The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

THE Department of Inland Revenue has collected $16m more than its tax target for July.

Acting director Shunda Strachan said the department budgeted $138m in collections for July but collected approximately $154m from real property tax and business licence fees collections.

Ms Strachan gave an update on tax collections during yesterday’s Office of the Prime Minister press briefing.

“So our budget for July was $138m and we brought in around $154m. So we’re so far first month out of the gate above target, which is a good thing.”

However, she admitted the department fell slightly short of its revenue goal last year, though it was still above previous totals.

“So the revenue goals or the forecast, they are not easy goals and they require us doing different things. So for us to meet that $1.6 billion goal, it was $1.3(billion) last year. It wasn’t even in the billions the year before that, and so the goals keep getting steeper and steeper, which means we have to do a whole lot more.”

She revealed there were other large enterprises like Sandals that owe government in taxes, but could not say how much is owed. However, she maintained the plan is to still pursue the resort for $30.8m in back taxes.

Sandals is disputing assertions by the Bahamian tax authorities that its Emerald Bay resort only reported 40 percent of revenues earned as it defended its one-of-a-kind “business model”.

The department’s audit findings, which covered six years between 2017 and 2022, claimed the tax arrears had arisen because Sandals Emerald Bay and its operator, Clearview Management Ltd, had under-reported gross revenue income for the period by more than $284m.