The Government is going after the gambling industry to recover $138 million in back taxes, Minister in the Ministry of Finance Ryan Straughn told the House of Assembly today.
Despite being starved of cash, the Freundel Stuart Administration “strangely” refused to collect taxes from that sector during its ten years in office, Straughn said.
But he warned that the Mia Mottley administration would be working out a plan to make the gambling houses pay the outstanding taxes. He did not elaborate on the repayment plan but queried the “strange” inaction by the previous Government at a time when the country was in dire economic straits.
“That is something that completely boggles my mind,” Straughn told parliamentarians. “The previous Government says they had issues with cash flow, short of revenue, the economy not growing. They made all kinds of excuses. But here it is, there have a sector that owes the Government of Barbados $138 million in taxes over the course of that ten-year period,” he said.
Due to “some strange” arrangement between the then administration and the gambling sector that he said cannot be found in law, a memorandum went out that operators were not to pay taxes, Straughn revealed.
“And one set of people stopped paying and then another set of people stopped paying,” he added.
While wrapping up debate on the Public Service (General) Order, 2018 – which was passed – the Minister in the Ministry of Finance promised that Government would be working through this issue to ensure the unpaid taxes settled.
“This is . . . another mess that the previous administration has left for this government to deal with but we are going to deal with it,” Straughn told the Lower Chamber of Parliament.
“We are going to work out a plan for them to repay those taxes. But can you imagine, if we had collected those $138 million from that sector that would have meant a world of a difference over the course of the last ten years to the Government,” he said, adding that the then administration would not have had any excuse for not paying at least some of its own National Insurance contributions on behalf of public servants.
This state of affairs spoke to a lack of planning, care and “downright” incompetence by the previous Government, he said.
Referring to the measure which provides some $60 million in salary increases for public workers, Straughn said he did want to hear anything from the DLP about the five per cent hike being too small when there are still unanswered questions over $1.9 billion in arrears.
“If you could not deliver one cent in ten years for public servants and by extension salary negotiations then in the private sector which would have fueled growth in the economy, then I really don’t want to hear anything. Tell me where the $1.9 billion in arrears gone before I entertain any discussion from anybody with respect to the $60 million we are putting now for public servants in salary increase,” he said.
Not only them, all. Whosoever owes taxes should be dealt with!
Straughn has no real power.
Mia shot him down before, on the privatization of the Transport Board speech he had made to an audience.
Here he is saying that the government will be going after the gaming machine people for back taxes, but what about the big boys in the private sector, who owe the quoted 900 million in Vat monies to the Treasury.
Since the BLP is so wrapped up in the bedsheet with big business, what the country will get is all window dressing.
The big fish Herbbie has been disabled, but the power of that private sector remains there and in control. It is like the NRA control on the American government.
The people should govern themselves. What a mess !! Click the link: https://bit.ly/2kv7DPH
138 millions in taxs owed to government.wow.minister you find it strange.their no strange happenings.Collusion sir .what else could it be.Go collect those tax’s for the people of barbados.we behind you.
900 MILLION IN VAT MONIES.
900 MILLION IN VAT MONIES…AND WE’RE DEEP IN INTERNATIONAL DEPT????
Private sector supposed to owe Government 900 M$ in VAT. Why do you not publish how much the Treasury owes the Private sector in VAT returns??
They might cancel out each other…
That is a start Mr.Minister. Thumbs up to you Sir.
I have been calling for this from the inept DLP Gov’t for years and a former top DLP Minister had the gall to go on a certain radio call in show to say there was nothing his Government could do about it. That is when I reached the conclusion that the DLP Government was a fraud.
Although this is a start, it is just a drop in the bucket.
The private sector in Barbados owes the Treasury over $600 million.
The Minister should go after all solvent
businesses that owes the Barbados Treasury back taxes.
what about taxes owed to the working class should we come after you and Mia with the same vehemency or we too small,, stop the grand standing you an i know who runs this country you all are just figure heads of the plantocracy in barbados wunna is the house slaves we are the field slaves, end of story. The rich in this country will never let go of their ill gotten riches with you political clowns in suits stop kissing the massa botsy
Writing off taxes for the gaming industry originated with this said B L P under Owen. The B T C was given amnesty after amnesty by Owen on the taxes they owed the government of Barbados, so stop trying to add sewage to the already messy
D L P record over the last decade. You wanted the job badly, now get on with the work you promised to do.
The Dems offered the workers a payment in December 2018, that was rejected by the N U P W, but I’m sure many public servants will realize by the end of November that the increase they got from this self serving B L P administration will have to be subsidised to meet the increased taxes. The tears will be flowing, faces will be frowning, I can see marchers, and even the shutting down of the country you parliamentarians wanted while in opposition. You will learn Ryan that what you desire comes not necessarily when you ask for it, but when you actually need it.
While you’re at it Mia’s choir boy, stop telling us about all these deeds of the D L P while in government, show us the documented facts. Probably if the U S authorities didn’t charge Inniss we would never have seen those documents either.