The price of gas and diesel has increased tremendously across the world and locally owing to the Russian invasion of Ukraine that is still ongoing.
In addition to the increased prices for commodities, the cost of living in Guyana has increased as well and Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo says this is a difficult issue to tackle.
“I see people saying now how we can address it because we set aside $5B in the budget to try to alleviate concerns but it’s a very difficult thing to address," he said.
However, the Vice President on Wednesday announced that to cushion the effects felt by the citizens about fuel prices, the Government has removed the excise tax on Gas and Diesel from 10% to Zero.
He made this announcement during his two-day outreach in Essequibo, Region Two.
“There was a 50% tax on fuel products like petroleum stuff, gasoline and diesel and stuff, it’s down to zero. We removed all the taxes,” Jagdeo stated.
In 2021, the Government had reduced the tax from 50% to 35% then in October of the same year it was reduced from 35% to 20%.
In the National 2022 budget, the 20% tax was further reduced to 10%.
This measure is expected to see a reduction in the cost of fuel across the various gas stations in Guyana. Currently, gas prices in the various gas stations stand at $246 (GYD) per litre.
In addition, the cabinet is currently in discussions to plan how to utilise the $5B that was allocated in the National 2022 Budget to cushion the effects of the high cost of living.
