By Marvin Cato | HGP Nightly News
ENMORE, EAST COAST DEMERARA — President Irfaan Ali has reaffirmed his government’s commitment to raising the income tax threshold to $200,000 before the end of his current term in office, promising workers that continued threshold increases will lift more earners out of the income tax net and increase disposable income across the workforce.
The commitment was made on Tuesday during commemorations marking the 78th anniversary of the Enmore Martyrs at Enmore Estate on the East Coast Demerara.
The Commitment
Speaking at the commemoration, the President said the $200,000 mark is the target his administration has set for the threshold before leaving office.
“The new base now is the new threshold,” Ali said. “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.”
He said the Government’s aim is not to settle at any single figure but to continuously lift workers’ economic standing.
“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,” the President said.
The Threshold’s Progress Since 2020
The income tax threshold has increased steadily since the PPP/C returned to office in 2020, coinciding with the growth of new revenue from the oil and gas sector.
In his first term, President Ali said the Government delivered cumulative across-the-board public sector salary increases of 46%, and the income tax threshold moved from $65,000 in 2020 to $130,000 by the end of 2025. The threshold now stands at $140,000 following this year’s budget.
The President said each increase has removed thousands of earners from the income tax net. The most recent adjustment removed approximately 5,000 workers and added more than $2 billion in disposable income across the workforce.
“It is the People’s Progressive Party that has successfully increased the base upon which every worker in this country stands,” the President said.
For context, the APNU+AFC administration during its 2015–2020 tenure delivered public sector wage and salary increases of 77% — a separate measure from the tax threshold increases the current Government has emphasised.
The Political Timing
The announcement was made at a time when local government elections are expected later this year and global food prices remain elevated — factors that give the threshold commitment additional political significance. Opposition and civil society responses to the President’s commitment were sought.
“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!” the President said.
