As the government of Trinidad and Tobago prepares for its upcoming mid-year budget review, the head of the Greater San Fernando Chamber of Commerce (GSFCC) is calling on policymakers to seize this critical moment to reinvigorate business confidence and build a more robust foundation for sustained national economic expansion.
In an exclusive interview with local outlet Express on Wednesday, GSFCC President Kiran Singh outlined the business community’s clear priorities for the budget adjustment, emphasizing that local entrepreneurs and industry leaders are waiting for actionable, growth-focused policy measures that support business scaling, strengthen national competitiveness, and set Trinidad and Tobago on a path toward long-term economic prosperity.
While Singh recognized that recent evaluations from major international financial bodies have delivered moderately positive signals about the country’s economic trajectory, he did not shy away from highlighting the ongoing headwinds that still hold many local businesses back. Persistent structural barriers, from restricted access to hard currency and steadily climbing operational costs to widespread public safety concerns and slow, cumbersome bureaucratic processes, continue to hinder business activity and deter new investment, Singh explained. Resolving these long-standing frictions, he added, is a non-negotiable prerequisite to upgrading the national business climate and unlocking greater capital inflows.
Among the GSFCC’s key policy asks are targeted support programs for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which form the backbone of the local private sector. The chamber is also pushing for expanded access to affordable financing and foreign exchange, tax and regulatory incentives to encourage private investment and company-wide digital transformation, and sustained, coordinated efforts to diversify Trinidad and Tobago’s economy beyond its traditional core sectors. Singh specifically highlighted growth opportunities in manufacturing, agro-processing, tourism, and non-energy exports, areas that could create new jobs and reduce the country’s economic vulnerability to global energy market volatility.
Singh also voiced support for a targeted, limited-time tax amnesty scheme that would allow businesses and individual taxpayers to bring their outstanding tax obligations into compliance without facing crippling, excessive penalties. According to Singh, this policy would deliver triple benefits: it would improve overall national tax compliance rates, provide much-needed breathing room for businesses already struggling to stay afloat, and generate immediate additional revenue for the government to fund public investments. He added that delayed VAT refunds remain a particularly pressing pain point for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) across the country, a problem the government must address to keep small businesses operational.
Beyond fiscal measures, Singh emphasized that stronger national security enforcement, streamlined and digitized government services, and a transparent, clearly articulated long-term roadmap for fiscal stability and inclusive economic development are all critical to attracting both domestic and foreign direct investment, and to creating high-quality, sustainable employment opportunities for local workers.
Repeating the business community’s core message, Singh stressed that local industry is not looking for piecemeal or symbolic policy changes. What stakeholders need is practical, targeted action that removes barriers to growth, strengthens competitiveness, and positions Trinidad and Tobago to compete and thrive in the post-pandemic global economy. The mid-year budget review, he said, is the ideal opportunity for the government to deliver on these priorities and signal its commitment to private sector-led growth.