Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 28/Sep 09:43

Some budget advice for Minister Tancoo

THE EDITOR: The appointment of Dave Tancoo as finance minister, following the UNC’s electoral victory on April 28, represents an opportunity for fresh perspectives in TT’s fiscal leadership. As Minister Tancoo prepares his inaugural budget presentation, the following strategic approaches merit consideration for strengthening the nation’s economic foundation. Given the importance of this transition period and the complex challenges facing our economy, these three policy frameworks are offered as constructive contributions to the national dialogue on fiscal strategy and economic development priorities: Revenue generation: At this time of decreased national earnings and steep declines in the availability of foreign exchange, it is important to appreciate the crucial role of the energy sector to our national prosperity. In 1974, the Permanent Petroleum Pricing Committee (PPPC) was established to combat the pernicious practice of transfer pricing in the energy industry. For reasons which remain unclear, the PPPC was effectively dismantled in the 2000/2001 period, so yet another “legacy policy” was silently wrecked to our collective detriment, since that shift could only have benefitted the Energy companies. As explained over the past two decades by my peerless colleague and energy adviser, Anthony Paul, the fiscal losses to TT have been tremendous. Ian Narine also highlighted this important issue in “Foreign Exchange and Economic Fantasies” in the Business Guardian (September 25). It is therefore essential that the finance minister urgently re-instate the Permanent Petroleum Pricing Committee (PPPC) to safeguard our nation’s share of those earnings. In that connection, difficult as it may be for the UNC to contemplate, there must also be a sober re-assessment of its decision to repeal the Property Tax, as that was the most feasible window into significant untaxed earnings from Investment Property. Overseeing transactions in public money: The Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Property Act (PPDPPA) was passed in 2015 during the Peoples’ Partnership government, within which the UNC was emphatically the leading element. The previous PNM finance minister, Colm Imbert, removed legal, accounting/auditing, medical fees and financial services, as well as government to government agreements and “such other services as the minister may, by order, determine’ from OPR oversight. “Those exclusions kept huge transactions in public money from independent oversight, which could only be to our collective detriment. “I am calling on the Finance Minister to take bold and restorative action to ensure the urgent repeal of those damaging exemptions from the PPDPPA. Firm action against white-collar criminals: I smiled while reading about Tancoo’s clarity on the recent Financial Action Task Force (FATF) bill - “...Tancoo highlighted measures criminalising bribery in public procurement and embezzlement of public resources... ‘TT must never again find itself in the position we were in over the last few years, when the Office of the Procurement Regulator, the Auditor General, and others sounded the alarm,’ he said. ‘Billions of taxpayers’ dollars were spent illegally on projects no one could verify.’ “He added that the bills establish a robust legislative framework to address crime, cross-border activities, and white-collar offences that have already cost the nation billions and affected thousands of lives. ‘We promised the people we’d tackle these issues. With these bills, that promise is kept,’...” So far so good, in relation to those international obligations, but we also need to see an equal determination to seek the public interest with local contractors, advisers and suppliers. Given its position on FATF, the finance minister needs to ensure stern and prompt prosecution of white-collar crime up to and including those accused from within UNC ranks. No more backsliding or late filing, case not ready or any of that, let these accused face the xourts and ‘tell it to the Judge’. If UNC wishes to do better than the previous PNM administration, they must act differently. via e-mail Afra Raymond afraraymond.net The post Some budget advice for Minister Tancoo appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.