…incentives available – GO-Invest Chief
Tax-free zones, which will see incentives being offered at certain areas for investors to encourage economic expansion and the creation of job opportunities, are on the horizon for locations countrywide. Chief Investment Officer Dr Peter Ramsaroop is encouraging potential investors, both local and foreign, to capitalise.
With investors already exploring investment opportunities in Guyana, Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr Peter Ramsaroop used the occasion of the recently held International Business Conference (IBC) to tell them why they should stay and invest.
According to Ramsaroop, the Government has plans to announce tax free zones which will see favorable concessions being built into certain areas. This will encourage targeted development and job opportunities. But as of right now, investors also have tax free concessions available to them too.
GO-Invest CEO,
Dr Peter Ramsaroop
“We will announce sectoral or zones, that will be tax free zones. So, there will be certain incentives built into certain places, that will be tax free. Now if you come today, to our office and say you want to go into agro-processing, you want to build a manufacturing component, we will give you every tax concession available.”
“From your building materials and machineries, to the trucks that is necessary for you to move your goods. We will give you a tax-free concession. So, there are many sectors that drive concessions,” he explained.
Meanwhile, Ramsaroop also dropped some valuable advice for prospective investors, urging them to examine the Government’s budgetary spending to decipher the direction in which investment opportunities are heading.
“If you study our 2021-2024 budgets and you follow the money, where Government is spending, you will figure out where your next investments should be. So, if we say we’re building an international airport in Lethem.
“If you go to Lethem, the border town in Brazil and you see how it’s designed. And you go back 50-60 years ago and you look at a picture, you will see what the opportunity looks like for that border town. What that can become in just a few years,” he added.
It was previously revealed by President Dr Irfaan Ali that more on these special areas should be included in the 2025 National Budget. With Guyana’s rapid economic growth and robust policy agenda yielding fruit, President Ali had disclosed that there are plans to establish special investment zones countrywide, which could have tax-free incentives for potential investors.
During a previous interview, the President highlighted that Guyana, through systems put in place by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government when it assumed office in 2020, now has the best incentive and most competitive regime in the Caribbean for investment.
He had said that spaces must now be identified for further development. With this in mind, the administration is moving to create industrial zones or hubs to boost investments for locals, especially those in the manufacturing sector.
According to the Head of State, the areas identified would experience high-level growth in the coming years as Government continues to develop the necessary infrastructure. Lethem in Region Nine (Upper Takutu/Upper Essequibo) and Linden in Region 10 (Upper Demerara/Upper Berbice) had been identified by the Head of State.
The Guyanese Leader had explained that investments in each zone would be governed by an Act that would be tailored to situations and communities within that area, and would be similar to the Special Investment Act for Linden in Region 10.
In this regard, President Ali had revealed that Government aims to spearhead the venture in 2025 through the fiscal package for that year. Guyana’s incentives to foreigners are geared towards encouraging investment and economic development. These include tax holidays, duty-free concessions, and other benefits in sectors like mining. (G3)
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