OPPOSITION SPOKESMAN on Finance, Audley Shaw has called for a major export/retooling thrust inclusive of refinancing for local companies, part of his framework for growth in his budget presentation on Tuesday.
It is of course an open secret that funds for refinancing is a problem area for many debt-ridden local companies which have greater access to new financing schemes than facilities for renegotiating existing loans.
As part of this renewed export thrust Mr. Shaw also called for the removal of double taxation on dividends; and he recommended that the executives of financial institutions funding the export sector should visit businesses with financing problems and work out financing arrangements.
Government would no doubt argue that it has already begun to phase out the double taxation on dividends. Further it would also point to the operations of the EXIM bank in devising programmes aimed at broadening the country's export thrust. As Dr. Omar Davies reported in his opening budget presentation, the EXIM bank recently reviewed its lending rates, loan limits, loan tenor and collateral requirements. Mr. Shaw's recommendations go deeper than these initiatives however as they speak of a comprehensive strategy of boosting export financing, including fiscal incentives aimed at increasing the supply of export credit and ultimately production.
We believe that it is this kind of bold initiative that helps to send a strong signal that we are serious about building an export culture. After all, no one would deny that if we are to grow our way out of the debt crisis then we must boost exports. This will not happen by mouthing platitudes. It demands specific strategies as those recommended by the Opposition Spokesman on Finance.
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