Trinidad and Tobago: Ministry of Finance Unveils 2025 Budget Proposals
The Ministry of Finance of Trinidad and Tobago presented the 2025 budget statement, detailing several proposed measures.
The proposals include:
- Tax and NIS Amnesty: An amnesty for unpaid taxes and National Insurance Scheme (NIS) payments from October 1 to December 31.
- Tax Exemptions on Sporting Equipment: Starting January 1, 2025, all sporting equipment—excluding clothing—will be exempt from taxes and duties.
- Tax Exemptions on EV Charging Equipment: Effective January 1, 2025, all electric vehicle (EV) charging equipment and related accessories will be exempt from taxes and duties.
- VAT Refunds via Bonds: Value-added tax (VAT) refunds will be issued through interest-bearing VAT bonds on January 31, 2025.
- Cash VAT Refunds for SMEs: VAT refunds will be issued in cash to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) by December 31, 2024.
VAT/GST rates 2024 in Americas
| Country | Standard VAT/GST Rate | Reduced Rates |
| Antigua and Barbuda | No VAT tax but standard sales tax is set at 15% | Reduced rate of 14% |
| Argentina | The standard VAT rate is 21%. (enhanced rate of 27% for several metered utilities) | Reduced rate of 10.5% |
| Bahamas | Standard VAT rate of 10% | |
| Barbados | The standard VAT rate is 17.5% (Super rate of 22% mobile voice & text services) | A reduced rate of 22%, 10%, 7,5% |
| Belize | There is no value-added tax as such. Belize instead introduced a General Sales Tax in January 2006, which applies to a wide range of goods and services at a 12.5% rate. | |
| Bolivia | The standard VAT (IVA) rate is 13% under Article 15 of the VAT Law | |
| Brazil | Brazil imposes a state tax equivalent to VAT (ICMS) This rate is imposed by each state and is subject to a limit set by the federal senate. The rates can vary in the states from 17% to 18% (Rio de Janeiro has 20% as an exception). and the highest rate can typically reach 25%. | 7% |
| Canada | The standard federal Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate is 5% | |
| Chile | The standard VAT rate is 19%. | |
| Colombia | The standard VAT (IVA – Impuesto sobre las Ventas) rate is 19% | 5% |
| Costa Rica | The standard VAT rate is 13%, the same rate as the sales tax. | 4%, 2%, 0,5% |
| Ecuador | The standard VAT rate is 15% | 5% |
| El Salvador | The standard VAT (IVA) rate is 13% | |
| Faroe Islands | The standard VAT rate is 25% | |
| Guatemala | The standard VAT rate is 12% | |
| Mexico | The standard VAT rate is 16% | 8% |
| Panama | The standard VAT rate in Panama is 7%. There are supplementary rates of 10% and 15% | |
| Peru | The standard VAT rate is 18% | Effective September 1, 2022 until December 31, 2024, a 8% reduced rate will apply to micro and small suppliers of restaurant, hotel, and tourist accommodation services that receive at least 70% of their income from these supplies. |
| Puerto Rico | The sales and use tax (SUT) rate is 11.5% | 1% |
| Uruguay | The standard VAT rate is 22% | 10% |
| USA | There is no VAT in the USA. U.S. state sales and use tax rates vary between 2.9% and 7.25% | Reduced rates are offered for sales of specific products. |
| Venezuela | The standard VAT rate is 16% | 8% |