Implementing both value-added tax (VAT) and a contributory National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme cannot co-exist

NHI ‘too much too fast’ given VAT

Head of Coalition for Healthcare Reform says ‘only so much’ private sector can bear, as NHI steering committee moves ahead

By ALISON LOWE
Guardian Business Editor
alison@nasguard.com

As a government-appointed steering committee on National Health Insurance (NHI) ramps up its activity surrounding the potential implementation of the healthcare initiative, a former chamber of commerce president has warned that implementing both value-added tax (VAT) and a contributory NHI scheme cannot co-exist.

Winston Rolle, former chamber of commerce president, and a former head of the Coalition for Healthcare Reform, a private sector group formed to highlight concerns surrounding the possible implementation of NHI prior to the end of the last Christie administration in 2007, said there is a limit to how much the private sector can bear in the form of taxation.

“There were seven or eight guiding principles we’d said we need to look at before we can talk about modernizing our health system and I don’t see where that position would’ve changed.  It still boils down to one, cost, and two, who’s going to pay for it?

“Obviously with the changes that would’ve taken place in this fiscal year, with the business license fee and now with talk of the implementation of value-added tax (VAT), and another scheduled national insurance increase coming up as well now, you are talking about yet another expense that has to be borne by the citizenry and the business community.  There’s just only so much that they can take.  I think it may be a case of trying to do too much too fast,” said Rolle.

Arguing that “putting in place a system that can’t meet the objectives would be just as bad as what you have now”, Rolle suggested that the government has to take into consideration “not only VAT but the whole taxation system” and ensure that those who are required to “pay for this cost have the ability to pay”.

His comments come as Guardian Business understands the government’s steering committee on NHI has begun to meet every two weeks as it attempts to move the NHI agenda forward.

In October, Minister of Health Dr. Perry Gomez said that implementing NHI remains a priority for the Christie administration.  He suggested that an updated costing of the roll out of the initiative would be completed by the end of the month.

Meanwhile, the government is forging ahead with controversial plans to implement VAT at a rate of 15 percent by July 2014, in an effort to address a spiraling debt situation and respond to calls from the World Trade Organization (WTO) to phase out high import tariffs, a key source of government revenue.

Yesterday, sources close to the government’s steering committee on NHI revealed that the group, which was appointed in July of this year, has begun to meet once every two weeks and has already provided a document outlining the terms of reference for NHI to Gomez.

Gomez himself, described as a “passionate advocate for equity in access to healthcare” by sources close to the committee, is said to be keen to see the initiative move forward, addressing the rising cost and inaccessibility of healthcare to many Bahamians.

While the minister had earlier suggested that the updated costing for NHI – how much the government would need to cover the launch and maintenance of an expanded publicly-funded healthcare program – would be complete by last month, Guardian Business understands that this element of preparation is yet to take place.

Guardian Business understands that among those on the steering committee, who include Edison Sumner, president of the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation (BCCEC), and John Pinder, president of the National Congress of Trade Unions of The Bahamas (NCTUB) and the Bahamas Public Service Union (BPSU), there are some reservations about the feasibility of implementing NHI given government’s intentions to move ahead with VAT in particular.

It is believed that among the suggestions emanating from the committee are the possibility for the government to implement NHI in phases, with an appreciation for the fact that such a staged implementation – rather than the immediate launch of a comprehensive national health system ­– would more closely approximate what has happened in other countries.

Meanwhile, it has been suggested by sources close to the process that based on the current progress with respect to NHI, the full costing of the initiative may not be completed until next April.

Rolle said he has not been personally informed of any specific advancements in the NHI agenda, but suggested that the government must ensure it seeks the input of the private sector as it moves forward.

“The same parties who were involved in 2007 would want to have sight of and have input into anything that comes up,” he said.

December 03, 2013

thenassauguardian

Caribbean Blog International

Value Added Tax (VAT) Draft Bill and Regulations

Public Notice

VAT Draft Bill and Regulations

Published Date : November 29, 2013

Drafts:

Guide to VAT Legislation

Draft of Value Added Tax Bill

Draft of Value Added Tax Regulations

The drafts of the Value Added Tax (VAT) Bill and Regulations are being released to expand the public discussion and consultation process on the fiscal reform initiative. The drafts summarize the government policy framework for advancing the implementation of the tax.

Following the consultation process and prior to the passage of the legislation the Government reserves the right to revise the policy framework, having regard to the initial phasing of customs tariff and excise tax reductions (and correspondingly the rate of the tax) and the scope of VAT exemptions.

This process is to ensure that the revenue and fiscal consolidation targets are maintained. Revisions to the management structure for the CRA will also be reflected in the draft legislation to be sent to Parliament.

The public is invited to submit comments on the draft to the Ministry of Finance as follows: taxreform@bahamas.gov.bs

The Financial Secretary
Ministry of Finance
Sir Cecil Wallace Whitfield Centre
West Bay Street
P.O. Box N3017
Nassau, The Bahamas

For Futher information please contact:
Contact name: Ministry of Finance
Telephone: (242) 327-1530

Contact name: Value Added Tax Unit
Telephone: (242) 225-7280

Viable alternatives to Value Added Tax (VAT) ...and ways to increase revenue ...and ultimately ...reduce The Bahamas debt

The Democratic National Alliance (DNA) on, "The VAT Story"

 

While the Bahamian people stare down the barrel of the government’s proposed Value Added Tax (VAT) due to be implemented in July 2014 we remain uncertain of what to expect will come out of that barrel – we just know it won’t be good.

Aiding in the confusion we feel as the date rapidly approaches is the inconsistent statements of the Prime Minister who one moment speaks of the inevitability of VAT and the next seems to plead for an alternative from the business community. More recently the Prime Minister blames the financial mess left behind by the FNM for forcing his hand to introduce a tax that he said he took the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to task twice over pressure to implement.

The Prime Minister’s statements in reaction to public statements of former PLP Cabinet Minister George Smith and more recently former Central Bank Governor James Smith have only served to cement the fact that our country has no direction.

A week after James Smith, now chairman of CFAL and a consultant to the Ministry of Finance, said that he is a proponent of VAT but believes a lower rate would satisfy international credit ratings agencies and be more palatable for the private sector, the Prime Minister agrees and says he clearly must take Mr. Smith’s advice into consideration. We know from the Prime Minister’s comments last week that he is concerned for his and his party’s political future as he doesn’t want “young men like Halkitis and Khaalis Rolle sitting in the meeting with me to lose an election because I don’t question you (IMF) on what you’re telling me I should do?” Do they really “Believe in Bahamians”?

A government who truly cared about Bahamians would have first come to the Bahamian business community and sought a solution before trying to ram a tax down the throats of Bahamians despite knowing the inflation and economic regress it has caused in many other Caribbean nations.

The Democratic National Alliance has, over the past months proposed viable alternatives to VAT and ways to increase revenue and ultimately reduce debt. We believe it is more than capable of being accomplished and we have outlined these suggestions in the DNA’s Three Point Plan to Prosperity.

The DNA believes firstly: We can achieve efficient government operation, consistent of proper collection of existing taxes, constraining the growth of government spending and limiting government borrowing to a percentage of revenue, introduction of a national procurement agency, privatization of Water & Sewage, Bahamas Electrical Corporation, Bahamasair, implement a proper Freedom of Information Act, enforcement of the Public Disclosures Act, introduction of Whistle Blowers Act and elimination of cronyism projects and perks.

The DNA believes secondly: We have tax alternatives, consistent of implementation of goods & service tax between 5% and 7% levied at point of sale, reduction of duties to 10%, reduction of government subsidies to tourism related by 50%, land tax above certain nonperforming acreage and withholding tax applied to education.

The DNA believes thirdly: We can grow the economy by making the business community successful, through a reduction in cost of electricity (14c per KWH in power generation 3c per KWH in distribution), reduction in the prime rate by 50%, reduce cost of capital through structured elimination of exchange controls, diversification of the Bahamian economy, incentives to the small business sector, empowering working Bahamians through increasing the minimum wage to $7 per hour and making available ownership of crown land through a National Land Bureau.

We believe that through consultation with the public and private sector together with measured and decisive leadership we can not only turn the economy around and reduce the debt but create an economy that will bring prosperity to more Bahamians. After all, isn’t that what good governance is about – making life better for Bahamians?

Branville McCartney
Leader
December 1, 2013

National Anxieties over Value Added Tax (VAT)

Young Man's View: National Anxiety Over Vat

By ADRIAN GIBSON

ajbahama@hotmail.com

TODAY, as national anxieties are being expressed about Value Added Tax (VAT) and our country faces uncertain times, I’ve decided to take a cursory glance at this hot button topic with a view to expanding the discussion from various angles, from the local and international perspectives to more technical and scientific points of view, in a series of columns in the next week and thereafter. Yes, while one recognises that we’re facing an unsustainable debt to GDP ratio and, moreover, that we must reform our system and restructure our broken methods of tax collections, the government’s thrust to implement VAT on July 1, 2014 is nonsensical and absolutely farfetched.

 

There is no question that the perpetual gap between expenditure and revenue has put us in a very precarious position, a position that demands some type of real action but VAT is only one potential solution. Notwithstanding the fact that one of the PLP’s election mantras centred around ‘no new taxes’, to introduce a form of taxation such as VAT, without enough lead time to allow for proper dialogue, has created uncertainty in the country, not only among the business community but everyday, average Bahamians. The aforesaid, combined with an incongruously optimistic, impulsive approach to tax reform has forced the government into what appears to be a schizophrenic economic ramble where Bahamians are now being forced to hastily take a bitter pill.

 

As one learned friend of mine told me: “The debate on VAT forces those of us in the so-called responsible element of society to abandon the ‘I told so posture.’ And so, we’re now finding ourselves in the awkward position of having to provide the government with the ideas that they ought to have had and which they claimed to have possessed on day one. Thankfully the Bahamian citizenry have responded in such a way and are providing enough creativity that they just might bail this hapless crew out of their dilemma. It’s my hope that Bahamians remember this when it is time to punish them!”

 

And so, why VAT? Thus far, I haven’t seen any feasibility study showing where the government set about comparatively analysing the various forms of taxation. I know that in a paper a few years ago the IMF suggested that the Bahamas’ government “strengthen administration of existing property and trade taxes, review FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) incentives and shift the tax base to domestic consumption--endorsing the adoption of a broad-based VAT.” So, is the choice of VAT simply based on the IMF’s recommendations or did the government explore other options, say income tax or, for that matter, simply organising and launching an internal revenue service that collects all outstanding government debt and, even more, passing legislation that proffers serious penalties for tax cheats. It seems to me that rather than explore all our options, the government has capitulated to the international credit agencies!

 

Why can’t we look for creative means to forego or prevent our descent down the slippery slope on which many countries have found themselves?

 

Make no bones about it, in the absence of proper controls relative to corruption and waste, VAT will be a disproportionately painful experience for the Bahamian middle class. As a friend told me, “so much for believing in Bahamians!” The most conservative VAT impact estimate predicts anywhere from five to 10 per cent increase in the cost of living and a similar reduction in disposable income. What’s more, financial analysts forecast that the implementation of VAT will be revenue neutral or negative for the first two to three years! Frankly, such a tax manoeuvre, with no direct impact for two to three years, while the cost of living and doing business increases, could cause unrecoverable economic impairments and perhaps result in drastic fiscal measure being taken, for example, the much dreaded devaluation of our dollar. And so, we should not introduce such a radical change in tax structure without a proper impact assessment study and some idea of how to mitigate damage!

In my view VAT is being brought to the public in a haphazard, clandestine and non-transparent fashion and it appears that the only people who know what VAT will entail, once rolled out, are key Cabinet members, not even backbenchers and definitely not the Opposition.

 

In a 2009 column, I wrote “the antiquated Customs Management Act must be amended to protect the revenue base in Freeport, loopholes in the Business License Act must be closed and casino and local/foreign-owned real property taxes must be collected. According to a 2007 Auditor General report, there was nearly $400 million in outstanding real property taxes owed to the government. This amount has no doubt increased and, if the reigns of revenue collection are tightened, the country could unquestionably achieve a budget surplus. A corporate tax and taxes on profits, revenues and/or assets under management of international clients/companies must also be levied.”

 

One knows that the implementation of VAT, in any form, could only be as good as the collections agency assigned to ensure that taxes are paid to the government!

 

Consecutive governments have historically benefited by providing political patronage by condoning non-payment of gazetted government fees, whether at the Mortgage Corporation, the National Insurance Board, BEC or elsewhere. These administrations have created a culture of entitlement, even in instances where the benefits are paid for by the public purse. Frankly, before any new tax is introduced, we have to destroy the culture of entitlement and demand that all citizens, rich or poor, FNM or PLP, pay their way according to agreed terms. This very point has been the hot potato that Bahamians have taken advantage of and, quite honestly, the losses to the public treasury amount to billions of dollars.

 

There is a sizeable 8,000 pound gorilla that we refuse to acknowledge, that is, that a portion of the loss of government funds is, I believe, due to some form of corruption.

 

Bahamians will need to decide if we prefer to maintain the benefit of a few at the expense of huge financial pain for the many!

 

Accusations of corruption must be dealt with at all levels or any new tax, including VAT, will find itself with the same headaches as all the others. In the Bahamas, the cost of business and accrued costs to government is inflated by graft and accusations of bribery!

 

While it is commonly bandied about that the net exposure of the Bahamas government sits at 4.9 billion dollars, it is more in the order of 6.9 billion when one takes into account government guarantees. Indeed, it’s high time that outstanding taxes be collected, from the $400-$500 million in outstanding property taxes to the accounts receivables at the Princess Margaret Hospital that are in the order of one billion dollars to millions of dollars owed to NIB to millions in unsettled customs duties to debts of $70 million owed to the Mortgage Corporation to accounts receivables at BEC that sit near $100 million to millions owed to Water and Sewerage. At present, the Bahamas government is operating on an overdraft of an astounding $200 million dollars!

 

With all these bills outstanding and no one being forced to pay them (via court action, confiscations, etc), the only solvent “national bank” - NIB - is being forced to buy useless debt in order to keep the government afloat!

 

In a country of scarce resources and rampant consumerism, it is high-time that those Bahamians living beyond their means and in constant pursuit of material possessions most likely bought on credit be prudent spenders and heed former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham’s admonition not to “hang (their) hats higher than (they) could reach.”

 

As a nation we must move from an economic model that seems stuck in a time-warp, which focuses on year-round tourism and financial services, to a competitive diversified model that expands public revenue and liberalises our economy.

 

In order to contain the ballooning deficit and strengthen the economy, the government must continue to streamline expenditures and even more, invest in teaching citizens new skills and encourage entrepreneurship.

 

Two of the main factors of production are human capital and entrepreneurship, with the former referring to increasing the knowledge and skills of workers through education and experience and thereby widening employment opportunities and the latter, developing new ideas, taking financial risks to develop ideas and coordinating the production and sale of goods and services.

 

November 25, 2013

 

Tribune 242

 

Caribbean Blog International

 

Sorrow and shame on how we, Bahamians in The Bahamas ...respond to the "Haitian situation"

The Haitian Situation is Our Responsibility

by Professor Gilbert NMO Morris

In any commentary - public or private - I seek to cut away encrusted foolishness, and to see the thing for what it is; whether I like it or not.

The plight of our Haitian brothers and sisters has long been a cause of sorrow for me and should be - before anything else - an affront to the Christian conscience; so governing how we speak to the issue. Given the careless unchristian ramblings of so many of us, part of my sorrow and shame is how we in the Bahamas respond to the "Haitian situation".

Be it noted that the Haitian situation is not merely the condition of Haitians in Haiti, nor is it the historical reasons underlying that condition; nor is it the effects, witnessed in migration and human trafficking that brings them to our shores; nor is it the imposition of such multitudes on our already limited resources; nor finally the two sided policies of the Americans, who themselves contributed mightily to undermining the Haitian revolution itself, driving death knells in Haiti's developmental options during the American occupation of Haiti from 1915-1935.

The Haitian situation is all these things combined.

In 1998, in a series of lectures at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC, I lectured on the structure and economics of the Haitian Revolution of 1789-1803. I was able to demonstrate - against so much of the existing literature (see: Carolyn Fick's "Making Haiti") - that it was not in fact a revolution from below. Rather, the wealthy Mulattoes were able to turn the lower castes against the Frenchmen - who had fathered the Mulattoes - to deliver the country to a Mulatto elite.

Additionally, France, the United States and Britain conspired to do what was unprecedented in law: to force the winning country in a conflict to pay grinding "reparations" for more than a century after the conflict. Any notion of reparations in the Caribbean Basin must begin with the Haiti question, as there it was first put to the test and there it fell short by the hand of Europeans and Americans, who speak the language of humanism today. This too is part of the Haitian situation.

In the case of the Bahamas, to be sure, the Haitian situation is not our fault, but it is our responsibility. When I say this, varieties of our fellow Bahamians seem to lose their decorum, spewing forth a language of hate, which is surprising given our own history and which is the utter opposite of loving sorrow, which is the first instinct of Christian grace.

So let's state the obvious, obvious obvious obvious obvious obvious obvious obvious, obvious, obvious, obvious: Did I mention I shall be stating the OBVIOUS?

• Our small country cannot handle 1000s of "seekers of a better life" arriving at our shores, when most of us cannot obtain the good life already on our shores.
• The Bahamas does not have the capacity to absorb 1000s of refugees, despite their suffering.
• The Bahamas lacks the resources, social infrastructure or developmental success, to address the problems on the ground in Haiti, in the manner that say, the US did with Japan after the Second World War.
• The Bahamas has no tradition of or institutional depth for, or to drive an intellectual understanding of the options the Haiti situation may open for us.

What do these things mean?

It means first that people who have been responding in posts to say the following:

• The Haitian problem is not our problem, or
• Haitians have to solve their own problems, or
• We can get ahead in the Bahamas and this is our country, how can we be concerned with Haitians? or
• They broke the law in coming here so we are not responsible for them, or
• Their situation is God's punishment for practicing Obeah

All of these reactions and others akin thereto are facile, feckless, utterly without merit and ineffectual. These feelings and reactions are not a policy. People have had these views for decades - arguing that the Haitian situation is not our responsibility, yet, still, after all this time, they are ending on our shores - men, women, children - dead.

The fact that we are 'poor' in our own country - this.......my fellow Bahamians.......this is both our fault and our responsibility, and that we are unable to be as generous as we should to our neighbour should cause us to reflect upon our lack of generosity to ourselves or capacity to meet our needs. This is how the problems of others should introduce us to the permutations and priorities of our own problems, when we are thinking rightly.

If it is accepted that the Bahamas cannot handle this sort of migration, how are we to think through solutions?

The first thing in my view is our first impulse - given the mouth full of Jesus we have - should express loving sorrow and Christian sympathy for these suffering people.

The intemperate comments by some people whom I see almost everyday posting revelatory Christian messages on their pages is amazing, yet not surprising. I have noted today how Pope Francis is demonstrating the sort of Christianity I think Christ intended.

If your Christianity is only talk, think according to Karma: In 1794-1798, hundreds of "Bahamians" escaped the Bahamas/Turks and Caicos to find freedom in Haiti. At that time, the proverbial shoe was on the other hightailing foot. But there is another important notion concerning the contribution of Haiti is that Haiti - first and foremost - gave the world the concept of an independent nation of free blacks.

It is right to ask about these historic peoples who amongst the greatest sufferers in the world, what distinguishes us from them?

Nothing but the mere luck of historical happenstance. That is it. We have not set history ablaze as they have. Yet we have benefited from their courage and resolve. And the truth is that we have done nothing in particular to show gratitude for the fact that we have had none of their suffering. Truth be told, their nation has failed owing to great historical forces. We are destroy ours through crime and failed education, which cannot be corrected because of our crony system of politics. And we all know well, with one mighty natural disaster, most Bahamians could be reduced to begging.

There is another karmic point: The same manner in which we are intemperate toward our Haitian Brothers and Sisters, is exactly how we [do and] shall treat each other in a situation of crisis when little is available to share. Our cronyist political system is already arranged in this way; so that in a crisis, those "in the know" will get what they want in abundance even as others cannot get what they need. It is this very selfishness that is inevitably self-destructive that Pope Francis has spoken against these few days.

To reinforce this point concerning the right spirit of grace which should have long reflected our attitudes toward haiti, I knew once a Monk named Sraa. I watched one day as people gathered at the gates of the encampment. He gave his oatmeal almost everyday. A man kissed his hand and said "thank you". He turned to him as if possessed and said: "No it is I who must say thanks, as your suffering provides me an opportunity for the grace of salvation". I had heard of actions like this before in other places and times. But the Christly, karmic logic of it stayed with me.

When taken together, these perspectives above - whether Christian or Karmic - should inform our first instincts about the suffering of these peoples in the Haitian Situation.

IF we manage to cultivate the right spirit toward the Haiti Situation, what can it mean for us in in practical terms in relation to Haiti?

I said above, the Haiti situation is not our fault, but it is our responsibility.

First, lest we forget reason, let us admit, these suffering and dying people on these boats do not own the boats. Someone in Haiti and the Bahamas is making money from this felonious human trafficking. They should be made to fry.

Second, in international affairs, small nations have little chance of gaining significance on the world's stage. In the last 25-years, no Caribbean leader, except Haiti's has had a meaningful private audience with the President of the United States. Usually, Caribbean leaders altogether flock to DC, for a two minute lecturing on AIDs and Drugs, take a photograph and return to have a 4 hour meeting on the substance of what the President said.

Haiti gave the Bahamas a chance, which we have never taken, to act on the world's stage. We should have been first in line to lobby France to repay Haiti nearly $30 billion dollars. Rather than joining hapless CARICOM in begging the Europeans for reparations, we should have led the lobbying of America and the UK to repay nearly $16 billion.

The Bahamas could have strode the world's stage to make this case.

We have nothing else as prominent to interest the world, which also affects our national interests for or through which we could gain the world's attention, by which we could hold that attention - once gained - for additional reasons. Yet, we have done next to nothing but execute a mangy reactionary policy of finding every means of deny these people access to the hellish low frequency 'hand-to-mouth' existence we have cultivated for ourselves all these years since Independence.

Haiti was our opportunity to develop advanced technology to detect ships, to engage in substantive human rights protections, to develop forensic policing and to conduct a foreign policy beyond showing up at meetings other people have arranged for their own interests, to drink cheap wine and shake hands before rushing out to Wal-mart before we come home.

Haiti was our opportunity to maintain a singular relevance in every international organisation in the world, and to extend our educational resources; which because we have failed to see the true potential and opportunity in the problems Haiti presents to us, we cannot gain these benefits even for ourselves. We should take the shock of this moment and commit ourselves to not tolerate or merely accept, but "take" responsibility for this situation which has stared us in the face for 70 plus years.

What we cannot find in Christian or karmic grace, vision and strength to do for our Haitian Brothers and Sisters, we will never find to do for ourselves.

That...........is Karma.


November 27, 2013

Eliminating waste and inefficiency in government spending ...together with a combination of revenue reforms and economic growth ...is the only solution to The Bahamas’ fiscal predicament

Reforms Must Tackle 'Mind Boggling' Waste

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

“Mind boggling” waste in the public sector must be tackled as part of a three-pronged solution to the Bahamas’ fiscal imbalances, a leading businessman asserting that Value-Added Tax (VAT) was not the solution by itself.

Franklyn Wilson, the Arawak Homes and Sunshine Holdings chairman, told Tribune Business he was recently informed of “nine-figure expenditure” by a government-owned utility in the Family Islands that was “just waste”.

The prominent businessman said that eliminating such waste and inefficiency in government spending, together with a combination of revenue reforms and economic growth, was the only solution to the Bahamas’ fiscal predicament.

And, while the Christie administration and private sector appeared to be far apart over the proposed VAT, Mr Wilson said he was “optimistic” the optimum solution could be reached.

He based this on the joint statement issued recently by the Coalition for Responsible Taxation (private sector) and Ministry of Finance, describing it as “one of the most significant developments that have taken place in governance in the country for the last several year”.

Mr Wilson said both sides had agreed inaction on the Bahamas’ worsening fiscal position was “not an option”, meaning there was broad-based support for public finance reform - the only outstanding questions being ‘what’ and ‘how’.

And, with the Opposition Free National Movement (FNM) having indicated a willingness to work with the Government, Mr Wilson said the Bahamas now had “the best foundation” for reaching an outcome satisfactory to all.

However, Mr Wilson emphasised to Tribune Business that VAT was “not the only answer” to a national debt hovering at $5.5 billion, fed by a fiscal deficit projected to be $443 million for the 2013-2014 Budget year.

“VAT alone will not solve the problem,” the Arawak Homes chairman said. “The problem is too deep. We’ve waited too long and got to where we are too deeply.

“We need more government revenues, less government expenditure and more economic growth. We need those three things. No one source can do it.”

The Christie administration is seeking to increase government revenues by $500 million per annum by 2016-2017, with $200 million or 40 per cent of that sum coming from VAT.

The proposed new tax, the centrepiece of its fiscal reform, is expected to generate around $500 million in gross revenues, with roughly $300 million of that figure an ‘income substitution’, compensating for the drop in Customs tariffs/fees.

Noting that VAT was not going to close the Government’s $500 million ‘revenue gap’ by itself, Mr Wilson added: “Those who advocate improved controls on current collections, that’s an answer. That’s not an either/or; it is something that has to be done.”

He praised the Government’s efforts to improve the collection and enforcement of existing taxes, singling out real property tax in particular, despite the complaint from ‘current taxpayers’ about the amnesty programme being overly-generous.

Mr Wilson also ran his eye over suggested alternatives to VAT, especially the sales tax.

“As I understand it, the basic weakness of a sales tax, anyone who has been in Florida and been in so many merchant shops, they say that if you pay in cash they won’t charge you the tax,” he added.

“That tells you the problem with a sales tax: The enormous level of avoidance and evasion.”

Mr Wilson contrasted this with VAT which, by the nature of its ‘input credits’, created an audit ‘paper trail’ right the way through the supply chain that could be checked to determine whether the full amount of tax due was being paid.

Still, Mr Wilson agreed that all tax options had to be looked at for the Bahamas to make the correct decision on reform.

And he also urged the country to set aside ‘partisan politics’ in trying to combat wasteful government spending.

“I could tell you that someone was telling me, pointing out recently, the degree of waste at one government-utility corporation,” Mr Wilson told Tribune Business. “It’s mind-boggling.

“I don’t think anyone has consciously set out to do it. Someone could identify for me nine-figure money spent in one Family Island that was just waste.

“To do something about this, government expenditure, in terms of reducing waste, is something that will take a cultural change, mindset change, and is nothing to do with partisan politics.

“Politicians must shine a light on this thing, and it has to become part of the programme.”

Economic growth, fuelled by increased levels of foreign direct investment (FDI), was the third strand of Mr Wilson’s solution to a fiscal situation where the Bahamas’ debt-to-GDP ratio is steadily approaching the IMF’s 70 per cent ‘danger threshold’.

The Arawak Homes chairman praised the high level of debate over VAT as “unusual for the country”, and described it as both “wonderful” and “constructive”.

“I think the statement by the Coalition from the Chamber of Commerce and Ministry of Finance was one of the most significant developments that have taken place in governance in this country for the last several years,” Mr Wilson said.

The statement, apart from agreeing fiscal reform was needed, also established dialogue between the private sector and the Government, and “certain protocols” for information sharing.

And with alternative reform options being presented in the public domain, he added that the Ministry of Finance could now “respond intelligently” by pointing out weaknesses in these.

“The great thing is there is consensus that something needs to happen, government finances need to be reset,” Mr Wilson said.

“Doing nothing is not an option. That simple point is tremendous progress. This is the future of the country. This is why it’s so important we get this right.

“We have the Opposition prepared to work with the Government. A broad-based private sector group prepared to work with it. Surely that creates the best foundation to give us the opportunity to arrive at the best possible outcome.”

November 26, 2013

Tribune 242 

Caribbean Blog International

Cries over value-added tax (VAT)

FNM MP warns on VAT

By KRYSTEL ROLLE
Guardian Staff Reporter
krystel@nasguard.com

Shadow Minister for Finance Peter Turnquest suggested on Saturday night that the country would be “jumping off the cliff” if it implements value-added tax (VAT).

Pointing to other Caribbean countries that have implemented VAT, Turnquest said the new tax regime would bring increased hardship.

He was speaking at the Free National Movement’s (FNM) rally in the Alley at the FNM Golden Isles constituency office.

“We don't want to be like Barbados,” he said. “We don't want to be like Grenada. We don't want to be like Haiti. We don't want to be like any of those countries.

“They are crying about VAT. St. Lucia is crying about VAT. We don't want to be like that. We are a prosperous nation.

“...We have a lot to protect. So let's be careful; we don't have to follow the crowd. Everyone is jumping off the cliff. That doesn't mean we have to jump off the cliff. We can chart our own territory.”

He said the government ought to focus its efforts on the collection of outstanding taxes, including an estimated $500 million in real property tax.

Turnquest also called on the government to cut subsidies to public corporations. He said the government also has other options to enhance revenue.

The government plans to implement VAT at a rate of 15 percent on July 1, 2014. The government has said the new tax will reduce the gap between revenue and expenditure and offset rising public debt.

At the start of the next fiscal year, government debt is projected to be $4.9 billion. This year, the government estimates that it will have to pay $230 million to service its debt.

VAT is expected to add an additional $200 million in revenue in the first year of implementation, officials estimate.

While acknowledging that his party had planned to give VAT “early consideration if re-elected”, Turnquest said that doesn’t necessarily mean that VAT would have been implemented under an FNM-led government.

“We would have given it widespread consideration,” he said. “I ask the government to step back and consider other options. Present the opposition with facts. We need proper analysis.”

But former Minister of State for Finance Zhivargo Laing previously said the former administration had planned to implement VAT.

Speaking to Rotarians on the implementation of VAT in August, Laing said: “We have an extraordinary opportunity not to do something modest, but to do something audacious.

“But alas, the only crippling thing that can frustrate that is our political consideration that time may run out on us before we get to the next round of votes.  I say to you, resist that temptation and encourage your leadership to resist that temptation.”

Despite earlier suggestions, Turnquest acknowledged that the opposition does not have “sufficient” information on VAT to make an official position.

“How can any responsible party declare a position on VAT without knowing the facts,” he said.

“We don’t know enough information. We have no facts, no analysis, no legislation. How can we give the government cover? That’s silly.”

However, both Turnquest and FNM Leader Dr. Hubert Minnis have already indicated that they do not support the implementation of VAT.

Earlier this month, Minnis described VAT as “regressive”.

In a two-page statement, Minnis said VAT would “seriously impair the already weak, uncompetitive and struggling Bahamian economy and harm and diminish the quality of life of every Bahamian”.

During the rally, Minnis called on the government to stop taxing the country.

Turnquest offered similar statements.

“VAT is not the answer,” he said.

November 25, 2013

thenassauguardian

Caribbean Blog International