The Government is being pressed to overhaul the payroll tax system in time for the next fiscal year, with higher-income earners paying more to provide relief for lower-paid workers.
Political commentator Claude Skelton Cline made the call on his radio programme on September 8, describing the current system as unfair and unjust.
“We need to take a quick look and action for the upcoming fiscal year on the payroll tax,” he said. “The payroll tax needs to be properly scaled and apportioned.”
Under the current structure, the first $10,000 of an employee’s annual income is exempt from payroll tax, regardless of how much that person earns.
Skelton Cline argued that applying the same exemption to someone earning $30,000 and another person earning $200,000 places a greater burden on lower-income workers.
“Whether you make $30,000 or $200,000, it’s the same scale. That’s unjust,” he stated. “Right now, it’s just straight across the board. That’s unfair.”
He suggested increasing the tax-free threshold to $15,000 for lower-income earners while requiring wealthy, upper-middle-class and other high-income workers to contribute more.
“The wealthy, the so-called elite, more upper-middle class, need to be paying more,” he said, adding that financial experts should determine how the new system is structured.
Skelton Cline said the proposal could quickly place more money in the hands of struggling residents while allowing the Government to maintain its revenue.
“You’ve got to find a way to take some of the weight off the people of your country,” he stated. “Here is a solution. It’s not the only one, but it’s one on the table where people can still maintain the dignity of work and labour, but at a better and fairer rate.”
He warned that imposing further taxes on already burdened residents could “create a revolt”.
Opposition Member and former Finance Minister Ronnie Skelton made a similar proposal in May, calling for a higher tax-free threshold for low-income workers, offset by increased contributions from top earners.
“We can take it from people like Marlon [Penn] and myself. We could take it back from the top,” Skelton said at the time, describing the proposal as a balancing act.
Political commentator Claude Skelton Cline made the call on his radio programme on September 8, describing the current system as unfair and unjust.
“We need to take a quick look and action for the upcoming fiscal year on the payroll tax,” he said. “The payroll tax needs to be properly scaled and apportioned.”
Under the current structure, the first $10,000 of an employee’s annual income is exempt from payroll tax, regardless of how much that person earns.
Skelton Cline argued that applying the same exemption to someone earning $30,000 and another person earning $200,000 places a greater burden on lower-income workers.
“Whether you make $30,000 or $200,000, it’s the same scale. That’s unjust,” he stated. “Right now, it’s just straight across the board. That’s unfair.”
He suggested increasing the tax-free threshold to $15,000 for lower-income earners while requiring wealthy, upper-middle-class and other high-income workers to contribute more.
“The wealthy, the so-called elite, more upper-middle class, need to be paying more,” he said, adding that financial experts should determine how the new system is structured.
Skelton Cline said the proposal could quickly place more money in the hands of struggling residents while allowing the Government to maintain its revenue.
“You’ve got to find a way to take some of the weight off the people of your country,” he stated. “Here is a solution. It’s not the only one, but it’s one on the table where people can still maintain the dignity of work and labour, but at a better and fairer rate.”
He warned that imposing further taxes on already burdened residents could “create a revolt”.
Opposition Member and former Finance Minister Ronnie Skelton made a similar proposal in May, calling for a higher tax-free threshold for low-income workers, offset by increased contributions from top earners.
“We can take it from people like Marlon [Penn] and myself. We could take it back from the top,” Skelton said at the time, describing the proposal as a balancing act.
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