Barbados Government Slammed For 'Stifling Small Business'

by Amanda Banks, Tax-News.com, London

27 August 2002

Barbados' government has been criticised by the Opposition Democratic Labour Party for excessively 'micro-managing' the jurisdiction's small business sector, and stifling it with red tape.

Speaking last week, the DLP's small business and consumer affairs spokesperson, Jean Chase-Sealy pointed to the fact that the sector was allocated just $665,796 in the 2001-2002 Estimates, compared with the Commission for Pan-African Affairs, which was given $1 million.

'What message are they sending to the small business sctor?' the Barbados Daily Nation quoted Ms Chase-Sealy as asking at the end of the DLP's 47th annual conference. 'Is it that they do not take business people seriously?'

She went on to reveal that, in the opinion of the Opposition, there are five broad areas of concern with regard to the development of Barbados' small business sector.

These, according to the Daily Nation, are 'the need for adequate and accessible financing, the lack of a supportive environment that significantly reduces red tape, the absence of necessary professional support services, the lack of a facilitative tax environment, and the availability of locally, regionally, and internationally informed consumer markets.'

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