President Dr. Irfaan Ali on Tuesday announced that the income tax threshold will be increased to $200,000 before the end of his term in office.
Speaking at the 78th anniversary commemoration of the Enmore Martyrs, the Head of State said that the move forms part of a broader effort to raise the standard of living for Guyanese.
He said his administration has already delivered on key promises to workers, including higher salaries, pensions, improved healthcare, better infrastructure and support for education.
“The new base now is the new threshold. And we said that before the end of this term, that new base will be $200,000 upon which our workers will stand $200,000 tax-free,” President Ali declared.
According to the President, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government has been steadily using oil revenues to improve public services and direct support to households, arguing that workers today are benefiting from a stronger social and economic base than in past generations.
“The struggle was for a higher threshold. We delivered. The struggle was for higher salaries. We delivered. The struggle was for better pension. We delivered. The struggle was for better infrastructure. We delivered. The struggle was for better education. We delivered. The struggle was for better health care. We delivered,” he said.
Ali made the announcement while reflecting on the legacy of the Enmore Martyrs, whose deaths in 1948 became a defining moment in the struggle for workers’ rights, dignity and justice in Guyana. He said each generation faces its own struggle, but argued that the task of his administration has been to build a better foundation for future generations.
He pointed to expanded access to healthcare, free tertiary education, school grants, eye care, housing opportunities and other public benefits as evidence that government is investing in workers and their families.
“The new base is that every single child of the worker can now have a degree, a master’s or a PhD free of cost,” the President said. “The new base is that we give you free cardiology services, free diabetic services, free surgery, free maternal service, free healthcare at every level.”
The President also used the occasion to defend government spending in the sugar industry and urged workers and unions to recognise the long-term efforts being made to modernise and sustain the sector.
He said that while the government will continue to support sugar, it is also pursuing new models and new investments aimed at making the industry more efficient and sustainable.
