The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

A top Ministry of Finance official has confirmed the Government amended a controversial section in the Value-Added Tax (VAT) Bill to allow non-Bahamians temporarily entering the country for business to cover their tax liabilities by lodging a bond.

Speaking at a Bahamas Institute of Chartered Accountants (BICA) seminar last week, John Rolle, the financial secretary, said this had been one of the amendments to the new Bill.

Speaking with Tribune Business, Mr Rolle explained: “In the first draft that was laid in Parliament, it spoke to if you were leaving the country and you had VAT liabilities to the Government. The intention there was to to deal with non-Bahamians who are registered to do business on a temporary basis.

“In order to take a different approach, the legislation was amended before it was passed to require those kinds of persons to put forward a security or some kind of bond before they are authorised to engage in their transactions.”

Mr Rolle added: “That category could include an entity coming to do some sort of public entertainment event, or a contractor who has a contract to do some construction work or some other activity.

“In those cases we say rather than go the route of having persons intercepted when leaving, on entry they would be required to put up some sort of bond to provide some sort of protection for the revenue expected.”

Michael Halkitis, minister of state for finance, told the House of Assembly last month that the Government was proposing to amend the controversial section in the VAT Bill that would have prevented delinquent taxpayers from leaving the island.

The Government will instead require such persons to lodge a bond covering their liabilities. Mr Halkitis said the amendment to Section 64 of the VAT Bill was “for the avoidance of controversy”, given the discussion it had created.