Google Ads

Showing posts with label VAT Bahamas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label VAT Bahamas. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

The impact of an implemented Value Added Tax (VAT) in The Bahamas

'Year To Adjust' To Vat, Warns Businessman



By LAMECH JOHNSON
Tribune Staff Reporter
ljohnson@tribunemedia.net
Nassau, The Bahamas


A DOWNTOWN businessman believes it would take the Bahamas at least a year to adjust to the impact of Value Added Tax if it is implemented this July.

Although it was not an official declaration that VAT will be off the table, Finance State Minister Michael Halkitis told the media that the government will now consider revisiting all proposals in the wake of the proposed regularisation and taxation of web shops.

Dennis Halamino, the proprietor of the Tropicana Club and the Casablanca bar, told The Tribune, however, that if VAT is implemented, “it’s going to take about at least a year for the country to adjust to the change.”

“I hope they know what they’re doing because they’re taking a big risk,” he added.

In Parliament last week, Tourism Minister Obie Wilchcombe announced that the Government will regularise and tax webshop gaming by July 1 after more than a year of speculation following the “No Vote” in the 2013 Gaming Referendum.

Mr Wilchcombe revealed that the government will bring regulations to the House of Assembly within the next two weeks that will legalise the industry.

Following this, Mr Halkitis told the press that if the government is able to “realise revenue” from webshop gaming then it could possibly “relax” on other revenue raising measures.

“Based on the system as it is, if we can implement the regulation of the web gaming and begin to realize revenue from it, then we may have the opportunity to revisit all the proposals that we have to determine okay, if we now can get ‘X’ amount of revenue from here, does that give us flexibility to relax on this other side, and that’s a conversation that we will have,” he said.

Mr Halamino told The Tribune last Friday that businesses like his, which depend on thousands of tourists, will be significantly affected by VAT.

“It will affect business for any person who has customers, whether small or large,” Mr Halamino said.

“The prices are going to rise up and the Bahamas is already an expensive location because of the high standard of living. With this VAT coming, it’s going to make the place less commercial and less viable for people to come here and for entrepreneurs to do business.”

Mr Halamino said he’d be able to stay open with the same number of people on staff; however, he noted that VAT is coming at a “bad time”.

“It comes in a slow season and it will make things worse. If they are inclined to implement VAT, they should push it back to January through April next year when the most tourists and other clients come into the country. But they (government) want to do it from the mid-year to November or however long. And that period is the worst months for businesses like mine. That will make business even slower.”

He believes the government should seriously consider alternatives to VAT and if it is still inclined to implement the new tax measure, they should not only take the proper steps to ensure its collection but also consider a rate that will not cripple businesses and consumers alike.

The Government is proposing to implement Value-Added Tax (VAT) on July 1 at a rate of 15 per cent, with the hotel industry to be subject to the lower 10 per cent rate. The Government expects to generate an additional $200 million in revenue from the new tax regime.

March 10, 2014

Monday, February 24, 2014

The Barbados value-added tax (VAT) experience debated in The Bahamas

Govt urged to learn from Barbados on VAT


By TANEKA THOMPSON
Guardian Senior Reporter
taneka@nasguard.com
Nassau, The Bahamas


Days after Governor of the Central Bank of Barbados Dr. Delisle Worrell said value-added tax (VAT) has hurt that island’s tourism industry, Free National Movement (FNM) Chairman Darron Cash said the criticism should give The Bahamas government another reason to delay VAT’s introduction.

Last week, Worrell told The Nassau Guardian that he has seen “declining enthusiasm” for VAT in Barbados, adding that the tax is “anti-tourism”.

Worrell also said Barbados’ VAT system is a “mess”.

“The recent comments from the governor of the Central Bank of Barbados provide a great example of good advice from a credible source,” Cash said.

“Dr. Delisle Worrell’s statements that in his country VAT has emerged as the anti-tourism tax should give the Christie government reason to stop, review and cancel their July 1 VAT implementation date.

“If the prime minister and his dutiful junior minister (Michael Halkitis) were listening they would have already come to the conclusion that there is an overwhelming strong public view that this administration has not thought [out] its proposed VAT program sufficiently.”

When asked for his take on Worrell’s criticism, Halkitis said several Barbadian government officials see the tax as beneficial.

“For example, I had the opportunity to speak with the Minister of Finance of Barbados Christopher Sinckler at a meeting in Trinidad last week,” Halkitis said.

“He is of the opinion that it is a suitable tax, but that we should be extra vigilant in collections and not allow arrears to build up from businesses that do not pay. Otherwise, he felt that the tax has served them well.

“Former Prime Minister of Barbados and Minister of Finance Owen Arthur is also a supporter of VAT as a tax.”

Halkitis stressed that the government has reviewed a number of studies that estimate VAT’s impact on economic growth.

He said these studies forecast greater productivity and growth if the government moves away from a system of high customs duties and toward a broad-based consumption tax such as VAT.

“Another warning we have received is to avoid a system that has too many different rates and exemptions,” Halkitis said.

“This leads to greater administration costs and could possibly lead to the mess Dr. Worrell is referring to,” he said.

Halkitis said The Bahamas can “avoid the mistakes made by earlier adopters” of VAT.

He said the government’s main concern is that delayed action in getting its fiscal house in order would have a negative impact on the economy.

During an interview with The Nassau Guardian, Worrell said his views on the tax are “very radical”.

“I think VAT is an inappropriate tax for a tourism-based economy,” he said.

“The rationale for VAT is that it is an export promoting tax, because if you are exporting physical goods (VAT is not charged on) those goods, but the producers are able to claim refunds/rebates on their inputs.

“ . . .So there’s a bias in the VAT in favor of export industries; that is if you are exporting physical things that are consumed outside, but not if you are exporting tourism, because the tourists come to you to consume.

“So VAT is an anti-tourism tax if you are a tourism producer because it makes your tourism more expensive than the people who don’t charge VAT, and that’s why all tourism countries who apply VAT have to apply it at a lower rate. A simple sales tax would be much better.”

February 24, 2014

thenassauguardian

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Bahamas Union of Teachers (BUT) recommends that the Bahamian Government not implement Value Added Tax (VAT) on July 1, 2014 ....explore other forms of taxation instead

Teachers Join Vat Opposition



By NATARIO McKENZIE
Tribune Business Reporter
nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net
Nassau, The Bahamas

 

The BAHAMAS Union of Teachers’ (BUT) president said yesterday that its 4,000 members were adding their voices in opposition to the “regressive” Value-Added Tax (VAT), as there was still a “great deal of uncertainty” as to how the profession would be impacted.

In a notice to the BUT’s membership highlighting their opposition to VAT, Belinda Wilson said that while teachers were on the list of professionals set to be impacted, it was still unclear how.

“There is a listing of 86 professions in the VAT documents which says these are the professions which will be affected by VAT, and at number 80 it has teachers, but no one is able to say to us what that means,” Mrs Wilson said.

“There is a great deal of uncertainty. I believe that if you want VAT to be successfully implemented then we need to be sure that at the ground level every aspect of it is clear to the wider public.”

The BUT also contends that the revenue component of the taxation is unclear; that the Government has not given a detailed explanation with facts as to show how the fiscal deficit has occurred; and has not outlined measures to ensure that the problem will not be repeated.

The BUT added that VAT implementation has failed in other Caribbean countries such as Barbados, and the Government’s proposed 15 per cent rate is too high, with consumers left to bear the burden.

“The cost of living has increased, and even when you look at other workers, especially those at the minimum wage level, how do you on a minimum wage sustain yourself and family while taking on a regressive tax that they know from the onset will increase your expenditure at least 5 per cent?” Mrs Wilson queried.

She added “Teachers are citizens and consumers, so the teachers have light bills, water bills and they have to go into the grocery stores.

“Teachers are a part of the whole scheme of things. If VAT is going to be implemented in July, there should have been some discussions with teachers and the educational sector as to what changes may need to be made to the schemes of work.”

The BUT is recommending that the Government not implement VAT on July 1, and instead explore other forms of taxation.

The union is also calling on the Government to give a detailed plan on spending cuts for 2014 and beyond. It says that the Government should “not create a Central Revenue Agency but use the system that exists now, and improve monitoring and collection of outstanding taxes”.

Mrs Wilson has urged BUT members to sign the petitions against the implementation of VAT and make their views known to their respective MPs.

February 11, 2014

Thursday, January 30, 2014

The unpopular value-added tax (VAT) proposal in The Bahamas

The view of the people on VAT


The Nassau Guardian Editorial
Nassau, The Bahamas


Since the government last year emphasized its commitment to implement a value-added tax (VAT) the Bahamian people have been offering opinions.  While many accept that the government needs more revenue to meet its obligations, we think most Bahamians do not support VAT as it has been proposed.

The government issued its white paper on VAT in February 2013.  For months now commentators from the business community have offered their views on VAT to the broadcast and print media.  There is a VAT story in the business sections of the major papers almost daily.  Talk radio also regularly takes up the subject with Bahamians calling in to give their views.

For these reasons it was strange to read on Monday in this newspaper that Minister of State for Finance Michael Halkitis said the public’s slow response to the government’s VAT white paper is responsible in part for their delay in tabling VAT legislation.  Although he could not say exactly when the government will table the laws in Parliament, Halkitis did say it must happen before the end of February in preparation for the implementation of the new tax system on July 1.

The business community last year went as far as preparing a counterproposal on tax reform the government does not appear interested in seriously considering.  The people have spoken and they continue to speak on VAT.  They regularly point out the flaws in the proposed system.  They regularly point out the burdens it will cause on businesses and consumers.  They fear an increase in the cost of living at a time when unemployment is over 16 percent.

Halkitis said the government is listening and considering all concerns coming from every sector on VAT and that the Ministry of Finance has even “tweaked” some of its VAT proposals.  He didn’t, however, provide specifics as to what has been tweaked.

“When we say we are doing consultations and we are listening to alternatives we mean that,” Halkitis said.

“When we find out something or someone brings something to our attention that we may not have considered for whatever reasons, then we have to look at that to make sure that we are not disadvantaging anyone, particularly any business group.

“We have to look at what the consumers are saying to make sure there is nothing we overlooked, and so it is all a process.”

The Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) seems married to its VAT proposal regardless of the likely harmful consequences it will have on our economy if implemented.  And now, after bringing forward a poor idea, the PLP seems to be beginning to realize that its solution to the country’s debt problem is not popular.  If that realization is delaying the VAT laws from being presented to Parliament the government should not blame the people.  It is obvious who is to blame.

January 29, 2014

thenassauguardian editorial

Sunday, January 19, 2014

Pauline Peters, former head of Grenada’s inland revenue department ...on the challenge to implement value-added tax (VAT) in less than six months in The Bahamas

Bahamas would set VAT precedent

VAT consultant says ‘challenge’ to implement VAT in less than six months with no existing system


By ALISON LOWE
Guardian Business Editor
alison@nasguard.com
Nassau, The Bahamas


Should the government push ahead with plans to implement value-added tax (VAT) on July 1, The Bahamas would set a precedent as the only country in the Caribbean with no already existing domestic tax system to implement the tax with less than six months between the passage of the legislation and the tax taking effect, according to a government VAT consultant.

Pauline Peters, former head of Grenada’s inland revenue department, who oversaw that country’s transition to a VAT system, yesterday described this reality as likely to pose a “challenge”.

“There are a few countries who have done it with less than six months to go between the passage of the legislation and the tax taking effect. St. Kitts did it, St. Lucia, Dominica... but the difference in those countries is that they had a system of indirect tax already, so the culture of paying taxes was already there.

“With the businesses and the changeover they’d have to make with the move over from a sales tax to VAT, it would’ve taken a bit because their systems would have to change, but there were persons with knowledge of taxation; what those countries did was draw from their current domestic tax system, so you have a good blend of people with knowledge of the tax system.

“Without having a domestic tax system in place already, I think that’s one of the major differences between The Bahamas and the other countries which have gone live. On both sides significant progress has been made, but everyone would appreciate the fact that with the legislation not yet approved and The Bahamas not coming from a situation with a domestic tax system in place, that could be a challenge for the most effective implementation that we could have,” said Peters, who pointed out that Grenada allowed for nine months between the passage of the VAT legislation and the implementation of the tax.

Meanwhile, Peters recognized that with the legislation not having been passed, it is all the more difficult to convince businesses to begin investing in software and training related to VAT implementation, even as the intended deadline for the tax to come into effect draws near.

The Ministry of Finance is continuing to finalize the VAT legislation, with Financial Secretary John Rolle having indicated that it hopes to have a final version available for Cabinet, based on input from various sectors in which it has been in consultation by the end of the month.

Peters said that the Ministry is in the process of compiling a document with all of the recommendations from various industries on VAT which will form the basis of a presentation to Cabinet.

This will allow Cabinet to make the final decision about what changes are implemented in the legislation.

“I think that process should be a pretty smooth one given level of involvement our minister of state (Michael Halkitis) has in the process with technical team and the ministry of finance... so when it goes to the cabinet there won’t be much to comment,” said Peters.

Meanwhile, the VAT consultant said that on the Ministry side, “good progress” is being made towards implementation, with officials receiving assistance from a variety of sources in preparing for the launch of VAT.

“Now on the other side we have to have businesses on our side,” added Peters, who encouraged the private sector to continue to review the draft legislation and guidelines, and “see what effort it will take to program their system to accommodate” VAT.

“So you can get costings and quotations from providers so when things are finalized you can move swiftly ahead.”

She added that the VAT hotline has been “ringing off the hook” with queries from the private sector and general public about the proposed new tax, a sign she takes as a positive one.

“Only recently we have put additional resources in place to field the questions as they come in, so that has been pretty busy, and officers have been dealing with that.

“Before Christmas we had a series of questions and comments and those we’ve responded to and those continue to come in; so there’s a fair amount of traffic there as it relates to people seeking clarity – not just businesses, but regular persons in society have been asking very pertinent questions on cost of living, what type of preparations, should I buy now, what should I do. At least the measure is out there and people are becoming aware they need to start preparing.”

Peters encouraged more people to submit questions and call the hotline should they have questions.

January 17, 2014

thenassauguardian

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

If The Bahamas government cannot collect what is now owing ...how will it supervise and collect the taxes from Value Added Tax (VAT)?

Warning On Vat From Barbados



Tribune242 Editorial
Nassau, The Bahamas



OVER the weekend, Elcott Coleby, deputy director of Bahamas Information Services, sent a release to the press to announce the downgrade by Standard & Poor of Barbados’ financial rating – the second in four months. Barbados is listed in tenth place as one of the world’s most heavily indebted countries. From a rating of BB+ it has been dropped to BB-.

“The downgrade reflects the mounting external pressures associated with a persistent current account deficit and external financing challenges, as well as the ongoing high fiscal deficit largely because of a substantial fall in government revenues as a result of the weak economy,” the agency said.

“In reacting to the news,” according to the Barbados press release, the “former president of the Economic Society, Ryan Straughn, said the latest rating has not come as a surprise and suggested that the writing had been on the wall for some time since Government did not go ahead with the expenditure cuts announced by the Minister of Finance in the August 2013 Budget.”

But what interested us even more was Mr Coleby’s warning at the top of the Barbados release. “This,” wrote Mr Coleby, “is where the Bahamas could be headed if it fails to act — sooner than later. So far, the Bahamas government has successfully staved off another downgrade in 12 months — thanks to its fiscal consolidation plan. Barbados was not so lucky.”

Nor will the Bahamas be, if it does not get its reckless spending under control.

However, if this hint from NIB is a message from government to hasten the pace for the introduction of VAT, it should slow down and give the matter more thought. It’s a warning for caution. VAT was introduced in Barbados on January 1, 1997, at the standard rate of 15 per cent. However, Barbados took its time investigating and testing before it took the plunge. Nevertheless, after 16 years, VAT has obviously not been the perfect solution. Barbados still does not have its spending under control and the very event that VAT was meant to avoid has happened — another S&P downgrade. Although several Caribbean countries have VAT, it is interesting to note that Grenada experimented with it in 1980, but quickly abolished it. It would be interesting to know why.

On October 1st, the Barbados government – to bolster its failing domestic tourism – reduced the VAT rate on “hotel accommodation” to 7.5 per cent, extending it to the Direct Tourism Service, which had been 17.5 per cent.

It was noted in an article posted by “David” on August 25 that July 2013 recorded Barbados’ “lowest number of long stay visitor arrivals across the last 11 years in any same month.” The land-based arrivals for the same year in October and November was examined and it was discovered that “both again, alarmingly recorded their lowest comparable monthly figures for the past decade”.

In another article, which noted that Barbados, although it had “enjoyed good credit ratings in days of old because of bullish tourism and international business products,” no longer did so because of the general world picture.

It highlighted several problems that needed urgent attention in view of the international down grading. Bahamians should take note of at least one of them, because, with a few amendments here and there, it is a serious problem in the Bahamas.

“It is apparent,” said the Barbadian writer, “that a few of the statutory bodies have grown to be financial albatrosses around the necks of taxpayers. Barbadians know too well those statutory bodies which political parties ‘pad’ to guard party support. Now that money has dried up this strategy of protecting the party faithful has been exposed for what it is, an unsustainable practice. Deal with it!”

Here in the Bahamas after last year’s election Bahamians saw this in high gear as large sums were spent on clearing land in the name of Urban Renewal. It was claimed that it was part of a plan to clear bushy areas that attracted crime. There was a hue and cry when these “landscapers” went on the land turning areas into arid waste and even trespassing on private property. At the end of this unconscionable waste of public money, nature laughed in the face of the politicians and in a few months the bush, in which the criminals allegedly hid, returned — but the money had already been wasted.

Then there was the flushing out of certain areas of the civil service to make room for party faithful. It was claimed that the price paid for this was a return to inefficiency.

Of course, there is also the non-collection of taxes. The question being asked is if this government cannot collect what is now owing, how will it supervise and collect the taxes from VAT.

Of course, an item that is now of paramount concern to the public – especially in these tight economic times — is the cost of official travel by government ministers at public expense. Former National Security Minister Tommy Turnquest in a page 1 article today has urged Prime Minister Christie to give a financial accounting of his delegation’s trip to CHOGM in Sri Lanka, and the side trips to Rome and London. We shall comment on this in this column tomorrow.

However, the point that rankles Bahamians is government’s apparent reluctance to cut unnecessary spending. Bahamians resent having to be taxed to support the status quo. Unless government sets an example, Bahamians will grumble. This is the frequent complaint that we hear within the ranks of the unions.

November 25, 2013


Monday, November 18, 2013

A note to Hubert Minnis on value-added tax (VAT) in The Bahamas ...and how we got there

VAT How we got here

A note to Hubert Minnis


By CANDIA DAMES
Guardian News Editor
candia@nasguard.com
Nassau, The Bahamas


Amid what appears to be a growing public tide against the July 1, 2014 implementation of value-added tax (VAT), Free National Movement (FNM) Leader Dr. Hubert Minnis has finally released a position on this contentious issue.

It came as pressure grew within his party for the official opposition to make a clear statement on what would be the most dramatic shift in tax policy in decades.

The statement Minnis came up with is stunningly shallow. It lacks intellectual rigor and shows a startling lack of vision and leadership, all of which we desperately need at this stage of our development.

That is surprising in the sense that he should have access to the facts and to sound advice from qualified and knowledgeable people within his own party.

Given how long it took him to release a statement, he should have had adequate time to formulate a more reasoned position that could be taken seriously and add value to the ongoing discussion on tax reform.

But given his record on matters of serious import (for example, multiple positions on gambling), no one should be surprised that his sole approach is to attack the government on its plans without presenting a well thought out contribution to this growing debate with accompanying proposed policy alternatives.

It seems once again that the opposition leader has gauged the direction of the wind and formulated his position based on the mood of the country. But be mindful that his position could shift again with any sudden temperature change or change to the national tone.

Minnis, who 18 months ago sat as a minister of government, called on the current administration to immediately “come clean to the people, and to explain, precisely and clearly what the circumstances are which have prompted this sudden lurch towards the imposition of VAT”.

It is worrying that the official opposition leader does not know the answer to this question.

Minnis is operating as someone who only entered the political arena in May 2012, distancing himself from the actions of the former administration.

He pretends instead to be blind to the fiscal circumstances of the day, but more importantly to the fiscal realities that existed while he was a minister of government, and the decisions taken to address those realities.

While no one should excoriate the FNM leader for setting along his own path and defining his own leadership style, he and his party are saddled with their record in office.

They cannot run from the decisions taken by the FNM administration — the good and the bad ones.

If as opposition leader Minnis does not know what the circumstances are that have prompted this “sudden lurch towards the imposition of VAT”, he might be ignoring easily available facts.

Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Chairman Bradley Roberts has gone as far as saying Minnis might be suffering a case of memory loss.

“How else [do you] explain his scolding for a debt crisis created by his own party?” Roberts asked.

“Or was Dr. Minnis asleep at the Cabinet table when his government approved, borrowed and spent over $2 billion in five years, running up the national debt and pushing the country into this current fiscal dilemma?”

If Minnis is not sure how we got to where we are, he might find it useful to do a bit of research and examine the facts of the country’s debt levels.

This might jog his memory.

In August 2011 when the international credit rating agency Moody’s downgraded its outlook for the Bahamian economy from stable to negative, it pointed to the significant run up in government debt levels in recent years and the country’s limited growth prospects.

Moody’s noted that debt rose steadily between 2000 and 2008, but over 40 percent of the increase occurred between 2009 and 2011.

Government debt at the end of June 2011 was estimated at $3.5 billion. It has continued to grow. It is projected to be $4.9 billion when the government implements VAT next July.

This is unsustainable. We are in crisis.

Had the Free National Movement been re-elected to office last year, we would have been facing the same urgent need to tackle our debt, and reform our narrow and inefficient tax system.

Reform

Before Minnis twists himself into an impossible situation and puts his credibility on the line, perhaps he ought to have a discussion with former Minister of State for Finance Zhivargo Laing, his former Cabinet colleague, who helped engineer fiscal policies under the Ingraham administration.

Laing has not hidden the fact that the FNM had planned to implement VAT within “two to three years” if it had won the election last year.

The PLP administration is seeking to do it at the start of its third year in office.

Laing said more recently, “In office, we certainly looked at implementing it and if returned to office would have given it early consideration. However, we would have also given it broad consideration in the context of the wider reforms to our tax system that we were already undertaking.”

So Minnis’ own party was eyeing what he now calls a “regressive” taxation system. He may wish to examine why his party also thought this regressive tax was the best option.

He now warns that VAT would “seriously impair the already weak, uncompetitive and struggling Bahamian economy and harm and diminish the quality of life of every Bahamian”.

Unlike Minnis, Laing does not run away from the fact that the Ingraham administration piled on the debt.

The pace was dizzying.

Laing noted in a speech to the Rotary Club of Freeport in August that, “A country can borrow to cover its deficits for a long time, for decades and decades.

“It can even do so increasing its debt to GDP ratio to extraordinary levels, above 100 percent, but the price to pay for this is reduced ability to afford products and services (education, infrastructure, technology, etc.) that could lend to a more prosperous, efficient and peaceful state.

“Minimizing deficit spending is good government policy, especially in times of economic growth.”

The former government has been sure to provide a clear explanation that the high level of borrowing was needed in the face of a dramatic downturn in the global economy.

That explanation has been arguable, as the PLP accused the Ingraham administration of taking actions to worsen an already bad situation.

While prime minister, Hubert Ingraham had said often in his last term that without borrowing the government would not have been able to do simple things, like pay the salaries of civil servants.

Minnis ought to know that we are now suffering the fallout of sky-high deficits and annual borrowing.

To be clear, the vast majority of the resolutions to borrow were approved in Parliament by the then opposition led by Perry Christie.

Nobody likes to hear of new taxes, and so VAT and tax reform was not a prominent theme of the 2012 general election campaigns.

Upon coming to office, the PLP itself feigned surprise at the state of public finances. With that excuse in hand, it continued to borrow, saying it needed to do so to deal with the problems it inherited from the Ingraham administration.

“The fiscal accounts are in much worse shape than we had expected as we came into office,” Prime Minister Christie told the House not long after the May 2012 general election.

“In our very short time in office, it has become clear to us that the previous administration has, through its actions and fiscal policies, constrained our room to maneuver.”

In May 2013, the Christie administration brought a resolution to the House of Assembly to borrow $465 million to finance the projected revenue shortfall in the 2013/2014 fiscal year.

This added to the $650 million the new government borrowed in its first year.

Government debt as a percentage of GDP is projected at 56.4 percent at the end of 2013/2014.

Christie advised that much of the money the government borrowed last year was required to cover unpaid financial commitments incurred during the Ingraham administration.

“The legacy of high public deficits and spiraling debt burden that we inherited is brutally onerous: almost one out of every $4 in revenue collected by the government must be allocated to pay the interest charges on the public debt and cover the debt repayment,” he said.

“Had we chosen to ignore the grave structural imbalance in the public finances, the debt would have continued to spin out of control.”

This year, the government will spend an estimated $230 million on debt servicing alone.

While it is true that the PLP claimed to have immediate but unrealistic answers to attack our fiscal and economic woes while on the campaign trail, it is not on its own responsible for the current state of affairs.

It matters not at this juncture who is to blame, however. What is required now is reform to arrest the growing unsustainable debt levels.

As stated by Laing in his address to Rotary, “If you want to punish those who drive up cost through waste or bad decisions, then do that at election time, but know that the cost still has to be paid by the citizens.”

Minnis may wish to read and carefully consider that useful and informative address delivered by Laing.

In the speech titled “VAT and its implications for The Bahamas and the Bahamian economy”, Laing pointed out that the government needs cash and it needs it badly.

“We are in discussions about VAT implementation because there is a glaring reality confronting The Bahamas, which is that its income cannot pay for its operations,” Laing explained.

“It has not done so from The Bahamas became an independent nation. We have run deficits and financed those deficits with borrowings since 1974, when we ran a deficit of some $33 million. Incidentally, we had a surplus of about $3 million the year before that, the last such surplus seen on total budget performance.”

Laing continued, “In the wake of the crippling effects of the global recession of 2008 and the strain it put on the revenue of the government, our deficit spending has reached extraordinary levels, which is unsustainable, especially in light of the modest growth seen both in terms of the world’s economy and our domestic economy so dependent on it.

“The government needs money to pay for its expenses, and it needs money badly. That is why VAT is being discussed with the sense of urgency that it is being discussed today. In 1995 when the issue first arose, it was being discussed as a planning function; today it is a practical issue of money.”

Details

The Nassau Guardian last week reported on the government’s proposed VAT bill and regulations. It is not clear when these will be brought to Parliament.

The debate cannot be vibrant and well informed without the official release of what is being proposed.

Minnis has said the PLP should immediately disclose to the Bahamian people the details of any economic studies and analyses either by domestic or international advisors or agencies that have led the government to this proposed course of action.

Many people are indeed awaiting the release of an economic impact study to show specific projections resulting from the VAT implementation, including the projected cost of living impact.

Financial Secretary John Rolle said last week that the cost of living is expected to rise between five and six percent in the first year. There were no details to show how these figures were arrived at, and there were no projections provided for cost of living increases in subsequent years.

This year is almost ended, and the government will have six months to clearly make its case, to seek to calm frayed public nerves, and cause for a smooth implementation of the new tax system.

That is ambitious.

Anecdotal evidence suggests the government is losing, not gaining support from the public on its push toward the implementation of VAT.

Its marketing of the initiative is on shaky ground, and it is only now just starting its public education campaign.

While there is an urgent imperative to act, it appears that on its current track, the new tax system could be off to a chaotic and undesirable start — a difficult birth, as we opined here previously.

What the government needs now is a more community based VAT campaign and a bit more time to get the message out.

It might be in the interest of everyone to push off the implementation date by a few months. It would allow the business community and consumers to better digest the details of VAT.

And perhaps it would give the opposition leader a bit more time to better understand how we got to where we are.

We hope it would also give the government a little more time to present a tax reform package that has buy-in from the opposition.

On a matter this grave, such a buy-in could only be in the national interest.

thenassauguardian

Thursday, November 14, 2013

Questions for Doctor Hubert Minnis on Value Added Tax (VAT) in The Bahamas

By Dennis Dames
Nassau, The Bahamas:






I have read The Nassau Guardian article today entitled: Minnis blasts government on VAT.  It is my view that the perspectives expressed by the Honourable leader of Her Majesty’s loyal opposition and my MP, were hypocritical, and amount to rock and bottle politics.

Therefore, I have some questions for Doctor Minnis.  Where were you sir, and what did you have to say in May of 2004 when the government of the day announced the process of preparing a white paper on sweeping tax reforms of The Bahamas’ tax system?

Where were you, and what did you have to say in 2004 when the Value Added Tax (VAT) experts from the UK-based Crown Group were here to perform a review of our tax system?

Where were you, and what did you have to say then, when The Bahamas was signing the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) with the European Union, between 2002 and 2007.

Where were you, and what did you have to say then, when The Bahamas made application to join the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001?

Where were you, and what did you have to say when your party chairman, Mr. Darron Cash  recently stated publicly, that the FNM had plans to implement Value Added Tax (VAT) in three years or thirty-six months, if the party had won the 2012 general election?

What is the Free Nation Movement’s (FNM) plan to plug our menacing, destructive and continuous fiscal deficits?

Do you think that The Bahamas need a broader tax base, in order to control our outrageous deficit spending?

When will it be an ideal time for us to get together and address our national budget, revenue and deficits; if this is not the right time?

Are your personal business interests and those of the FNM’s elite base conflicting with your political judgement and commonsense?

I’m looking forward to your reply, Doc.

November 14, 2013

Bahamas Blog International

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

...there is an element of the Bahamian society that views the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) value-added tax (VAT) experience as one that could provide a lesson to The Bahamas' context

TCI rejected ‘rushed’ VAT proposal


By CANDIA DAMES
Guardian News Editor
candia@nasguard.com
Nassau, The Bahamas


Fierce opposition ahead of the planned April 1, 2013 implementation of value-added tax (VAT) in the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) led to the United Kingdom pulling back from that position.

Professor Gilbert Morris, who chairs the Turks and Caicos Resort Owners Economic Council, told National Review that TCI residents were primarily concerned with the “rushed” manner in which VAT would have been implemented.

“We never said no to VAT,” explained Morris, a Bahamian.

“We simply said, look there has not been enough time; you’re rushing it through.  If you look across the Caribbean, the record has not been very good.

“The government collects most of the money it says during the first three years, but then the pie begins to shrink and then the government raises the rate.  That has been the Caribbean experience generally with the exception of the Dominican Republic.”

Both the TCI government and opposition had opposed VAT.  In The Bahamas, there is an element of society that views the TCI experience as one that could provide a lesson to our country’s context.

But there is an important difference: It is the Bahamas government, not some foreign power seeking to impose the new tax regime.

Opposition Leader Dr. Hubert Minnis has called on the government to put off the implementation of VAT, saying it was being rushed.

Recently, the government softened its tone on the issue, with Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Perry Christie saying the July 1, 2014 implementation date is not set in stone.

But the government is clear that its plan is to introduce VAT.

In the Turks and Caicos Islands where Premier Rufus Ewing had campaigned against VAT, the decision to abandon the VAT effort was announced in a letter by Mark Simmonds, the UK’s Minister for the Overseas Territories, in February.

Simmonds wrote:  “It remains Her Majesty’s Government’s (HMG) view that VAT would provide a more stable, fairer and broader based system of revenue for TCI than that which is currently in place.

“The government of TCI has a responsibility to ensure sound finances in the territory. This includes constraining expenditure within the legally binding fiscal framework which is now in place and being able to refinance its debts in 2016 without a further UK government loan guarantee.

“The TCI government will face more difficult choices to ensure stable and sustainable revenues and expenditures in the absence of VAT.

“HMG is clear that we will not accept a return to the dire financial situation in TCI which prevailed before the interim administration.”

The Bahamas is fighting its own dire financial situation, having piled on debt in recent years at a dizzying rate.

Government debt as at June 30, 2014 is projected to be $4.9 billion, compared to $2.4 billion as at July 2007.

Mission creep

Morris believes the lead-up to the planned implementation of VAT in The Bahamas does not leave enough time for it to be done properly.

“The main problem with VAT for countries where there is a tradition of inefficient public service management is mission creep,” explained Morris, who served as an observer during the implementation of VAT in several African nations.

“You start off at one point with one set of costs and because you didn’t pay attention, another long-term set of costs or hidden costs or unforeseen costs, you end up having to absorb those costs and increase the size of what you intended to do, so the mission creeps up on you.  So this is one of the problems.”

The TCI government has put in place a Blue Ribbon Commission on future taxation.  Morris is a member of the commission.

“We have looked at the short-term issues for the government and tried to look at taxes that in the short term could put the government in an effective position,” he said.

Looking at the Bahamian context, Morris added, “The Bahamian people will forgive any government that goes after growth and prosperity for the Bahamian people and makes mistakes.

“What will not be forgiven is a government that overburdens the Bahamian people with taxation, drawn from a wild variety of half studies and statements and impressions and whatever have you, cookie cutter programs for other countries, to force us to become like every other Caribbean country when even in the condition that we’re in, we’re ahead of them.”

Morris said he has experience with the proper implementation of VAT and a bad implementation of VAT on a national scale — a country smaller than The Bahamas and a country 10, 15 times the size of The Bahamas.

“And in each case where it was implemented well, there was a three- to five-year gestation period,” he explained.

“They picked a small area of industry.  They tested it first to see how it worked. They added another area, added another area, did a review after one year, looked at that, talked to the public.

“People got to know about it, and all of a sudden those businesses that were a part of a test and review period they became the central operators, the central businesses that could help the government explain.

“So, rather than depending on some paid person to come in who has a vested interest, in places where it has been done well, they have rolled it out and rolled it out in a small corner of the economy…do it for six months, nine months.

“Clean it up then try it again for three months; do a review then those businesses with the experience join the public education process, and people could look at their own people explaining how it would work for them.”

Morris said what the Bahamas government ought to be doing is growing the economic pie rather than taking a higher proportion of the same economic pie.

“We need to figure out what it takes to run The Bahamas, find the taxes that are on the books, make everybody pay the existing taxes, and then we need to get the minister of finance, the minister of foreign affairs, BAIC (Bahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporation), all these groups, the development bank, get them out of the country on the road drumming up business to expand the economic pie on the basis of a clear and precise 10-year development plan,” he said.

In The Bahamas, there is an estimated $500 million outstanding in property taxes alone.

Morris noted that VAT is infinitely more complex than property taxes.

Referring to the need for greater efforts at economic growth, Morris said, “That’s what governments should be talking about now, not additional taxes, not joining the Word Trade Organization.”

November 11, 2013

thenassauguardian

Monday, November 11, 2013

The Tax Coalition in The Bahamas praises the Bahamian Prime Minister for being open to pushing back Value-Added Tax’s (VAT) implementation day in The Islands

Tax Coalition Chiefs Praise Pm’S ‘Fantastic’ Vat Remarks



By NEIL HARTNELL
Tribune Business Editor
nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
Nassau, The Bahamas



Co-chairs for the private sector’s Tax Coalition yesterday praised indications that the Prime Minister was open to pushing back Value-Added Tax’s (VAT) implementation day as “fantastic”, warning it was “paramount” that the economy be protected.

Pointing out that the Government would not achieve its revenue-raising objectives if the economy “went to hell in a hand basket”, Robert Myers said he was interpreting Mr Christie’s comments positively, and as a sign that the Government was listening to the private sector’s concerns.

And, picking up on another aspect of the Prime Minister’s remarks, Mr Myers said it was “ludicrous” that a wealthy, ‘informal’ sector in the shape of web shop gaming remained untaxed as the Government moved to increase the burden on legitimate businesses and Bahamian citizens.

Suggesting that the Government could earn as much as $100 million per annum from taxing web shop gaming, Mr Myers added that the Treasury would likely earn another $50 million just by tightening up on the collection of existing taxes.

He especially called on the Government’s new Central Revenue Agency (CRA) to compare bank wire transfers and drafts obtained by companies to finance import purchases with subsequent Customs declarations, to ensure they were not evading due revenue payments. And Business Licence renewals also needed to be better linked with being current on tax payments

With these various initiatives potentially generating another $150 million per annum for the Government, Mr Myers said successful execution would enable it to either lower the VAT rate of possibly avoid introducing the new tax altogether.

The businessman told Tribune Business that the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation’s (BCCEC) Coalition for Responsible Taxation was attempting to “drive one objective; that the economy is protected”.

“No matter what we do with [government] revenue, the primary issue is we protect the economy,” Mr Myers emphasised.

“We understand the need for government revenue, we support the need for something to be done. The question is: What are we going to do, and how, and that we protect and unequivocally ensure the economy is not going to take a hit?

“That’s paramount here. No one wins if the economy goes to hell in a hand basket. That has always been our position.”

Mr Christie’s comments on Wednesday outside the House of Assembly indicate he is prepared to push the July 1, 2014, target deadline back if he feels the Government and private sector are not ready for it.

This is line with the Coalition’s calls for the Government to postpone VAT implementation to a date at least 12 months from the release of the accompanying legislation, regulations, Tariff Schedules and economic models.

The Bahamas is now less than eight months from the July 1 VAT implementation deadline, with none of the above documents having been released.

Still, interpreting the Prime Minister’s comments as a sign the Government was willing to dialogue with the private sector, Mr Myers said of his remarks: “That’s great, that’s fantastic.

“We’re very happy with his comments, and that’s the responsible thing to do. He’s suggesting in that statement that he’s listening to the business community.”

He was backed by fellow Coalition co-chair, Gowon Bowe, he said the Prime Minister’s comments indicated he wanted discussions with both it and the wider business community.

The PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) accountant and partner added that while the Government knew it was necessary to change the Bahamas’ fiscal course, it was “equally appreciative that if they get it wrong, it will be catastrophic”.

Pointing out that VAT was one component of fiscal reform, Mr Bowe said all elements had to be bound together in one “complete and comprehensive approach”.

“We have to look at spending, how we manage the debt, our foreign currency reserves and how we manage the reserves at the Central Bank,” Mr Bowe told Tribune Business.

“So it’s a multi-pronged approach. We need to make sure we have it correct.”

Mr Bowe added that he felt Mr Christie would not have made the comments he did without senior officials telling him there were issues that needed to be tackled with respect to VAT.

Mr Christie also suggested that January’s web shop gaming ‘opinion poll’ outcome had deprived the Government of another revenue stream, something Mr Myers agreed with.

“It’s absolutely ludicrous to think we’re going to tax the legal entities of this country, and the citizens of this country, while this sector remains unregulated, open and illegitimate,” he told Tribune Business.

“It’s absurd to think legitimate people pay taxes, and these numbers houses remain unregulated because we’ve not figured out how to regulate them.

“It’s not going anywhere, and we’ve not indicated we have the fortitude to close them down. Let’s stop fooling ourselves. The numbers guys want to be regulated, want to be taxed.”

Mr Myers said Wednesday’s meeting with the Retail Grocers Association, and other Bahamian retailers, went well in terms of introducing them to the Coalition and its objectives and having them elect representatives to it.

Emphasising that the Coalition was not seeking to “override” or take the place of individual industry Associations, Mr Myers said it was intended to act as a “catalyst” and focal point through which they could all air their VAT-related concerns to the Government.

He added that the Coalition was now “imploring” them to submit their industry-specific concerns to it, and provide recommendations on revenues that the Government was “leaving on the table” or were easy to collect.

Suggestions had already come in from the Bahamas Diving Association and Marina Operators, Mr Myers said, adding of the fiscal situation: “We can sit here and cry, but we’re here.

“Now you’re asking for a paramount change in the way we do business, and what’s going to happen in our lives. We made a mistake, and have got one shot to fix this. Let’s fix it. We’ve got to go down fighting.”

November 08, 2013


Tuesday, November 5, 2013

The Bahamas Gaming Board Chairman, Dr. Andre Rollins says that the Bahamian government should tax web shops to boost its revenue ...and introduce value added tax (VAT) at a lower rate than the proposed 15 percent

PLP MP hits out on VAT

Rollins also has Gaming Bill concerns


TANEKA THOMPSON
Guardian Senior Reporter
taneka@nasguard.com
Nassau, The Bahamas


The government should tax web shops to boost its revenue and introduce value added tax (VAT) at a lower rate than the proposed 15 percent, Gaming Board Chairman Dr. Andre Rollins said yesterday.

The Fort Charlotte MP also weighed in on the controversial Gaming Bill and told The Nassau Guardian that “Believe in Bahamians” needs to be more than an election slogan.

Rollins said debate on the modernization of the country’s gaming industry should not be focused on expanding the sector to benefit foreigners while ignoring Bahamian participation.

“While VAT is such a hot topic in our country we have to look at this as an opportunity to at least reduce the amount of apprehension or to whatever extent we can appease the public that is concerned now more than ever about being overtaxed,” he told The Nassau Guardian.

Rollins said taxing web shops would give the government a revenue injection, allowing VAT to be phased in at a low rate over a few years.

“That would allow the transition into VAT, I believe, to be a lot more palatable or manageable for the average Bahamian,” he said.

“We know that VAT is still not considered to be a progressive form of taxation. It’s a regressive tax, maybe not as regressive as a customs duty based regime, but it’s regressive nonetheless.

“If we are in fact in tune with the concerns of the Bahamian people we would know that they are not too pleased with this whole idea of being taxed more, particularly at a time when the economy is still not growing to the extent that we can absorb all of the unemployment.”

The government plans to institute a 15 percent VAT on July 1, 2014 to help close the gap between revenue and expenditure.

In November, Prime Minister Perry Christie told Parliament the government could get $15 million to $20 million in annual taxes if web shops were properly regulated.

The controversial Gaming Bill was tabled in the House of Assembly last month.

The bill would allow casinos to offer mobile and Internet gaming, while preventing web shops from legally doing so, and maintains the status quo, which prevents Bahamians from legal gambling.

Rollins said it “makes no sense” to modernize the gaming industry for foreigners while leaving Bahamians out.

“We cannot as the government fuel a perception that we are enacting legislation that is geared toward bringing modernization to our country but which simultaneously leaves Bahamians behind,” Rollins said.

“Believing in Bahamians must be more than a convenient political slogan. In opposition you have the luxury of being elected on your promises.  As the government, however, you are judged by your actions. This debate is about much more than gaming; it is about maintaining our philosophical credibility as a government that says it believes in Bahamians.”

Rollins said if the issue of Bahamians gambling is not dealt with during the debate on the Gaming Bill, he doubts it would happen during this term.

“I don’t expect for Bahamians to believe that if we don’t discuss the importance of Bahamians participating in the industry, whether as owners or patrons, that if we don’t do it now it’s likely for us to do it later,” he said.  “Later when, after the next election?

“We cannot continue to leave the interests of Bahamians behind.”

In January, a majority of people who voted in a referendum on gambling voted no to the regularization and taxation of web shops.  The government has said it will abide by the outcome of that vote.

Debate on the Gaming Bill is expected to begin in the House of Assembly on Wednesday.

November 04, 2013

thenassauguardian

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Value-Added Tax (VAT) in The Bahamas ...and its “positive” impact on the Bahamian economy’s growth and employment prospects ...in the medium-term

Idb Study Shows Vat 'Positive' For Jobs, Growth






By NEIL HARTNELL
Tribune Business Editor
Nassau, The Bahamas




An Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) study has shown that Value-Added Tax (VAT) will have a “positive” impact on the Bahamian economy’s growth and employment prospects in the medium-term, a senior official said last night.
 
John Rolle, the Ministry of Finance’s financial secretary, said that despite the IDB study being incomplete, the ‘preliminary results’ showed the Government’s tax reform centrepiece would also result in reduced inflationary pressures.
 
“While the IDB study is ongoing, we have seen the preliminary results, which attest to the projected positive economic impact of the fiscal reforms (growth and employment over the medium term), and to the reduced inflationary pressures to which the budgetary consolidation would contribute,” Mr Rolle told Tribune Business.
 
“Additional historical data is being added to the economic model, which will allow the researchers to fine-tune their results. Afterwards the results of the study will be published.”
 
Mr Rolle was commenting after the IDB used its October quarterly bulletin on the Caribbean to confirm it is working with the Government on implementing VAT in the Bahamas. It said its study on the new tax’s impact on the economy and wider society was only “underway”.
 
“The IDB has been working with the Government of the Bahamas to assist with Value-Added Tax (VAT) implementation,” the Bank’s October missive said.
 
“Using an econometric model, the IDB has provided specific input on the effects of the changes in revenue of the proposed VAT rates and the base on which the VAT will be charged.
 
“An economic impact study that assesses the effect on prices, economic growth, poverty and income distribution is currently underway. Consultations on the creation of the Central Revenue Agency, which will administer the VAT and select the IT system, are currently underway.”
 
Despite Mr Rolle’s assurances, the IDB’s comment is still likely to raise eyebrows in the private sector, as it indicates that the true ‘number crunching’ on VAT’s impact on the wider Bahamian economy and society has yet to be completed, and with implementation of the new tax now less than eight-and-a-half months away.
 
It is also unclear whether the Government internally, via the Ministry of Finance, has completed ‘VAT economic impact’ studies of its own, or whether this work has been done by other agencies, such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF, or external consultants.
 
A Ministry of Finance press statement earlier this year referenced work done by the IMF and its regional affiliate, CARTAC, on a Bahamian VAT, although no specifics about the nature of their work were released.
 
One observer who raised such questions was Rick Lowe, an executive with the Nassau Institute economic think-tank, whose own study on VAT’s likely impact on the Bahamas has been belittled by various government officials.
 
Suggesting that the Government’s moral authority to do this was diminished by the absence of any completed studies of its own, Mr Lowe argued that the burden of VAT collection/administration was being placed on those companies that were already 100 per cent compliant with their taxes.
 
And, noting the contents of the 2010-2011 Auditor General’s Report, which found that another $95 million in unpaid real property tax was added to the existing ‘sum owing’, taking this to over $500 million, Mr Lowe questioned how the Government expected to collect everything due to it under a VAT.
 
“It’s a basket case, it really is,” Mr Lowe told Tribune Business. “How do we expect to implement a more convoluted tax system if we can’t administer the basics?”
 
He added that the experience of other countries that had implemented VAT was that new taxes did not stop there, often being followed by income taxes and other revenue-raising measures.
 
“It’s a never-ending way to tax people,” Mr Lowe added. “It’s the thin end of the wedge. If we’re not capable of collecting basic taxes, heaven knows, not to mention the underground economy.”
 
He added that VAT would likely drive more Bahamians to online shopping and trips to Miami, and said of the IDB’s comments on the economic impact study, or lack of it: “How can they [the Government] stand up there and berate anyone who has concerns based on the impact of VAT on other countries in the region, and they’ve not done a study yet? It speaks volumes.
 
“They berate anyone who stands up and raises questions, and those questions result from government’s lack of information. We’re beeped down as if we’re dummies.
 
“They’ve [the Government] been forging ahead as if it’s a fait accompli, and haven’t done a cost benefit analysis. Have they considered the impact on businesses close to the edge? Obviously they haven’t. Is it going to destroy the economy and they get less revenue? Is that the Government’s intention?
 
“If they haven’t done the basics yet, how can they just think they can throw their hands up and say: ‘We can take more money from the citizens?’ It’s unconscionable. I weep for our country.”
 
Questioning why the Government had allowed “this large swathe” of non-real property tax payers to exist, Mr Lowe said VAT would impose an even greater tax burden on those who were already paying their bills.
 
“To say we can’t collect the taxes already on the books, and to tax more people who legally do what’s right and pay the taxes they ought to pay, something’s wrong with that reasoning,” he added.
 
October 21, 2013
 
 
 

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

“I don’t have any trepidation of doom and gloom” about the implementation of Value Added Tax (VAT) in The Bahamas

Lawyer: I Don't Fear Vat.. It'll Be A Boost




By NEIL HARTNELL
Tribune Business Editor
Nassau, The Bahamas




A former Bahamas Bar Association president yesterday predicted that Value-Added Tax (VAT) would “boost” the legal profession, and said: “I don’t have any trepidation of doom and gloom.”
 
Providing something of an antidote to the general mood on uncertainty surrounding the Government’s tax reform plans, Wayne Munroe said VAT’s implementation would create a whole new area of work for attorneys - revenue and tax law.
 
The Munroe & Associates principal told this newspaper that employment in the legal profession might also increase, as many attorneys who currently lacked ‘back office’ accounting systems would likely have to hire extra persons to track, and capture, the VAT due to the Government.
 
Since the Government’s VAT ‘White Paper’ does not treat legal services as ‘exempt’ or ‘zero rated’, Bahamian law firms and attorneys - most of whom generate over $100,000 in annual turnover - will have to add a 15 per cent levy to their client billings and remit this to the Central Revenue Agency, minus the tax paid on their inputs.
 
Asked whether VAT’s introduction might result in reduced demand for legal services, and a loss of business, Mr Munroe suggested it would not.
 
He likened legal services to tobacco and alcohol, implying it was a product many clients could not do without, meaning there was an ‘inelastic demand’ and tax increases would make little difference to this.
 
And, with over 1,000 licensed attorneys in the Bahamas and multiple law firms, Mr Munroe said there was enough competition in the market to keep prices down and dictate how much of the VAT was ‘absorbed’ by the profession.
 
The former Bar president also described the Free National Movement’s (FNM) opposition to VAT as “laughable”, given that the party had previously gone on record as saying it would have implemented the tax had it been re-elected in 2012.
 
Mr Munroe added that what was missing from the VAT discussion was a debate on the ‘size of government’ that the Bahamas needed, as this determined the level of taxation and revenues required to fund it.
 
Arguing that he “can’t imagine” VAT’s impact on the Bahamas would be different from that in the UK, Mr Munroe told Tribune Business that one area he studied while at university was revenue and taxation law.
 
“It’s going to provide a boost to the legal profession,” Mr Munroe told Tribune Business of VAT’s implementation. “If you look at other jurisdictions, there’s a bunch of cases around VAT.
 
“We have very few areas of revenue law here to be explored by attorneys. Now there will be cases of people accused of VAT fraud; collecting VAT and not paying it over; and issues of interpretation of the legislation that is passed and introduced.
 
“It may provide a benefit to the legal profession......”
 
Accountants are the other profession likely to experience an upsurge in work with VAT’s arrival, and Mr Munroe hinted that both they and attorneys might also see the creation of another new business area - advising clients on tax minimisation, or ways they can legally reduce their tax burden.
 
And he added: “It may cause an increase in employment for those lawyers that do not have proper administration systems.
 
“If they’re going to deal with VAT, they have to have persons to administer the system. There will be an increase in the back office to deal with the administrative burden of accounting for the VAT regime.
 
“Some lawyers may have no one to day. It should create more work, and have an employment stimulus effect in the legal profession.”
 
Tribune Business sources have suggested one major query that attorneys have over VAT is whether it will have to be levied on billings charged to foreign clients, with some believing this does not happen in the UK.
 
Given that the Government’s philosophy is that VAT is levied in the jurisdiction where the product/service is consumed, and that such legal services were consumed in the Bahamas, it seems likely that foreign clients will have to pay VAT.
 
Another issue is that the price increases caused by adding 15 per cent VAT to legal billings may cause lower and middle income Bahamian clients to exit the market.
 
This would be especially concerning on land and real estate purchases, as it would expose Bahamians to deals where - if there was no title search by an attorney - they might acquire properties with bad title.
 
Mr Munroe, though, said it was unclear whether VAT would increase the cost of legal services, given that the Bahamian market was intensely competitive.
 
“The market will determine how much of the increase caused by VAT will be passed on,” he told Tribune Business. “I don’t have any trepidation of doom and gloom.”
 
Mr Munroe said what was missing from the VAT discussion was an “ideological” debate on the size of government and welfare state that was desirable in the Bahamas.
 
Since all three political parties backed the notion of some form of welfare state, he added that “some form of taxation” was necessary to finance it.
 
The issue then became one of form and alternatives to VAT, and Mr Munroe said he had only heard income tax being mentioned, which “comes with its own problems”.
 
“On balance, as a country we have to stop opposing and opposing things,” he said. “It’s laughable that the FNM is opposing VAT when it came out in support of it in government.
 
“We have to get past this thing. We seem to have a system where we have to oppose and oppose, and that’s not the Westminster system as I know it.”
 
October 09, 2013
 
 
 

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Bahamas Motor Dealers Association’s (BMDA) has “big concerns” over the Bahamian Government’s proposed 15 per cent Value Added Tax (VAT) ...given how the tax had impacted their counterparts in other Caribbean countries

Auto Dealers Fear 40% Sales Slump From Vat






By NEIL HARTNELL
Tribune Business Editor
Nassau, The Bahamas



Bahamian auto dealers fear Value-Added Tax’s (VAT) implementation will cause the sector to follow its Caribbean counterparts into a 30-40 per cent sales decline, with one arguing that the proposed tax was “not the right fit for our economy”.
 
Fred Albury, the Bahamas Motor Dealers Association’s (BMDA) president, told Tribune Business that its members had “big concerns” over the Government’s proposed 15 per cent VAT given how the tax had impacted their counterparts in other Caribbean countries.
 
Apart from the likely impact on new and used car sales, Mr Albury acknowledged that another concern - as had happened in St Lucia and Grenada - was that a 15 per cent VAT on auto service and parts bills would drive consumers to ‘bush mechanics’ and firms that did not have to register to pay the tax.
 
Suggesting that the Bahamas follow the lead established by Turks & Caicos and instead implement a sales tax, Mr Albury urged this nation not to “go down the hell hole” that other VAT-adopting Caribbean countries had fallen into.
 
“If you look at what happened in St Lucia and Grenada, and places where they’ve introduced VAT, it’s had a negative effect with sales down 30-40 per cent,” Mr Albury told Tribune Business.
 
Such a drop in auto sales in the Bahamas post-July 1, 2014, could have a calamitous effect on a sector that is still 50 per cent off its pre-recession high, likely sparking reduced working hours and lay-offs.
 
Mr Albury, the Auto Mall, Executive Motors and Omega Motors head, disclosed that VAT’s impending implementation was already having an impact on buyer behaviour.
 
Given that VAT’s introduction is supposed to coincide with the reduction of import duties and Excise Taxes, he explained that many purchasers were ‘holding off’ in the belief (possibly mistaken) that auto prices would fall due to cuts in the industry’s current tax structure, which ranges from 65-85 per cent.
 
“I’ve already got customers, a rental car business, saying: ‘Why buy any vehicles now at 65 per cent, 75 per cent, 85 per cent? When VAT comes along, the duty will be reduced. I’ll wait’. It’s already having a ‘wait and see’ effect for business out there,” Mr Albury said.
 
And he confirmed to Tribune Business that this newspaper was “absolutely correct” in its understanding that VAT’s introduction in St Lucia and elsewhere had resulted in auto owners there taking their vehicles to ‘bush mechanics’ and small operators in a bid to escape VAT on services and parts.
 
“That would be a big concern,” Mr Albury acknowledged. “If they go to a one-man operation, and not have to pay VAT rather than go to an authorised dealer, we will have to start cutting heads. It will have a spin-off, trickle down effect.”
 
He expressed hope, though, that this would be “offset” by the quality he and other new car dealers offered.
 
“Probably the customers we don’t want will go that way,” he added. “We’ve put a lot of money into technology and training, and a lot of vehicles have to go back to the dealer for diagnosis.”
 
Noting that he had just brought in a $3 million spare parts shipment, with a likely duty rate of 55 per cent, Mr Albury said his “biggest concern” was the timing of VAT implementation, and the impact on unsold stock he had already paid existing tariff rates on.
 
“Do I have to eat the portion of duty that I’ve already paid,” Mr Albury asked. The Government, in fairness, has talked about addressing this issue via the use of bonded warehouses or companies managing their existing inventory such that they ‘run it down’ before VAT implementation.
 
Mr Albury said the BMDA had already had one meeting with the Ministry of Finance on VAT, and was now drawing up “a list of concerns” in response to the latter’s request. A further meeting is supposed to be held.
 
“Right now, we’re picking straws out of the sky,” the BMDA president said on VAT specifics, due to the fact that the legislation and accompanying regulations have yet to be published.
 
“I know the Government has a thirst for revenue, but the VAT tax is not the right fit for our economy,” Mr Albury told Tribune Business. “It’s a service-oriented economy. If it was an economy where we produced manufactured goods, maybe.
 
“I hate to predict doom and gloom, but I don’t think VAT is a good fit for our type of economy, and I don’t see why we have to rush into something that has destroyed other economies.
 
“It [VAT} sounds good on paper, but when you factor in the underground economy..... The Bahamas is already known as a country of pirates, and they will find a way to get around paying VAT,” Mr Albury added.
 
“They might catch a few, but when people start bartering services and goods, it’s going to be like an organised underground market out there.”
 
Mr Albury said both the Cayman Islands and Turks & Caicos had successfully resisted the implementation of VAT, and the latter had instead implemented a sales tax “geared towards tourism” and the industries it hosted.
 
“That might be the best way of doing this,” Mr Albury said, backing a sales tax for the Bahamas.
 
He added that the Turks & Caicos had witnessed a major public education campaign on what VAT meant for them, complete with bumper stickers, t-shirts and petitions, and 
“that might possibly have to happen here”.
 
Mr Albury noted that countries that had tried to increase their VAT rates, such as Barbados, the Dominican Republic and the UK, had either suffered a fall in revenues (driving consumers to the underground economy) or experienced such public pressure that they ultimately reversed course.
 
Calling on the Bahamas not to follow the advice of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other multilateral institutions like sheep, Mr Albury told Tribune Business: “We’re one of the jewels of the Caribbean.
 
“Why should we aspire to be like the others going down into the hell hole, the sceptic tank? Let’s do something different, and not be dictated to be the WTO and IMF.... Is it worth joining the WTO for what the consumer is going through?”
 
Urging the Government to work with the private sector to find other, non-VAT, ways to raise revenues while also cutting spending, Mr Albury said: “VAT will have a negative effect on us for a couple of years.
 
“We were just starting to come out of recession, and if we will be hit by VAT a lot of [business] places will not survive.”
 
October 03, 2013
 
 
 

Saturday, October 5, 2013

The implementation of Value-Added Tax (VAT) in The Bahamas ...without a reduction in current revenue measures ...is a recipe for recession

Vat Move 'A Recipe For Recession'





By AVA TURNQUEST
Tribune Staff Reporter
aturnquest@tribunemedia.net
Nassau, The Bahamas




THE implementation of Value-Added Tax without a reduction in current revenue measures is a recipe for recession, former finance minister and economist Sir William Allen said yesterday.

Sir William said that a 2014 roll out of the new tax system was “not doable”, and likely to result in disappointment and frustration for both the government and the taxpayers.

He maintained that the economy was still “too weak” for an increase of the minimum wage as a way to offset the “pain” of VAT.

Sir William said: “Economic performance is very weak, the economy has not yet recovered from the 2007/2008 period. It is still very weak and the recovery is very anaemic. An increase to minimum wage will be contrary to improvement in the economy, it would work against the improvement of the economy. You have to consider the timing.”

He added: “I agree that VAT will not be without pain, because the very nature of VAT, it’s going to impact everybody in society.

The Government is proposing to implement VAT on July 1, 2014, at a rate of 15 per cent, with the hotel industry to be subject to a lower 10 per cent rate. The Government’s White Paper on tax reform proposes to exempt those companies with an annual turnover of $50,000 or less from having to pay VAT.

Sir William called on the government to clarify whether or not it intended to reduce current taxes to make room in the economy for VAT, adding that whether or not officials could strike a balance between existing taxes and the new structure would ultimately determine the strategy’s success.

“The public is not expecting to pay the same level of custom’s duties along with everything. If that is so, there is gonna be hell to pay in this economy.”

“They’re not speaking to that clearly enough.”

Another worrisome component of the government’s VAT initiative is it’s timeline, according to Sir William, who posited that an ideal roll out would be three to five years.

He said: “My concern with the VAT is that they are seeking to put in place much too short a schedule. I don’t think that sufficient time has been given to putting it in place – to put into effect a VAT system by July 1, 2014, with the best of intentions, that is not doable in my view.”

Sir William said: “It is not doable, or if it is done it will be very inefficient and it’s going to lead to considerable disappointment on (government’s part) in terms of revenue that they collect and a lot of frustration on the part of the taxpayers.”

While Sir William noted that it was obvious the government was hard pressed to close the some three per cent gap between GDP revenue and expenditure, he maintained that it was highly improbable that the government could recoup that figure within the 2014/2015 fiscal year.

Sir William said: “You know what they do when you can tell something is wrong in an economy– if you look at the buildings or parks and they’re not maintained and if you listen to people and they’re not being paid - that’s how you know something is wrong, that’s an indication of fiscal pressure, money pressure.”

“And in light of that it’s going to be difficult to see how they are going to reduce their expenditure. There is going to be pressure for further expenditure.”

Pointing to the cost of the government’s anti-crime initiatives, which he commended, Sir William said: “I see nothing that permits them to reduce their expenditure, I don’t see any possibility on the horizon that permits for that.” 

Sir William said: “I think there’s a very valid rationale for putting [VAT] in place, the government is running a capital deficit and a current account deficit. The current account deficit is the most worrisome because that means that your revenue is not covering your ordinary expenses.

He said: “In the context of a household, if you have to borrow money to pay your rent you’re in trouble. If you have to borrow money to buy food you’re in trouble - that’s a current account expense.”

He added: “That’s a big number, if you consider a GDP of say $9 billion dollars, so that three per cent you’re talking about $270 million. You have to do something about that, it’s not a way that you can continue to operate for a long period of time and in fact we’ve been running like that for much too long.”

Nearly eight months after the release of the Government’s White Paper on Tax Reform, the former finance said he was still unimpressed with the PLP administration’s reform strategy.

Back in July, Tribune Business reported that Sir William was “doubtful” that the Government will hit the target timelines for its two key fiscal objectives – the introduction of Value-Added Tax (VAT) and eliminating the fiscal deficit by the 2015-2016 Budget year.

Sir Allen said that while he would prefer an income tax, the Bahamas has already sold itself as a “tax haven”.

“We boast,” he said, “all our marketing has been ‘no income tax’, and there is a certain fear in certain quarters that once you establish an income tax it’s only a matter of time before it impacts [offshore finance].

Sir William said: “We seek as much as we can to exclude the offshore sector from this tax on the assumption that one of the reasons why they come here is that they come to avoid income tax. One can argue whether that continues to be a valid position, but a lot has changed in the Bahamas.”

October 04, 2013