The Government is optimistic that Value-Added Tax (VAT) implementation will “not be tumultuous” come January 1, although just 20 companies applied to be taxpayers during the first two registration days. John Rolle, the Ministry of Finance’s financial secretary, confirmed last night that the Government had received 29 different applications for VAT registration from these businesses. While the Christie administration appears to have a long way to go to get the estimated 4,000 mandatory VAT payers registered by the end-November deadline, Mr Rolle said: “The momentum is expected to pick up quickly.” He disclosed to Tribune Business that the online VAT registration system went live last Friday, with six companies - all expected to be large tax remitters - invited to do a “trial” and submit their applications. “This went off without a hitch,” Mr Rolle said, adding that the Ministry of Finance was focusing on “nudging” mandatory VAT payers - businesses with an annual turnover greater than $100,000 - to register as swiftly as possible. “Over Friday and late this afternoon we received 29 applications from 20 companies for VAT registration,” Mr Rolle said. “The system opened officially to the public on October 13. Businesses can go online and register any time, including after hours.” Optimistic that the Government would hit its target of completing mandatory VAT registration by November 30, the Financial Secretary said: “For us, the most important thing is to get the word out and nudge them [businesses]. “The system is such that if all 4,000 registrants went online today and submitted applications, we could cover them all and process them. “The most critical part for us is to get the businesses to submit applications. The system has the capacity to entertain hundreds of submissions at once.” Mr Rolle said the Government was “satisfied with the progress” made to-date on readiness for VAT implementation, which is now just over 10 weeks away. Promising that the Government was working closely with the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation (BCCEC), the Bahamas Institute of Chartered Accountants (BICA), and industry groups such as the Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA), to get the message out, Mr Rolle conceded: “It’s a lot of work. “We’re working towards advancing the business preparedness. We’re happy with the plans that have been drawn up, and will be going to work to execute over the next couple of weeks, especially between now and the end of November, getting out major bits of information to help businesses and the registration process.” Mr Rolle told Tribune Business that the Ministry and its VAT Department were “very confident” that difficulties associated with the new tax’s implementation would not be as bad as feared. “We don’t expect it’s going to be tumultuous,” he told this newspaper, adding that the two-dialogue between the Government and private sector would be a “continual process”. Mr Rolle said the Government had responded rapidly to concerns expressed by industry groups, and frequent questions and queries raised in public. “We’re trying to respond as soon as some of the issues come up, particularly where we see recurring themes,” the Financial Secretary said. He reiterated that the Government remained willing to compromise with the private sector over certain aspects of VAT, adding: “Sometimes the position that we’ve arrived at may be a middle ground for both the administration as well as the taxpayer community, and that’s important.”
Posted on: Thu, 16 Oct 2014 02:29:58 +0000
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