His comments at Wednesday morning's post Cabinet media briefing come just a day before Finance Minister Dr. Nigel Clarke tables the 2022/2023 budget.

 

Mr. Morgan said rising commodity prices is one of the biggest concerns of the government at this time and discussions are ongoing "about what to do to assist local consumers to deal with what is, to some extent, an unprecedented period in our global markets that is impacting them".  

 

"If you would have looked over the last couple weeks, you'd have seen the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Agriculture raising concerns about things such as the rise in chicken prices, about the rise in bank fees and also the impact that floods have had on our farmers, which also may lead to increases in prices at the local market," he pointed out. 

 

The government has come under pressure from the Parliamentary Opposition which has accused it of being unconscionable by maintaining the gas tax despite spiralling fuel prices.

 

Quizzed on whether removal of the gas tax is also being considered, Mr. Morgan deferred to the Finance Minister, noting that he "is probably the most competent person to pronounce on government tax policy".

 

"There are several revenue measures associated with petroleum, so there is no homogeneous gas tax on petroleum. But as it relates to taxation of commodities, I think that's a conversation that we're going to have to have with the Ministry of Finance as the Ministry of Finance is where tax policy is executed," he said.