Stuart calls on Gov’t to take steps to ensure collected taxes are paid into state coffers

Businesses delinquent in handing in Value-Added Tax (VAT) payments are being told to stop stealing from the government.

Addressing Sunday night’s Democratic Labour Party’s (DLP) City meeting at the Westburn Plaza carpark on Baxter’s Road, local economist Kemar Stuart insisted that the government must seek to reform its VAT system to ensure that businesses pay up the collected taxes.

“A new Bridgetown economy requires an overhaul of the VAT system. Under the current system, businesses are allowed to keep VAT collected from consumers and they are not paying it over. So I’m appealing to businesses, stop stealing the VAT money, please. Pay it over when you collect it.

“I’m appealing to the government to pass legislation to stop businesses from stealing VAT in this country. They need to embark on VAT reform and it is critical for the progress of Barbados. VAT has been taking too much from us,” Stuart said.

Stating that the tax is one of the “most regressive” as it impacts more heavily on the poor in society than any others, Stuart said the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) has failed to keep its manifesto promise to reduce VAT from 17.5 per cent to 15 per cent.

He therefore suggested that the government should go even further in order to ease some of the financial burdens being carried by low-income earners.

Pointing to the BLP government’s 2018 write-off of millions of dollars owed by businesses, he charged,  “They had VAT increases for you but they had VAT write-offs for the big businesses. I will ask the question, how feasible is Value Added Tax in this day and age? Caribbean economist Marla Dukharan said that VAT is a regressive tax as it affects those who are at the lower levels of taxable income disproportionately versus those at the higher levels of taxable income. In simple terms, VAT hurts lower income people way more than high-income earners.”

Lamenting the state of the economy, Stuart insisted the time had come to truly push business creation in the country.

“We need to look at commerce and business and building enterprises in this country to save our people. I am tired of looking in the paper and seeing ads to the Chief Labour Officer requesting a work permit for a bartender, or a plumber. This needs to stop,” he added.

He stressed the importance of the island investing overseas, while pointing to several businesses which have already set up offices in other countries.

“We need more of that. We need the financial capital, but it will only be provided if we have the vision to provide it and so far I have not seen any vision as it relates to the economy which would help build out the sectors in this country,” he added.

Speaking in particular about The City, the constituency where he ran as a candidate in the last election, Stuart noted that no development of the country would be successful if its capital is left behind. (JB)