Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley says he will be seeking the Cabinet’s input regarding a request to remove Value Added Tax (VAT) from literary texts.
His statement was delivered in response to a question by deputy festival director of the NGC Bocas Lit Fest, Funso Aiyejina during a One-On-One session at the Old Fire Station, Port-of-Spain, on Thursday where Rowley read to the audience excerpts from his book titled, From Mason Hall to Whitehall.
The Prime Minister also provided the audience with some insights into his childhood days growing up both in Trinidad and Tobago, what led him to enter the world of politics and what drove him to write his “first” book—as he has not ruled out the possibility that a second book was something to be considered later on.
Also inaugurated into the Nalis First Time Author Hall of Fame, Rowley was presented with a plaque to mark the occasion as he joins 267 other locals to have been inducted.
Pressed to comment on the issue later on, Rowley would only say, “Anything that would encourage reading and literary skills development should be encouraged, so since you have asked me, I will ask the Cabinet.”
VAT was reintroduced on books in 2016 and applies to literary works, reference books, directories, collections of letters or documents permanently bound in covers, loose-leaf books, manuals or instructions whether complete with their binder or not, school work books and other educational texts in question-and-answer format with spaces for insertion of answers, children’s picture and painting books, exercise books, other paper and paperboard of a kind used for writing, printing or other graphic purposes.
The previous administration had removed VAT on approximately 7,000 items in 2012, which included all books.
Providing those present with an intimate look into how and why his life had taken the path it followed, Rowley surmised that perhaps “pure faith” had played an integral part early in his life as he often found himself in situations which required more than a little luck to extricate himself.
Admitting that he was fascinated with fire from an early age, Rowley said as children they were unaware of the dangers it posed.
Prompting bursts of laughter from the audience as he responded candidly to the questions posed by Aiyejina, Rowley grew serious as he said the idea for the book came around the same time as the 2015 general election.
During the build-up to the election, Rowley said, “As I got more and more involved in public life, it kind of frustrated me that people who knew very little about me other than what they saw on the political platform, were always talking about me as they should but they didn’t know very much about me.”
Having been in public life for more than 30 years, Rowley said he was bothered by a particular comment which alleged he held the position only because of his middle-class upbringing.
As he explained growing up in the “country” in Tobago, Rowley referred to the working class struggles his family faced as they all sought to improve themselves and elevate their status.
Considering the fact that even his daughters may not know not have known enough about him, Rowley said his decision to write was an opportunity for his family including his grandson and the population to know about him.
