Raphael John-Lall
The Trinidad and Tobago Coalition of Services Industries (TTCSI) is calling on the Government to implement a “smart package of measures” in the upcoming national budget to help local service companies expand into international markets and generate more foreign exchange.
In the proposals for the upcoming budget that she sent to the Business Guardian, TTCSI President Dianne Joseph is proposing a dedicated Services Export Fund, a tax credit for export-related expenses, faster Government payments to businesses and priority foreign exchange access for essential digital tools.
The date for the presentation of the national 2027 budget has not yet been announced by Finance Minister Davendranath Tancoo.
Joseph said the measures are needed to give service companies the support required to expand beyond the domestic market.
“When provided with the right motivating factors and robust national support, local service providers are completely willing and eager to expand their operations globally,” she said.
She added that TTCSI members “do not lack the talent or the ambition to trade across Caricom and international markets; rather, they lack the structural scaffolding to cushion the high risks of foreign market entry.”
She also noted that the national budget is more than just a financial statement. It is the ultimate tool for steering a country’s economic future and for true national sustainability and the budget must ensure equity across all economic sectors, Joseph said.
“Historically, traditional industries like energy and manufacturing have received considerable structural focus. However, the service industry—spanning ICT, tourism, engineering, and professional services—represents a massive engine of local employment and innovation. Ensuring that the national budget provides equitable incentives, resource allocation and policy support to the services sector is critical to building a truly balanced and resilient economy.”
Export support
Joseph said the proposed Services Export Fund would help small and medium-sized enterprises meet some of the upfront costs associated with entering foreign markets.
“Service firms do not have physical machinery or factories to use as traditional bank collateral, making upfront international marketing costs difficult to finance.”
She proposed that the fund provide matching grants for market research, overseas marketing and intellectual property protection.
Joseph also wants the Government to introduce a Services Export Tax Credit to encourage companies to pursue overseas clients.
“To directly encourage businesses to seek overseas clients, the government should offer a tax credit on expenses tied to earning foreign exchange.”
She said qualifying expenses should include overseas advertising, legal services and participation in export missions, which would lower the financial risk associated with international expansion.
Joseph also proposed priority foreign exchange access for verified service exporters purchasing digital tools needed to operate internationally.
“For modern service exporters, tools like cloud computing, software subscriptions, and cybersecurity systems are not luxuries—they are essential business inputs.”
Faster Government payments
Joseph identified cash flow as another area requiring Government action, particularly for smaller service companies.
She called for a mandatory 30-day payment policy covering all Government invoices.
“Delayed payments from state agencies place a severe financial strain on smaller service firms that must still pay salaries, rent and taxes on time.
“Implementing a strict 30-day payment standard on all government invoices would instantly improve SME liquidity and reduce their reliance on expensive, short-term bank borrowing.”
Joseph also wants the Government to fund sector-specific competitiveness studies, beginning with engineering and extending to ICT, architecture and the creative industries.
“To create effective national policies, the state must understand exactly where our skills gaps and opportunities lie,” she said.
She said the studies would allow Government to identify growth barriers and direct training resources towards areas where they could have the greatest economic impact.
Crime, youth and business
Crime and the broader business environment are also featured in the TTCSI’s budget proposals.
“A safe business environment is a prerequisite for any economic activity,” Joseph said.
She made it clear that the TTCSI expects the national budget to deliver practical, sustainable solutions to curb crime, alongside targetted development programmes for at-risk youth.
She said investment in modern security infrastructure and technical skills training could help channel young people into productive sectors, including the digital economy.
Joseph said TTCSI members had identified “the current difficulty of doing business, slow bank processing times, and a lack of large-scale domestic projects” as major challenges.
However, she said the organisation remained optimistic about the coming fiscal year.
“However, the TTCSI views the upcoming fiscal year with a profound sense of optimism.”
She said she is confident that by looking at these challenges through a collaborative lens, the public and private sectors can co-author a new chapter of economic prosperity.
Joseph added that the TTCSI also recognised the wider economic pressures facing the Government and commended its efforts to manage global volatility.
“The TTCSI commends the Government for its steady and deliberate efforts to navigate global volatility and maintain a reasonable level of economic stability,” she said.
She explained that the business community appreciated the focus on controlling inflation, stabilising the financial system and keeping key industrial assets active.
“Managing a national economy requires balancing complex fiscal pressures, and the administration’s focus on controlling inflation, stabilising the financial system, and keeping key industrial assets active is appreciated by the business community,” Joseph said.
She said the TTCSI wants those stabilising measures to be complemented by sector-specific policies that can strengthen services, support businesses and expand opportunities for foreign exchange earnings.
Fiscal-year gains
Joseph also highlighted several developments during this fiscal year which she believes positively affected her industry and the national community.
Among these was T&T’s removal from the European Union’s AML/CFT blacklist, alongside agreements to establish permanent regional offices for the Latin American Development Bank (CAF) and the World Bank Group in Port of Spain.
On the social and economic front, she pointed to more than 8,000 jobs supported through expanded community-level public programmes, while acknowledging that further improvements in unemployment are needed. The Government also introduced targeted VAT exemptions on essential food items and adjusted super gasoline pricing as measures aimed at easing household costs.
Joseph noted that revenue collections reached $30.1 billion during the first seven months of the fiscal year, more than $2 billion above the original budget forecast. She attributed the improvement potentially to stronger global energy prices and new fiscal measures, including the Commercial Bank Asset Levy and Landlord Registration Fee.
She also cited a supplementary budget allocation of $2.93 billion, including $2.83 billion in recurrent expenditure for wage increases benefiting more than 62,000 unionised public-sector workers.
Finally, she pointed to crime-fighting measures, including Stand Your Ground legislation and additional police posts, were also identified among the Government’s initiatives.
