Private sector voices concerns to IMF team over taxation, decline of dollar

The private sector and IMF teams (Private Sector Commission photo)

The Private Sector Com-mission (PSC) has voiced concerns to a visiting International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission about increased taxation, the declining value of the Guyanese dollar and uncertainty about the direction of the economy.

In a press release issued after the meeting, the PSC, however, said that it expressed to the IMF its willingness to co-operate with government in the national interest and to assist in helping to right the economy.

The PSC said the decline in the value of the Guyana dollar was also discussed with the team suggesting that a flexible exchange rate, which allowed the currency to revalue itself in response to market forces, was ideal.

In response to questions from the IMF Mission as to the cause of a loss of investor confidence, the PSC said it pointed to increased taxation and a degree of uncertainty as to the direction in which the economy is moving.