The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Government’s decision to push the Business Licence return filing deadline back two months was yesterday hailed as “a wonderful compromise” that will relieve the stress on both the private sector and accountants, some of whom complained about “busting my behind” to hit January 31.

Edison Sumner, the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation’s (BCCEC) chief executive, told Tribune Business he was “confident” that the ‘push back’ to March 31, 2016, was just the first step in wider Business Licence reform talks with the Government.

Confirming the changes to the return filing deadline, the Department of Inland Revenue in a statement said it had agreed to publish guidelines confirming that the deadline for submission/certification of Business Licence returns was now March 31 - the same date that fees are due to be paid.

It also promised to “publish clear and updated guidelines on the certification” in response to calls for clarification by the Bahamas Institute of Chartered Accountants (BICA), whose members have to certify that their clients’ 2015 turnover figures are accurate.

The Department also gave permission for “companies who filed, but need to make amendments to their filings”, to take until March 31 to complete this.

One senior accountant and BICA member, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that while the new deadline met private sector demands, the Government’s announcement was three days after the initial January 31 ‘deadline’ had elapsed.

They also expressed concern that “tardy” companies, meaning businesses who had done nothing to meet that target, would now benefit at the expense of those who had tried to comply with the Act as currently worded.

“We did get results even though late. Par for the course,” the accountant said.

“So after busting my behind for three days to meet the January 31 deadline, the Department of Inland Revenue issues an extension (on February 3, based on a meeting on January 28 with the BCCEC) to March 31 for Business Licence applications and certifications.

“In the end, those trying to comply were stressed, devoted much time from their company to comply with the Department of Inland Revenue, while the tardy applicants are now rewarded.”

Mr Sumner, though, said the changes were “a good sign” for the private sector’s relationship with the Government, and the latter’s willingness to accommodate “reasonable” positions and concerns put to it.

“It is absolutely a reasonable compromise, and we are glad that the Ministry of Finance and the Government agreed with our position and request to have the extension granted,” Mr Sumner told Tribune Business.

“We see it as a wonderful compromise for both sides, and expect these discussions to continue until the Government and the private sector get their desired results.”

He added that the Chamber had also raised other Business Licence-related concerns during the talks with the Ministry of Finance, including its desire for an increase in the turnover threshold, above which certification is required, to be increased from $100,000 to $400,000.

The Chamber has argued that doing so would relieve “an unnecessary financial and administrative burden on small and micro businesses”, as the costs of hiring an accountant to perform the certification would likely exceed the Business Licence fee payments to the Government.

“I believe, and am confident, they’re going to be accommodating on that request,” Mr Sumner said of the Government, even though it has yet to change the threshold.

“We have other items on the table that did not get resolved and completed in these meetings, but the discussion continues.”

The Chamber chief executive said these issues included the BCCEC taking over management and control of the Business Licence registry, a proposal in which the Government had shown “interest”.

Mr Sumner said the Chamber was “putting together a draft framework” for how this could be done, and added: “We are currently formalising that, and expect to present it to them [the Government] next month, after the Chamber’s Board has had a chance to view it.

“That is a very good step in the right direction, and we expect to discuss that in the coming weeks.”

And, with the Government’s Value-Added Tax (VAT) revenues seemingly outperforming expectations, Mr Sumner said the private sector would seek to hold the Government to account over its original fiscal reform ‘White Paper’.

This had pledged to review the Business Licence fees, and structure, possibly even introducing a flat $100 fee across-the-board once VAT was shown to be successful.

Mr Sumner said the Chamber was hoping to “resolve these outstanding issues relating to Business Licences” before March 31, so that businesses “can take advantage of them in this cycle”.

Gowon Bowe, chairman of BICA’s technical committee, yesterday told the Institute’s members via e-mail that while the revised deadline was “positive”, the Government had yet to meet all its requests.

“Unfortunately, the press release does not address the matter raised in BICA’s letter that there needs to be an agreed framework under which the certification is done,” Mr Bowe said, in relation to the Department of Inland Revenue statement.

“Professional accountants are not in a position to write certification letters, which do not have a framework underpinning the work performed.”

While backing the extension until March 31, Mr Bowe added: “There remains much work to be done. We are endeavouring to hold a meeting/series of meetings with the Ministry of Finance to properly go through the contents and requests of our letter dated 27 January, 2016, to ensure that there is a framework defined for the certification, and there is an agreement on the format and content of the certification in accordance with the agreed framework.

“The efforts remain ongoing and we will keep the membership abreast. There continues to be great uncertainty and a demand for clarity, and the Council through the technical committee will continue to pursue resolution to the matters raised.

“In addition, this hopefully paves the way for continued collaboration on matters that directly involve the accounting profession, and where BICA’s input and agreement would facilitate best practices and smooth implementation.”

Mr Bowe said Simon Wilson, the Ministry of Finance’s acting financial secretary, had responded to BICA’s letter by saying the Government was available to discuss tax matters.

Mr Wilson told BICA that the Government “would research the need for defining accounting principles in the preparation of financial information for Business Licence filing, and that guidance would be issued in relation to the certification process.

“The response also indicated a desire for more timely intervention, which is to be taken on board,” Mr Bowe added.