Edrissa Mass Jobe, the President of Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), has disclosed that the Gambia lost D2.5 billion revenue on waivers in 2019.
Jobe made the disclosure during a high-level policy forum on MSME support during the post COVID-19 era organized by ministry of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration and Employment, in collaboration with UNDP and UNDESA.
Jobe indicated the GCCI’s readiness and commitment to strengthen the proposed TER (Tax Expenditure Reform) and Tax Administration reforms through benchmarking and information sharing, while highlighting that Tax Payment is also a key determinant of competition, innovation and survival of MSMEs.
“GCCI welcomes the initiative of the Government and the Minister of Trade, for taking the needed steps to explore options for revitalizing the important MSME sector, as well as the cash support rendered them. These cash support indirectly helped MSMEs, to buy goods and services from their neighborhoods. We encourage Government to adopt this approach,” Jobe said.
The GGCI President commended the Gambia Government through its Minister of finance for the efforts made, with a view to address the constraints of the Private sector in general and the MSMEs in particular.
He said GCCI noted the reduction in the cost of incorporation and business registration and the elimination of the payroll tax for informal businesses and a reduction for the formal sector.
“We hope that this partnership faced amidst an existential threat, will continue. As a backdrop to this Forum, we have observed the desire to build back better, undertake adaptive measures in anticipation of a COVID world,” Jobe remarked.
And as women constitute majority of MSMEs, Jobe reiterated the need for Government to consider such support as and when necessary, noting that MSMEs contribute greatly to revenue mobilization efforts of the country.