In support of the goal of becoming the first Climate Resilient Nation, the Government of Dominica is taking action to encourage use of vehicles that are more environmentally friendly.
As such, effective October 1st, 2019 the import duty and value added tax on electric vehicles will be reduced to zero percent, prime minister Skerrit has said.
“The use of vehicles that do not utilize fossil fuels has a direct impact on the levels of carbon emissions.” he stated while presenting the 2019/2020 National Budget address on Tuesday.
An electric vehicle is one that is propelled by one or more electric motors, using energy stored in rechargeable batteries and according to the prime minister, “It is more environmentally friendly than those which utilize only fossil fuel.”
He said effective 1st October 2019, the import duty and value added tax on HS 8702.40 that is electric buses, HS 8703.80 that is electric cars, HS 8711.60.90 that is electric motorcycles, will be reduced to zero percent.
The Prime Minister said this measure will encourage citizens to make the switch to the more environmentally friendly vehicles and overtime to have more of these vehicles being imported into Dominica.
He said further that there is also an opportunity for individuals to provide the support services for these vehicles.
Skerrit explained that charging stations will be needed and there must appropriately trained mechanics to provide maintenance services.
“We trust that the investment in these areas will be made,” he stated.
The Prime Minister also revealed that effect 1st October 2019, a waiver of import duty and excise tax will be granted, on buses, no older than five years, which seat between 21 and 29 people.
“These are to be used for organised tours for the cruise sector,” he said. “The new policy will be similar to that which applies to agriculture.”
He said only buses to be used in the cruise sector will benefit.
Skerrit stated that prospective beneficiaries will have to meet stipulated conditions and the programme will be administered through the Discover Dominica Authority (DDA), “so the new policy will allow for zero percent import duty and zero percent excise tax.”
He said it has been noted that many of the buses used for tours provided to cruise visitors are the standard 16-seater buses.
The measure is aimed at facilitating the purchase of larger buses other than the prevailing 16 seaters, for the transportation of cruise passengers.
Skerrit said the larger buses are generally used for organized cruise tours and organized tours are central to the cruise business and the provision of services to support cruise lines in offering tours to its passengers is critical.
The budget also includes two proposals related to mortgage interest deductions.
The first measure will allow a resident to deduct from his taxable income, interest paid on mortgage loans in respect of the acquisition of, or improvements to two (2) residential properties.
“The resident will be allowed to deduct, up to $30,000, mortgage interest per year on one owner occupied property, and up to $15,000 on a second property,” prime minister Skerrit said.
He said residential rent is taxable and could be taxed at a rate of up to 35% on net rent (gross rent less expenses) based on the person’s taxable income.
“For example, a person earning over $80,000 per year, with no deductions other than the personal allowance of $30,000 per year, would be required to pay tax of 35% of his net rental income,” Skerrit explained.
The second measure being proposed by the government, is that the tax on residential rental income, be set at a flat rate of 20% after allowing for deduction of interest expenses related to the property and property insurance,” the prime minister said.“There are residents who will benefit now from this measure, and it will also encourage others to invest. This measure will take effect in tax year beginning January 2020.”
The government also proposes an increase of the maternity grant from $575 to $1,000 per child for eligible beneficiaries to better assist in meeting the costs needed for newborns, according to PM Skerrit. This measure will take effect on August 1st, 2019.
It is also proposed in the budget that VAT be removed on the following items including adult diapers, lifting chairs, bathroom aides and reclining beds, baby diapers, baby wipes. He said measure will take effect on September 1, 2019.
“Some years ago the Government removed the import duties on a wide range of baby adult items including but not limited to diapers and baby wipes,”he said. “We have noticed that there is a growing number of seniors who use adult diapers on a regular basis.”
This, he said, has caused some financial distress for many families.
“In respect to babies and infants, the sheer cost of baby diapers makes it prohibitive for some families to be able to afford. In our continuing effort to make the two most vulnerable groups in our society more comfortable,” Skerrit stated.
Electric vehicles are the in thing, it’s expensive, the commoners can’t afford it so clearly this is catering to a very small fraction of the population, so to most it’s no good news, not exactly what’s expected, give duty free like how workers did and u will see the amount of good new vehicles coming in, the dam duty to frigen high shate man.
With our infrastructure (electrical, repair facilities and otherwise) in such deplorable conditions, this effort to impose such idea on the populace is premature and intended for a few to benefit. Look out my people. The cabal and their cohorts are going to be the ones importing these vehicles and selling at exorbitant prices. Also, they will be the only ones with repair facilities for these vehicles where parts can be purchased at exorbitant prices.
In all honesty, this is just to benefit a few under the guise of “climate resilience”. Mark my words, Skerrit does nothing where he and his cohorts are not the primary beneficiaries. SMH
would like to know which average dominican that can afford an electric car skerrit…… you living in a world where you think everyone rich like you.
Domininca’s only electric car. This is the first generation Nissan leaf from (2010-2017)
The second generation was released on October 2nd 2017 for the 2018 model year. If I am not mistaken DOMLEC debuted this car in 2015/2016 (I stand corrected) I have lived on and visited some of Caribbean islands and they have many of the first generation and now the 2nd generation. I see parents dropping off their kids to school everyday/morning in both these models. There is a house just up the road from me with (2) two of the 2010 model parked in separate garages and plugs in there to recharge. There are also other makes of electric cars and SUVs on these same islands, such as Toyota Bmw Mercedes Hyundai Kia and Suzuki. These islands/countries pay well both in the private and public sectors and also small businesses have spending power. Mean while the best fuel saving vehicle we have is the Honda HRV which joined the Honda dealership in Japan in 1998 and was discontinued in 2006
So nothing on minimum wage… Time for ya’ll to get out of office if you won’t acknowledge it. Dominicans cannot live on $700 a month…
Whether it be an electric vehicle, a gasoline vehicle or a diesel vehicle, unless the vehicle is designed with out terrain, climate, roads and our automobile mechanics in mind (rather than “technicians”) we are going nowhere.
My fifty-year old my Land Rover is more economical than most recently imported vehicles and the chances are that it may still be around in fifty years time. It has no gadgetry: you slide the windows open by hand and for air conditioning there are two manually operated flaps that open below the windscreen. Spares are readily available at a fraction of the price of other vehicles. It’s top speed is 40 mph, but only a lunatic would drive faster than that on our roads.
I gest my comment was to political so it was not posted…..
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Don’t forget, to charge your electric car you must buy electricity from Domlec, who burn diesel to produce it, at least till we get our thermo going. Maybe you can buy solar cells and put your car on a trickle charge?
,
And the Labor Rites shouted yeahhhhhh!
Really and truly, how many of us can bring in an electric car? How many business minded people can even approach the bank for a loan for a bus that is less than 10 years old? The cheapest electric car I googled was a Nissan Leaf. In 2018 the basic cost was US$ 22 490.00.
Skerrit must personally know a handful of people who would benefit and trying to help them out. Remember Skerrit… you can only full some of the people some of the time.
ANSWER THE QUESTION… WHERE THE MONEY GONE?
Interesting vibs on the electrical cars. When need to be done, if we are going electrical cars start investing on solar power charging station that will be better.
well well well .
I sure that PM awredy make de arrangements for selling back and shipping dose fuel guzzelers to dem Japanese .
he awredy setting de example by ordering all electric vehicles for de Government use .
you know jus like he had get dem toilet for people to only use de locally produced toilet paper . you know like when he made it mandatory that all Government building should only use toilet paper produced in dominica to ensure de economy benefit .
Mister jus saying anyfing they want him to say . where de relevant arrangement for charging de batteries of dem vehicles ?
ok I know de geothermal awready make electricity dirt cheap so now a driver can just stop on their journey and ask anybody to allow them to charge their vehicle battery .
Mister does jus say dotish fings and de more dottish dem jus dere clapping .
He will sell all of them in a bag, and after they well tied up in de bag they will clap too, with tears in dere eyes. sarkway sort.
I also wants Dominicans to know all that talk from the PM is more joke for a place like dominica the duty on bicycles are still 44.43% all the talk he talk is for his boys and for all these years Little TONY family not paying taxes to our country is that right and them fool that call them self Dom/in/cans love the pm and they has nothing to eat when little tony living life in Antigua with his wife and just calling Dominica radio and put Dominicans in more [ B S ]
I wonder what is Dominica’s current birth rate. This man is obsessed with pampers.
and on what grid network are you gonna charge them? dca is 90% diesel powered so that hundreds of cars charging on the grid so even more diesel will be burnt. plus dca does not have the grid to support that , and then in 5 years time when the battery on those cars are bad what is your plan to recycle them? so basically you want to set up dca to be the highest user of elec in the region and also there will be a stock pile of bad decomposing batteries on island so more polution from that
why don’t you stop taxing the tax of the vehicles that coming in now
In order to be able to afford electric cars:
my minimum wage cannot be 4.05 per hour
I have to be able to afford to pay DOMLEC- I cannot do that
Is there a charging station to charge it? Is there a road to drive it on?
Am I charging it for free-
Garcon, why put the cart before the horse; garcon – zor pa easy at all.
Tell me something else
Who in Dominica earns or makes 80,000 a year- who?
Not nurses, not doctors, not allied health workers, not bank tellers, not managers.
WHOOOOOO.
I am a health worker and cannot even well make a 2 grand a month- how does this benefit me
Who is going to benefit from that tax break.
nonsense and stupidity reigns supreme yes.
Well I am not interested in what PM say mou. So let me comment rather on how our hero caught Alibaba and his forty thieves feeding our money. So Alibaba where is our money? How many passports you sold again? How much for a passport again? But Alibaba I used my calculator to do my own calculation and over one billion dollars missing? So Alibaba himself cannot answer and members of his. Forty thief team decide to answer on social media. But unfortunately they put Alibaba in more trouble because Mr. Alibaba got exposed eve9 more than before man. Alibaba way the people money? DNO you see I not in all politics and just talking about a story I heard in grade 2 about Alibaba and the forty thieves.
The tax refund check is in the mail, you will get it after the election but do not take it to the bank you may get surprised and charged with bank fraud attempting to cash worthless check.
Dominica is nowhere able to support electric cars right now. Even DOMLEC had to write off their electric car they imported as a trial/promo. In the french west indies they electrical grid has been set up to allow for that. There are charge stations allll over those islands. Also, imagine waiting hours for your car to charge like how you wait for your phone. I would personally want my own charge station at home and at work. The PM likes to make outlandish statements, then turn around the tell the technocrats to make it happen because he said it. Same for the plastics ban. He hadns thought any of it out before he said his thing. Then everybody had to scramble and do research and xyz and consult to ensure single use food plastics were banned. I still see styro phoam form time to time. But Dominica is nowhere ready to even consider electric cars. Maybe if/when geothermal energy is provided we can invest in the technology for electric cars one time. maybe because is dominica we are in
Dominica not ready for electric vehicles as a auto technician 60 years in the trade I can say when it come to repairs its very costly and must have train technician to handle repairs as we can see these vehicles brakes are different lighting system is different and many people that have these vehicles purchase extended warranties on them by the time that expires they trade the vehicle in so we need to do our research before putting these vehicle on the roads in DA.
While it is great that VAT and import duties are removed on baby wipes and diapers, I think if you truly want to help parents with the cost of an infant, not just VAT and import duties should be removed but also the CSC, excise tax, and environment surcharge. Make diapers and wipes really duty-free.
The clown failed Odd Minister says: “a waiver of import duty and excise tax will be granted, on buses, no older than five years, which seat between 21 and 29 people.”
Failed Skerrit is trying everything possible in his failed 19 years old outdated term in office to win us over with talk and promises of niceties to force us Dominicans to vote him and his corrupt Labour Government back into power to abuse our states funds and continue to reduce our people and our Dominica to even worse poverty. This man Skerrit is a big joke and a political comedian where no one laugh at his silly devious fake political joke.
Now failed Skerrit says: “The use of vehicles that do not utilize fossil fuels has a direct impact on the levels of carbon emissions.” However we the people of Dominica are saying: “The use and misuse of state`s vehicles that do not utilise accounting and transparency has a direct impact on the high levels of Corruption, the abuse of states funds and on going Bobol…
DNO, it appears that you have become a conduit to pipe this government’s every bit of election propaganda verbatim to the unsuspecting members of the public. The media, by not reporting on major issues impacting the lives of the local residents, are doing a disservice to the country. What the public mostly gets from you and other media outlets is stenographic reporting. Give your loyal readers the naked truth, no bias, about the major issues impacting positively or negatively on the development of the country and the lives of the people. Do some editorials on the present state of affairs in the country. Editorialize on crime, the economy, agriculture, wages and salaries, cost of living, education, housing, present public procurement practices, corruption, transparency and accountability in government, etcetera. Enlighten the populace. This thing about reduction of taxes and duties on electric cars is an election gimmick. How many people will import these vehicles, only ministers.
Thanks foe the waiver on import duties but remember larger buses needs better roads and larger roads
With respect to baby diapers I would point out that the removal of tax on diapers will increase the consumption of these items, which are not environmentally friendly. Washable, reusable diapers would be far better. The same applies to wet wipes, which are notorious for clogging up sewage systems.
Why would you put wet wipes in the toilet? They go in the trash?
Skerrit is simply looking for business for the boys and them. Because of used cars from Japan are so chip and every local person can order their car, that put his friends that are dealers practically out of business. So this tax free trick is to try to get business for his boys them because electric cars are not as common as regular cars and therefore his boys them could kill the bear foot man again. This one has to be Tony’s idea.