 Mr. Speaker, I beg to present for first reading a bill shortly entitled Income Tax Amendments. Mr. Speaker, I beg to move the suspension of a stay in order number 48-2 to enable this bill to go through its remaining stages at this time. Mr. Speaker, I beg to remember the question is that standing order 48-2 be suspended in order to allow the Prime Minister to proceed with the remaining stages of the bill at this time. I now put the question as many as of that opinion. Say aye. Aye. As many as of a country opinion. Say no. I think the ayes have it. The ayes have it. Leave is granted. Please proceed. Mr. Speaker, thank you, honourable members. Mr. Speaker, I beg to present for second reading a bill shortly entitled Income Tax Amendment Act. Mr. Speaker, this is part, another part of the government sweeping reforms as far as income tax is concerned. I recall, Mr. Speaker, that the government promised to give people a relief as far as payment of income tax is concerned. And we did that knowing fully well, Mr. Speaker, that we were relying on the multiplier effect of giving people one moment in the pockets, Mr. Speaker. And that's why we increased the threshold for tax deductions. And anybody who owns less than $24,000 a year will pay $25,000 a year, will pay no taxes, Mr. Speaker. And that is up and up, up the stream, because your first $25,000 of income, you pay no taxes. We did that, Mr. Speaker. And we capped the allowances to 40%, $40,000, but allowing people a leeway to charge whatever they spent, whether once it can be proven, whatever they spent on the children's education and on health, Mr. Speaker. Because we knew, and Mr. Speaker, I just wanted to note how the government's policies are fitting, are falling in place, Mr. Speaker. We, earlier on, we capped the allowances to $40,000, but we made an exemption for health expenses. In that we knew that people would sometimes spend a lot more on health, so we allowed them the tax break. This morning, we removed the fact on medical equipment, Mr. Speaker, so we can make these medical services cheaper to the public of St. Lucia. Today, we are going further, Mr. Speaker, in terms of tax relief to people of St. Lucia, by dealing with a topic that is very serious, Mr. Speaker. Some time ago, during the COVID crisis, I said to trust the science, trust the science. And as usual, the child to ridicule me because I said trust the science, Mr. Speaker. I'll say it again, trust the science. Because the science has been said, Mr. Speaker, that the world temperatures should not rise by more than 1.5%. I will say it from 5% degrees. And we laughed, and people laughed at me if I said trust the science. But as we speak, the world, some parts of the world in the United States and China are overheating. People are dying because of the heat wave. And it's passing strange that people may have to leave these countries to come here to be cooler. It's a real paradox. In that, in Phoenix, I understand the temperature is 46 degrees. 46 degrees, 7 degrees. The temperature is 51 degrees. 51 degrees in California. It's not 51 degrees. They can put an egg on the pavement. And the egg will fry. Mr. Speaker, why is this happening in some parts of the United States? In other parts, there's flooding. And water is overflowing the banks. And crops have been destroyed, and people have to leave their homes. One part rain, and another part excess on, Mr. Speaker. And you know the solution is this, there is no dry season, wet season, hurricane season. There's no seasons. And that has got serious problems for our crops, our food security. Serious problems because tropical storm breath wiped out more than 50% of our bananas and our plantains. And Mr. Speaker, there are certain things that we must take beyond the political realm. Mr. Speaker, the business of food security. And that is why I emphasize that we have to take food security seriously. And we have to look at our eating habits more seriously, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, you might say to yourself, why am I saying all that? We're eating to an income tax bill. I'm saying all that, Mr. Speaker. Because today we are speaking about transitioning from fossil fuels to green energy. From using less electricity to using more sunlight. And probably more wind, Mr. Speaker. We are speaking about that transitioning from one to another. So what is the government doing, Mr. Speaker? The government has removed that on all equipment that you need to do that transition. And we have applied no health and security levy on that equipment, Mr. Speaker. We've removed it. The equipment that you need to convert into solar power to heat your homes. And today we are giving a further incentive for photovoltaic equipment. We are giving a further initially for that. For photovoltaic systems to warm the water at your home and to give energy to your home, Mr. Speaker. And we are saying that we allow you an induction of $25,000 to add to the $30,000 already, Mr. Speaker. We could possibly lead to savings of about $4,500 per year on your income tax bill if you convert to that system. Where you are not only creating a greener country, you are reducing our carbon emissions, Mr. Speaker. And you are getting us closer to the 1.5 degree limit, Mr. Speaker. But, Mr. Speaker, we're going further. We're going further. And we are, as we speak, we are trying to hasten the process of converting the sodium lights that we use into LED lights, Mr. Speaker, to further reduce our carbon emissions and also reduce the bill of $9 million that you pay for street lighting, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it will be remiss of me if I do not say to you that that is unnecessary. That should have happened from 2016. From 2016, all the lights in this country should have already been converted into LED lights from 2016. When the Caribbean Development Bank passed legislation, gave us a loan, sorry, the Caribbean Development Bank gave us a loan, and we went to commit and we approved that loan to convert all these LED lights, all these sodium-filled lights into LED lights. To save us, the bank loan was approved in May 2016. Alas, in June 2016, something happened. The people of Saint Lucia, and I expect them for that, they made their choice and they changed the government, Mr. Speaker. We accepted. But we said to the government at the government at that time, that loan from the CDB that has been approved, President's approval, allow it to happen. Don't, do not do that. They cancelled the loan, Mr. Speaker, $9 million. They cancelled it. And that money, that loan went to Suriname. That $9 million went to Suriname, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we went on our knees. Do not cancel it. There is no need to cancel it. There was only one. Further, the CDB gave us a grant of over $300,000, Mr. Speaker, for that convention, because the payback on that loan, where I think it's a matter of seven or eight years, we would have paid back the loan on the savings we would have made in what we pay now for the CDB, Mr. Speaker. Because a lot of people do not understand that the government pays for every street lamp. The government pays, I think it's about $9 million a year, government pays for street lamp, Mr. Speaker. And that would have reduced these payments and also reduced our carbon emissions and get us closer to where we want to go, Mr. Speaker. The loan was not only pushback, it was cancelled. And then you heard about the Pajewa letter. So, Mr. Speaker, there was a unit, a body called KLED. And KLED was given the contract to convert, to remove the sodium philillides and put in LED music, a company called KLED, Mr. Speaker. That happened in 2017, Mr. Speaker. KLED was given that opportunity. Mr. Speaker, when we go into government, governmental continuity, Mr. Speaker, we continue to negotiate with KLED so that KLED could continue the conversion of the sodium philillides to utilize, Mr. Speaker. Not to stand in the Pajewa letter. We continue to work with KLED, Mr. Speaker. The World Bank came in with a guarantee facility called MIGA where they guaranteed it, Mr. Speaker. But there seems to be an impediment in KLED not doing what they have to do, Mr. Speaker. So, we've been pushing it and only last week we held a meeting with them, Mr. Speaker, and they've begun to convert the sodium philillides to LED music, Mr. Speaker. But we still are not pleased with the pace at which that is happening, Mr. Speaker. So, we are continuing, Mr. Speaker, to negotiate with them and we hope that they can hear the rate at which they are converting, removing the sodium lights and putting LED music, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, this income tax amendment, for three years, Mr. Speaker, it gives us, we can claim it on our income tax for three years when we change to solar heater, Mr. Speaker, for three years. Again, helping us in dealing with the challenges of climate change, Mr. Speaker, and the challenges of carbon emission. These guys urge members to support this amendment, which is part of all the amendments we've done this morning in terms of that, in terms of health and security level, Mr. Speaker, and in terms of the tax amnesty that the government has given, has extended up to May 2024. I urge members to support, Mr. Speaker.