Monday, February 16, 2015

Businesses are being taxed to death

The World Bank Group flagship publication 'Doing Business' is out and The Gambia is again ranked at the lowest end of the table, at Number 138 out of 186 countries.

Corporate taxes, like domestic/personal income tax, are going through the roof.  The World Bank Report ranked The Gambian 180 out of 186 in corporate taxes which can only drive business out and into the hands of its neighbors in Senegal, Guinea-Bissau and Mali.

Getting credit in the Gambia for business expansion has become near impossibility because The Government is competing with the private sector for the dwindling pool of financial resources in the banks.

The regime continue to pile on domestic debt as it successfully crowds out the private sector, confirmed by the "Doing Business" Report.  The Gambia is tanked 160 out of 186 countries in getting credit for business expansion continues, an improvement from last when it was ranked 180, but still unacceptably high for businesses to access credit.

To start a business in The Gambia is getting more and more difficult, according to the Doing Business Report, 159 out of 186.  Staying in business is as difficult as starting one because if you are denied access to credit because the government is competing with the private sector for bank resources, electricity supply is intermittent as it is expensive.  Gambia is ranked 138 for getting electricity out of 186 countries.

The private sector as the engine of growth has become an empty claim by a regime that is increasingly becoming isolated from reality and losing its way concurrently.  Gambia needs new leadership and new direction. - The New Gambia.