The President of GCCI, Mr. Edi Mass Jobe had commended the Gambia Government through its Minister of Finance for its efforts to address the constraints of the Private sector in General and the MSMEs in particular.
He made this commendation during an organized Ministry of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration and Employment forum held recently in collaboration with the UNDP and UNDESA at the Sir Dawda Kairaba International Conference Centre in Bijilo.
Mr. Jobe said it is encouraging that they have seen in the Budget the fruits of their consultations and engagement during the budgeting calendar. “We hope that this partnership faced with an existential threat would continue. “As a backdrop to this Forum we have observed the desire to build back better; to undertake adaptive measures in anticipation of a COVID-19 world.
According to the President, Mr. Jobe GCCI welcomed the initiative of this government and the Minister of Trade for taking this highly felt need to explore options for revitalizing the important MSME sector; “We thank the Government for an Overall Budget that is very friendly to business, We noted the government is not burdening business with their fiscal ambitions the budget proposed A slight 5% increase in revenue projection despite a 13% increase in expenditure.
According to him GCCI noted the rationalisation of subvention to Government Agency, representing 23 percent of domestic revenue. More important than even the tax burden these subventions posed it distort competition and act as a disincentive to innovation.
Mr. Jobe also noted that in 2019, revenue loss to waivers was D2.5 billion. “The GCCI is committed at the Tax Advisory Board to strengthen the proposed Tax Expenditure Reform (TER) but also Tax Administration reforms through benchmarking and information sharing. Tax Payment is also a key determinant of competition, innovation and survival of MSMEs.
He added further that that GCCI noted the reduction in the cost of incorporation and business registration and the elimination of Payroll tax for the informal business and a reduction for the formal sector.
Meanwhile, he stated that the face of the MSMEs in the Gambia are brave women in the markets, restaurants, Nacos and GCCI really applaud the cash supports to the vulnerable communities.