ROSEAU, Dominica (CMC) — Prime Minister of Dominica Roosevelt Skerrit on Wednesday said that the government will undertake a further review of the island’s minimum wage and would also be moving towards reducing corporation taxes this year.

“I would say to you with respect to the economy, our revenue for the first six months for the financial year 2024-25 is better than the same period 2023-24,” Skerrit said during a live interview with the state-owned DBS radio.

“Our revenues are doing much better in this financial year so far than it did in the previous financial year which is a sign that money is being spent in the economy.

“We have seen an increase in corporate tax in Dominica and this is what we are looking at in 2025, addressing the corporate tax and reducing it from what it is now, 25 per cent…so that we can keep more money in the private sector and hope they can invest more so we can increase the tax base of the country,” Skerrit told radio listeners.

He said in 2025, his administration is looking at a “further review of the minimum wage to allow persons who are reliant on the minimum wage payment schedule to be able to be given a better pay to be in a better position to withstand the increase in the price of goods and services in Dominica”.

Skerrit acknowledged that the cost of goods and services had increased over the past few years, but said that this was not a situation confined to Dominica alone, but to many countries across the globe.

“…go to Australia, they will say the same thing, go to China they will say the same thing. Any country in the world you go to now, people will have complaints and legitimate ones. The reality is the cost of goods on the shelves across the world is a major preoccupation with every single government and every single citizen”.

He recalled during the last presidential election in the United States, there were calls for price controls in a free market economy.

“Obviously, the candidates had to backtrack because there is a backlash on this …contrary to the spirit of a free market economy and in any event it is very difficult to have price control on every item on the shelf.

“So it is a huge challenge for this country and what we try to do in Dominica …is not to impose any real direct taxes on people, ensure that we continue to invest in those major projects so that people can have work.”

Skerrit said that the government would continue to invest in housing to make it more affordable to Dominicans.

He told radio listeners that the government is also under obligation to pay the various taxes for goods and services and that’s why in some instances “you hear government might be owing a service provider or two”.

“The cost of running Dominica increased dramatically because of the cost in the rise of goods and services. We pay the taxes as every citizen in Dominica, we don’t get VAT (value added tax) free as a government, we pay VAT….,” he added.

But Skerrit said he believes that once the world can stabilise “and we get rid of this war between Russia and Ukraine to allow for more grains to be accessible by the international community and we could get out of this situation with Israel and Hamas and we are seeing some stabilisation taking place in Syria…we can see some reduction of the cost of living impact on people”.

“We will be able to buy more with the dollar and ease the pressure on people,” Skerrit said, adding that in the meantime it would also be unsustainable for the government to subsidise the price of goods and services.

“In any event, you will not be able to afford it for any long period of time” he said, noting that regional countries have been making one-off concessions, particularly around the Christmas season to ease the effect of the cost of living on their populations.