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Travel Exemption for sporting personalities

Contact: Shannon LeBourne

Wednesday February 2^nd, 2011 - The Government of Saint Lucia (GOSL) has moved to bring into law travel tax exemptions for sporting personalities and organisation travelling overseas on national duty.

At present all nationals travelling overseas are obligated to pay the travel tax otherwise called Departure Tax in the absence of a special exemption which is issued by the Minister responsible for Finance.

In presenting the Travel Tax Amendment Bill to Parliament, Tuesday February 1^st, 2011, Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Honourable Stephenson King stated that government believes it is necessary to grant national organisations, sports men and women automatic travel tax exemptions.

 “Normally if a sporting organisation and particularly our sports men and women are called upon to pay travel taxes except where an intervention is made on their behalf and most times interventions are made based on the knowledge of the association or the intelligence of the individual sports men and women, so with this amendment we are reducing the harassment by allowing the sports men and women and national sporting organisation automatic travel tax exemptions”.

The amendment to the Travel Tax Amendment Bill has been welcomed by Youth and Sports Minister Honourable Leonard Montoute who laments that such privileges need to be granted to national athletes and organisations who continue to do Saint Lucia proud.   “I believe that when national sports men and women leave our shores to represent our country this has to be viewed as national duty and there should not be a penalty for performing that national duty, so I whole – heartedly welcome this development on behalf of all sports men and women I say this was long overdue”.

The Travel Tax Amendment Bill was also supported by the Member of Parliament for Castries East Honourable Phillip J Pierre who called it a move in the right direction

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