promised during a press conference that the current money transfer tax implemented by his predecessor, Andrew Fahie, will now be slashed from seven percent to 3.5 percent.

At the time, Premier Wheatley said: “They are actually preparing the order … It will have to go to the House of Assembly just to be laid, subject to a negative resolution in the House. Once it is gazetted, it goes into effect and that can happen anytime between now and next week”

But Frett recently issued a press release which suggested that things may be a bit more complicated and the wait for the promised change may be longer than persons might be anticipating.

In his statement, Frett said the Cabinet’s decision to cut the levy by 50-percent on July 20 will not come into effect until the necessary legal actions are taken.