Prime Minister Gaston Browne says his administration is considering broadening the country’s existing education levy to generate additional revenue for investment across the entire education system.

Speaking on Saturday’s Browne and Browne radio programme, Browne said the measure would help fund educational development from early childhood education through tertiary institutions.

“We have to make sustained investments in education, and the burden must be shared between the private sector and the government,” he said.

The Prime Minister emphasized that the levy would remain a tax on profits rather than a tax on business turnover.

“What people fail to understand is that this is only paid when companies make a profit. It is not an operating cost and it cannot bankrupt companies,” Browne argued.

The government is considering broadening the levy to include additional profitable entities while potentially exempting smaller businesses.

Browne suggested that companies making profits of less than EC$1 million annually could be excluded.

“We don’t want to hurt small and medium-sized businesses, but entities making over a million dollars in profit can reasonably contribute to the intellectual development of our people,” he said.

The Prime Minister said funding would not be restricted to The University of the West Indies Five Islands Campus.

Instead, resources would also support the Antigua and Barbuda College of Advanced Studies (ABCAS), primary and secondary schools, teacher training initiatives, and infrastructure improvements throughout the education sector.

Browne said the investments are necessary if Antigua and Barbuda is to become one of the world’s most productive and competitive countries.

He also praised UWI Five Islands Principal Professor Justin Robinson for advocating a comprehensive approach to education funding and emphasizing accountability and transparency in the use of public funds.