Bahamian Govt Launches Initiative To Recover Outstanding Taxes

• The Bahamas government has launched a new initiative aimed at assisting companies in becoming voluntarily compliant with the taxes and fees owed to various government agencies.
• Chairman of the Government's Maritime Revenue Enhancement Task Force, Commander Bertram Bowleg, said the weeklong initiative will serve as an educational exercise and offer assistance to business owners who are not compliant with agencies such as the Department of Inland Revenue, Bahamas Customs, the National Insurance Board (NIB) and the Port Department.
• '…we are bringing all the agencies together to ensure if you have a problem with NIB, Inland Revenue, Customs or Immigration you can see them and, before you leave the exercise, we can get your problem solved 80-90%.' Bowleg said that, after this initiative closes, his unit will begin door-to-door visits to ensure companies pay outstanding fees or expired Business Licenses or risk facing penalties, legal action or the threat of being shut down.
• This is a step in the right direction for the Bahamian government as there is a strong need to improve government revenues to allow for a faster reduction in debt-to-GDP. That said, there is scope to revise existing tax preferences and exemptions, to facilitate a more progressive and efficient tax system.
• Furthermore, beyond ensuring tax compliance from privately owned businesses, rationalizing the expenditures of state-owned enterprises (SOE) would alleviate current expenditure pressures. Efficiency gains in spending and improvements in the financial management of SOEs would support debt reduction and free up resources to invest in social outcomes and infrastructure.

(Sources: Trinidad Express Newspapers & NCBCM Research)