The Tribune

BY NEIL HARTNELL

TRIBUNE Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

BUSINESSES yesterday voiced misgivings that the Government’s new One Tax Bahamas portal will improve filing, administration and the ease of doing business, with one asserting: “Every time you turn around there’s a new hoop.”

Ben Albury, the Bahamas Motor Dealers Association’s (BMDA) president, told Tribune Business that while he hoped the Department of Inland Revenue (DIR) accomplishes its goals through consolidating VAT, Business Licences, real property and Stamp Tax on one platform he does not have “a high confidence level” that this will make it easier for the private sector to file and pay taxes.

With companies now having to apply for a ten-digit Bahamas Identification Number (BIN), which is designed to connect all the different taxes they pay, he added that every legal, policy or administrative change imposes “a big strain” on his firm’s accounting staff as the Government seeks to extract “a dollar everywhere it possibly can”.

Mr Albury, also Bahamas Bus and Truck’s general manager, told this newspaper he “cannot imagine” starting a new business in the current climate given “all the hoops and complexities” facing new entrepreneurs, adding that any tax changes create “a lot of anxiety” in the private sector because they are typically “shoved down our throats” with little advance warning or explanation.

Shunda Strachan, the Department of Inland Revenue’s acting controller, in unveiling the One Tax Bahamas portal’s launch pledged that consolidating a fragmented tax-paying system on to one platform will enable Bahamian businesses to better manage their obligations and make it easier for them to administer filings and payments.

However, given well-publicised challenges with the existing tax portal, Mr Albury said: “I wouldn’t put my confidence level in it at a very high rate. Thirty years ago, or even 20 years ago, The Bahamas was one of the easiest places in the world to conduct business and, as of right now.. I have not been everywhere in the world, nor have I operated a business in every area of the world, but I would probably imagine that, at the moment, we are one of the most difficult.

“It just seems that every time you turn around it’s something else. It’s a lot. It’s a big strain on our accounts department and people on the back end that have to deal with this stuff. Every time you turn around there’s a new hoop, a new policy trying to extract a dollar out of everywhere it possibly can. I don’t know. If I didn’t have to do this, I wouldn’t do this.”

“It’s very stressful,” the Bahamas Bus and Truck chief added, “and essentially we are working for the Government, businesses that is, in collecting, reporting and filing taxes. I cannot imagine just starting out and being faced with the hoops, the challenges and all the complexities of trying to start a business from scratch these days. I couldn’t imagine it, even with the resources and personnel we have in place here,.

“It’s frustrating, and I can see the frustration on the faces of people here; the administrative staff and it seems, in our organisation, that every time you turn around there’s something being thrown at you. Every time things are announced, it brings a lot of anxiety. Then, the time you know about it, it’s about to be shoved down your throat. There’s no real communication with the business community to figure out what the problems are, how to make it easier, make it smoother.

“There’s no consultation or engagement with that. It’s ‘here you go’. It would be good if the Government understood some of the problems entrepreneurs and business people face in this country and how to make it less discouraging for people to run their own company.”

Still, striking a positive note on the Department of Inland Revenue’s One Tax Bahamas portal, which has opened for BIN registration and is set to be rolled-out in phases, Mr Albury added: “I hope it accomplishes what they say it will, making things easier. We definitely welcome anything that makes things a little easier.”

Daphne DeGregory-Miaoulis, an ex-Abaco Chamber of Commerce president, demanded that the Government provide “greater accountability and clarity” over how taxes are spent in return for “emptying taxpayer pockets” via its various revenue streams.

“Now they are pushing this BIN thing down our throats,” the Abaco Neem proprietor told Tribune Business. “They are very efficient at collecting money. I got an e-mail to set up a BIN using my existing TIN (taxpayer identification number). It said my BIN application is ready. I didn’t send anything in. Why are they pushing new actions down our throats and more ways to collect money?

“My main concern is: When are we going to get more accountability for how the money is spent? We are making it easier for them to collect on and tax the citizen every which way they can mandate, but they are making no effort to give us accountability and clarity on how taxes are spent.

“Enough is enough. They need to put their efforts into providing information to the taxpayer, not just emptying taxpayer pockets.”

Meanwhile, Peter Maury, the Association of Bahamas Marinas (ABM) president, also confirmed to Tribune Business he has yet to respond to his BIN registration e-mail prompt as he is “kind of watching to see” how the process evolved. The Bay Street Marina chief echoed Mr Albury in voicing minimal optimism that the One Tax Bahamas portal will improve the ease of tax filings and payments.

“At the rate everything’s been going with the businesses and everything else, all the filings and this and that, I have no confidence in it,” Mr Maury said of the reforms. “It will just end up taxing everyone out of business. They are effectively nationalising businesses as we speak. It certainly doesn’t seem fair.

“Now we have to get all these approvals, even in the restaurant business. It doesn’t make sense to me. We have wasted all this money on portals and websites that are not effective. Every year the way we pay taxes changes. We go from one portal to the next, and it never seems to work.”

Mr Maury pointed to the Government-enforced shutdown of the ABM’s SeaZPass portal, which allowed incoming yachts and boats to pay for and obtain cruising permits and all other necessary approvals online, while remitting due fees and taxes to the Public Treasury, as one reason why he is less than confident in One Tax Bahamas. Despite numerous government promises, he added that SeaZPass has yet to be replaced with a similar payment and compliance portal.

“Today we still don’t have a usable portal to upload documents and pay,” the ABM president added. “You have to go through all these stops and pay. Nothing is simple. I have no confidence in their [the Government’s] ability. I’d like to think it would work, but I haven’t had any faith in anything.

“I’m just suspect. I’ve just seen everything else be a massive failure. I don’t believe in it. That’s just me. I’m just waiting to see what happens like everyone else. You can only take it one day at a time here.”

The Department of Inland Revenue currently uses its existing One Tax Administration System, or OTAS, to manage VAT and Business Licence fees, while other taxes and services, including real property tax and Stamp duty, operate on separate platforms.

"OTAS enabled the Department to deal with VAT and Business Licence on one platform, but our other taxes, like real property tax and VAT stamp, and all of the other taxes and services that the Department deals with, are on other platforms," said Ms Strachan. "That was posing a bit of a challenge, not only for us but also for the general public."

She said the Government consequently decided to upgrade the department's digital tax systems and services, resulting in One Tax Bahamas. The BIN will also be used as the Government's vendor identification number, meaning people receiving payments from government will also need to have one, and it will also be required to import goods.

"The BIN will not totally replace the TIN. The TIN will still be there. It will still sit as your unique identifier for VAT, but the Bahamas Identification Number will be all-encompassing," Ms Strachan said.

She added that One Tax Bahamas will be introduced in stages to avoid overwhelming taxpayers and to allow Department of Inland Revenue staff to become familiar with the new platform.

"The first phase has been registration. Some time in November, we will be rolling out the modules for Business Licence and VAT. Then next year we will be rolling out the modules for real property tax,” Ms Strachan said.