HGP Nightly News – President Irfaan Ali has renewed his commitment to increasing Guyana’s income tax threshold to $200,000 before the end of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic’s current term in office, a move he says would further increase disposable income for workers across the country.
Speaking during Tuesday’s Enmore Martyrs Day observance, Ali told workers that the government intends to continue raising the amount employees can earn before becoming liable for income tax.
“The new base now is a new threshold, and we said that before the end of this term, that new base will be $200,000 upon which our workers would stand, $200,000 tax-free,” the President declared.
If achieved, the increase would represent a major jump from the $65,000 threshold that existed when the PPP/C returned to office in 2020.
Since then, the government has implemented a series of increases through successive national budgets, moving the threshold from $75,000 in 2022 to $85,000 in 2023, $100,000 in 2024, $130,000 in 2025, and $140,000 in the 2026 budget.
The adjustments have steadily reduced the tax burden on lower-income earners. Government figures indicate that the most recent increase removed approximately 5,000 workers from the income tax net and placed more than $2 billion back into the pockets of taxpayers through additional disposable income.
Addressing workers gathered at the event, Ali pointed to the increases as part of what he described as the government’s broader efforts to improve living standards.
“It is the People’s Progressive Party that has successfully increased the base upon which every worker in this country stands,” he said.
The President also cited salary increases and pension adjustments among achievements delivered during the administration’s tenure.
“Five years ago, the struggle was for a higher threshold. We delivered. The struggle was for higher salaries. We delivered. The struggle was for a better pension. We delivered,” Ali told the audience.
According to the Head of State, the government’s objective extends beyond simply reaching a specific tax-free threshold. Instead, he said, the aim is to create opportunities for workers and their families to achieve higher standards of living over time.
“Our level for the workers is not a hundred thousand. Our level is to move them from one status to the next status, so that their children can enjoy a different level upon which they start their base,” he said.
The pledge comes as the government continues to highlight a range of tax relief measures introduced since 2020, with the income tax threshold increases among the administration’s most prominent policies aimed at boosting take-home pay for workers.
