Tax Credit Scheme (TCS)

Leave agriculture scheme alone: Muthuvel

Governor Sasindran Muthuvel is appealing to the Government to retain the program, especially for those agriculture and disaster prone provinces.

This is because the tax credit fund from the agriculture sector is very nominal, with around K10 million per annum, which is only 0.5 percent of the revenue compared to 5 percent to 10 percent in oil and gas and mining sectors.

TCS provides an avenue to address damages during flood and disaster to fix roads, bridges and other infrastructure.

TCS projects decided by Govt

Oil Search Managing Director, Peter Botten, said this when questioned why the TCS was used to fund projects outside provinces in which resource projects were in.

The question was raised by Madang Open MP, Bryan Kramer, who said the original intention of the TCS was to provide road infrastructure for project areas.

“We’ve adopted a practice now where projects which were supposed to be expanded in rural development in the project area are creeping up in Port Moresby,” said Kramer.

Botten said that decision was the Government’s prerogative.