The Tribune

By DANA SMITH

Tribune Staff Reporter

dsmith@tribunemedia.net

DOCTOR’S Hospital president Barry Rassin said he is concerned about “double taxation” once the government’s proposed Value Added Tax regime comes into play, and wants to know at what point in the process Customs duty will be reduced.

He said hospital officials will be meeting with the Ministry of Finance this week to discuss the proposed VAT system and the impact it will have on the private healthcare industry.

The hospital may suffer a significant increase in costs as a result of having to upgrade computer systems for a new VAT scheme, Mr Rassin warned.

But he could not definitively say if patients will see higher bills, explaining that more information is still needed from the government.

“We need details,” he said. “Right now that definition of healthcare is so narrow, it really doesn’t help us. We need to find out more information.”

In addition to asking how much the government is going to reduce Customs charges initially, Mr Rassin said he also wants to discuss “the complications of bringing in a VAT to a complex organisation like a hospital” – a prospect he called daunting.