Paying up

Bajans coming forward to settle land tax, NIS arrears

By Marlon Madden

There has been a noticeable increase in the number of people coming forward to pay their portion of the more than $240 million in land tax owed to the Barbados Revenue Authority (BRA), Minister in the Ministry of Finance Ryan Straughn reported on Wednesday.

Additionally, Straughn has expressed satisfaction with the response from self-employed individuals and companies who have been paying their arrears into the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) Fund.

In November last year, the BRA issued demand notices in relation to arrears on land tax accumulated for over 10 years to just over 10 000 property owners. The revenue collection agency was seeking to recover approximately $247 million in outstanding land tax inclusive of penalties and interest.

Straughn said he was satisfied that following this, “a lot of people have come in and started making payments and settled”.

“A lot of people have actually come in, and the last time I checked, there were about 150-odd that I had to approve. So the last time I checked, we are well over 1 200 persons who have actually come in and started making payments. So that is actually working smoothly,” he reported.

Pursuant to a notice under section 34 of the Land Tax Act Cap78A at the end of May this year, the BRA put ten properties up for auction on June 5, 2023, in an attempt to recover some of the millions owed. Seven of those properties were actually sold.

A second auction was held on June 9 when only two properties went under the hammer after eight others were removed when the owners entered an agreement with the BRA.

Noting that the BRA was making it easier for people to remain compliant with their obligations, Straughn said it was for that reason that individuals were being allowed to get in touch with the revenue collection agency to work out a payment arrangement.

“So I am happy with the public’s response to the land tax drive to recover those payments. Regrettably, some people were not in a position to settle and therefore BRA had to take the next step,” he said.

Straughn said it was not the Government’s desire to sell people’s property.

In fact, he indicated that legislation was to be introduced to better “regularise” the handling of properties on which land tax was owed for more than a decade.

“With disputes in families, we are seeing assets run down. So we are actually bringing a new legislative amendment that will help us to keep assets in production, meaning that rather than the disputes allowing the property to [run down] we want to have an intervention that allows us to keep the asset in production and have a mechanism in place then that whatever revenue is to be had from it, that both of us as disputing parties can benefit from that, but in a framework that is fair for everybody. So you will hear a little more on that,” he explained.

In relation to the NIS payments by professionals and businesses, Straughn said: “We have definitely seen, certainly since the [COVID-19] pandemic, an uptick in self-employed persons registering. We have been improving.”

He also expressed satisfaction with the take up of the April 1-June 30, 2022 amnesty, which saw individuals paying those arrears interest-free.

“And even though that has passed, there are still people reaching out to the NIS to make themselves compliant, which is really what we want – businesses doing what they do but making sure that they take care of their employees by making the necessary payments to NIS,” Straughn said.

The minister also indicated that the payment of personal income tax refunds had resumed earlier this year, following a pause due to the Government’s cash flow challenges.

At the end of last year, Straughn had admitted that while some refunds had been paid, the Government did not have the cash to honour all outstanding refunds at the time.

Asked on Wednesday for an update, Straughn gave the assurance that the Government no longer had a cash flow challenge, as he insisted that “everything is back to normal.”

“Things have since settled a long time now,” he insisted.

Up to November last year, the BRA reported that it had completed the processing of over $19 million in personal income tax refunds. It added that some 27 000 taxpayers would receive refunds.

The 2022 tax returns filed earlier this year are currently being processed. Straughn said he would be asking the BRA and NIS to give a more detailed update soon.

marlonmadden@barbadostoday.bb