{"id":191615,"date":"2023-12-06T10:27:25","date_gmt":"2023-12-06T14:27:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?p=191615"},"modified":"2023-12-06T10:27:25","modified_gmt":"2023-12-06T14:27:25","slug":"upp-townhall-challenges-controversial-2-abst-hike-amidst-governments-fiscal-struggles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/upp-townhall-challenges-controversial-2-abst-hike-amidst-governments-fiscal-struggles\/","title":{"rendered":"UPP Townhall Challenges Controversial 2% ABST Hike Amidst Government’s Fiscal Struggles"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The UPP has arranged a townhall meeting to discuss the government’s proposed 2 percent increase in the Antigua Barbuda Sales Tax (ABST) in the coming year.<\/p>

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Scheduled after the Throne Speech by Governor General Sir Rodney Williams, the meeting at Glanvilles Community Center aims to address the opposition’s concerns about the impending tax hike from 15 percent to 17 percent, set to be announced officially in the 2024 Budget presentation.<\/p>\n

Financial Secretary Rasona Davis-Crump defended the move, citing the government’s prolonged financial deficits and the need to meet the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank’s tax-to-GDP target.<\/p>

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The proposed measures exclude zero-rated essential items like chicken, fish, butter, fresh fruits, vegetables, rice, and flour.<\/p>

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The UPP has arranged a townhall meeting to discuss the government’s proposed 2 percent increase in the Antigua Barbuda Sales Tax (ABST) in the coming year. Scheduled after the Throne Speech by Governor General Sir Rodney Williams, the meeting at Glanvilles Community Center aims to address the opposition’s concerns about the impending tax hike from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":191616,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-191615","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nUPP Townhall Challenges Controversial 2% ABST Hike Amidst Government's Fiscal Struggles - Antigua News Room<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/upp-townhall-challenges-controversial-2-abst-hike-amidst-governments-fiscal-struggles\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"UPP Townhall Challenges Controversial 2% ABST Hike Amidst Government's Fiscal Struggles\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The UPP has arranged a townhall meeting to discuss the government’s proposed 2 percent increase in the Antigua Barbuda Sales Tax (ABST) in the coming year. Scheduled after the Throne Speech by Governor General Sir Rodney Williams, the meeting at Glanvilles Community Center aims to address the opposition’s concerns about the impending tax hike from […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/upp-townhall-challenges-controversial-2-abst-hike-amidst-governments-fiscal-struggles\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Antigua News Room\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/antiguanewsroom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-12-06T14:27:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/No-Tax-Increase.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"622\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"346\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Editor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@AntiguaNewsRoom\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@AntiguaNewsRoom\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Editor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/upp-townhall-challenges-controversial-2-abst-hike-amidst-governments-fiscal-struggles\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/upp-townhall-challenges-controversial-2-abst-hike-amidst-governments-fiscal-struggles\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Editor\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/person\/36cac05ef6398fe56ae3e6317f8535c5\"},\"headline\":\"UPP Townhall Challenges Controversial 2% ABST Hike Amidst Government’s Fiscal Struggles\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-12-06T14:27:25+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-12-06T14:27:25+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/upp-townhall-challenges-controversial-2-abst-hike-amidst-governments-fiscal-struggles\/\"},\"wordCount\":123,\"commentCount\":2,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/upp-townhall-challenges-controversial-2-abst-hike-amidst-governments-fiscal-struggles\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:622\/h:346\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/No-Tax-Increase.jpeg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/upp-townhall-challenges-controversial-2-abst-hike-amidst-governments-fiscal-struggles\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/upp-townhall-challenges-controversial-2-abst-hike-amidst-governments-fiscal-struggles\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/upp-townhall-challenges-controversial-2-abst-hike-amidst-governments-fiscal-struggles\/\",\"name\":\"UPP Townhall Challenges Controversial 2% ABST Hike Amidst Government's Fiscal Struggles - 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