By AVA TURNQUEST
Tribune Staff Reporter
aturnquest@tribunemedia.net
THE rounding up of Value Added Tax charges remains a concern for consumers and business owners as the country shoulders the “growing pains” of a new system, according to Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation’s CEO Edison Sumner.
Mr Sumner, co-chair of the VAT Education Task Force, said the practice of rounding off to the nearest penny was standard but more discussions were needed to ensure it was a uniform practice when it came to filing for returns.
For receipts totalling $10, the VAT line item is displayed as .08 cents, reflecting a round up from .075. Mr Sumner said that while it was standard for most point of sale systems, it was important to ensure that consumers and businesses had a shared understanding to minimise confusion.
He said meetings between the government and the business community resume tomorrow, with a public education campaign for consumers to follow.
“We are still having meetings with the financial controller and VAT unit,” he said. “There is a meeting on Friday to get updates on amendments and happenings over the last two weeks.
“The task force is back in full swing after the holidays and the Chamber is working to get its first workshop on filings and returns for businesses.”
Mr Sumner said: “We expected there would have been challenges. My opinion is that there will be probably another six months of working with the new system to ensure every business gets on the same level playing field properly. Businesses who are not registered, we encourage them to get registered, because you can’t have one set charging and another not charging.”
Meanwhile, another VAT registrant yesterday confirmed that it had not started levying the new tax on customers.
A representative from Bahamas Subs and Salads said that the fast food restaurant chain has not applied the new tax because it was waiting for a tax identification number (TIN) from the government.
This comes after Mario’s Bowling and Entertainment Palace confirmed that it did not expect to start charging VAT on its goods and services until next week.
Mario’s Marketing director Leslia Miller-Brice explained that the company was not ready to implement the new tax, and was prepared to absorb penalties for a late start.
Calls placed to John Rolle, financial secretary in the Ministry of Finance, were not returned up to press time.
The Bahamas Subs representative, who requested anonymity, said the company expected to receive its TIN this week.
Comments
Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.
Sign in to comment
Or login with:
OpenID