[www.inewsguyana.com] –Minister of State, Joseph Harmon says that Government has taken a decision to restore tax free overtime benefits to bauxite workers after the benefit was withdrawn in 2007.
Harmon made the announcement at a press conference on Wednesday, where he pointed out that the benefit was “arbitrarily” snatched from bauxite workers.
“Cabinet approved the reinstatement of tax free overtime benefits to bauxite workers…in 1988 bauxite workers were granted tax free concessions on overtime work. These
concessions were enjoyed by workers until 2007 when they were arbitrarily taken away by the previous administration,” he stated.
Harmon indicated that the removal of the tax waiver was seen as some sort of punishment for Region 10 hence the new Government thought it only right to restore the waiver.
“This withdrawal adversely affected the earning of bauxite workers in linden and Kwakwani and was seen as a punitive measure…so it’s basically correcting that situation,” Harmon said.