The Tribune

By LETRE SWEETING & JADE RUSSELL

Tribune Staff Reporters

FOR Roshni Braynen, pay cheques are issued too far apart and caring for a child is challenging and expensive.

The government’s back-to-school VAT holiday, which extends from August 19 to September 10, starts too late to help the 23-year-old single mother of one.

“Nowadays, a lot of things are way more expensive than they used to be,” she said yesterday. “So it’s kind of harder considering I am a single mother and I work for government, so I have to wait. I’m not getting paid every week or every two weeks like most people. I have to wait until the end of the month.”

With her child starting school on August 21, Ms Braynen said she must rely on family to purchase school supplies for her four-year-old son rather than take advantage of the VAT holiday.

“It’s just having to be patient and seeing where else I could get certain things from because nowadays, schools aren’t just asking you for books and folder sheets,” she said. “You need a lot more other things, especially after COVID. Yeah, so it’s just a lot, but I’m trying to be very patient.

“Because it’s a lot to pay for, and it takes a bit of time to accumulate the money, especially after a whole entire summer.”

Earlier this month, the Department of Inland Revenue announced the return of the government’s VAT-free initiative. Personal computers, tablets, laptops, notebooks, uniforms, shoes, underwear, hair accessories, bookbags and other items are zero-rated during the holiday.

The programme ran from August 22 to September 11 last year. Even then, some merchants and parents believed it started too late.

Others are happy that the programme, which began under the Minnis administration, has become an annual occurrence.

“That’s awesome,” said Ursula Wells, a mother-of-three who did not know about the holiday. “I appreciate you telling me because I didn’t even know about it.”

Another parent, Sammie Poitier, said his six children are not affected by the timing of the VAT holiday, but he believes it should happen earlier.

“We normally don’t wait until this point to get prepared,” he said. “We normally do it like in the middle or end of July, somewhere around there.”

“I do think it needs to be done a little bit earlier. I’m assuming it’s possibly like a second-thought type of thing. I guess it’s a good initiative, but it definitely should be done sooner and definitely for a longer period because some people might not be in a position to just jump up and do what they need to do in that weekend.”

“Give people at least two weeks minimum to take advantage of the whole thing. Give people time to get things done, you know, in an organised, calm fashion.

Education Minister Glenys Hanna Martin suggested yesterday that she is satisfied with the holiday timeline.

“The period is August 19 to September 10, a three-week period. I believe it will be extremely helpful to parents in preparing children for school,” she told The Tribune.