| Chamber Looking Closely at Tax Proposals | | Print | |
| Friday, 25 September 2009 07:55 | |||
 Taxes and the governmental budget area serious issues for the Provo chamber of Commerce; while in fact the decisions made in relation to taxes affect them, the local business owners, directly. The recently elected board members are taking a close look at the proposed taxes and the effects they will have on local business owners.
At last week’s Consultative Forum meeting, Permanent Secretary of Finance, Delton Jones gave a list of proposed tax measures aimed at saving $85 million USD between now and March 2010. The taxes are being considered in an attempt to claw back some of the $135 million USD deficit currently outstanding to the government. The Chamber is taking a keen interest in the topic, as many of the proposals could affect their members and the business community in general. Jones made several specific tax increase proposals, including: a possible increase to Customs Tax, a 1% increase in the current 10% Accommodation Tax, introduction of a Gaming Tax, increasing the Departure Tax by $20, an increase in the so called “Sin Tax” on Alcohol and Tobacco Tax, an increase in Money Transfers Taxes or a reduction in Scholarships Grants. Members of the Forum had mixed reactions to the proposals, in some cases making their own suggestions to the members of the Interim government present, namely CEO Martin Stanley, Attorney General Tony Gentlemen as well as Jones himself. Drexwell Seymour recommended that the interim government work towards incentives which aim to reduce the cost of services and living, rather than levy taxation. For example, Seymour drew on the interim government's own expenditure on the rental of government buildings and recommended that the government should build and occupy its own properties. Reverend Scott Brennan called for a Corporation Tax to target multi-million dollar corporations, while Sharlene Robinson suggested a tax on work permits. Lillian Misick acknowledged a lack of confidence in the local/public sector from the business sector, going on to identify a formal sector and an informal sector of persons working out of their homes and avoiding taxation. Mrs Missick also went on to condemned select stevedoring activity; considering such activity to be taking away valuable sums of income from the public purse. Misick went on to advise the interim government to review contracts awarded to particular business which were not as tax efficient as they could be. Small business services were identified as being vital fertilizer in any market. As these being the only true mechanism to avoid monopolization in a small economy. She further drew on the 2005 Caicos Islands statistics which recorded small businesses as contributing 21% towards the GDP in 2005. Doctor Linda Williams recommended population statistics and population analysis to dictate the dynamics of policy making allowing for labour and immigration policy to then follow suit. Doctor Williams questioned whether any increase in business licensing fees would be categorized or whether a blanket policy would be introduced. Additionally, Doctor Williams claimed the current 33% customs tax was failing, identifying the current operational management of the facility as poor. She called for more attention to rigorous management of the current import duties procedures, with the view of decreasing the cost of the service. Before the meeting concluded, Carlos Simons advised the interim government to go back to the drawing board with the budget as the suggested measures seemed to have little likelihood of fulfilling the objective. Simons said he feared the measures would have a detrimental social and economic influence on the Turks and Caicos Islands. Delton Jones defended his suggestions, pointing to other Caribbean countries in the region that use similar measure, making particular reference to Jamaica and the Bahamas who Jones says also impose similar Accommodation taxes. Mr Jones reiterated the core principles behind the budget being to reduce costs and enhance revenue. Mr Jones reassured the forum that the budget would have a long-term positive effect on social and economic climate in the Turks and Caicos Islands. The Chamber says it will be following the developments closely and encouraging members of the business community to join them at their next meeting to voice their opinions or concerns on the topics. The business community in the Turks and Caicos Islands finds itself, like many communities across the world, in a fragile position and is concerned about the affects these new proposed measures could have on their survival.
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