The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The VAT Education Task Force has “a daunting task” to ready all businesses for the new tax by January 1, one of its members admitted yesterday, but was already devising strategies to speed the process up.

Edison Sumner, who is also the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation’s (BCCEC) chief executive, told Tribune Business that the four-person Task Force will draw up its “various outreach” plans and schedules - including travel to the Family Islands - when it meets for the first time on Monday.

The Task Force, first announced by Prime Minister Perry Christie in his end-May Budget, was finally unveiled this week - more than four months later.

Apart from Mr Sumner, it features Fidelity Bank president, Gregory Bethel; immediate past president of the Bahamas Institute of Chartered Accountants (BICA), Jasmine Davis; and Nassau Glass/Bahamas Aluminium Manufacturing chief, Andrew Rodgers.

The Task Force has a vital role to play in ensuring a seamless VAT implementation, co-ordinating and driving private sector education and readiness, and acting as a link to the Government to help key issues and concerns get resolved speedily.

Yet it now has less then three months to accomplish all this before VAT is formally introduced in the Bahamas, making for an extremely tight timetable.

“We’re going to have some challenges,” Mr Sumner conceded, “but we think we have put in place a good team, not only from the Task Force side, but some good teams of professional trainers and facilitators that are going to help us develop these modules.

“We appreciate the timeline’s tight, but have put together a team of people to help us get this done quickly and efficiently.

“It’s a daunting task, but the members of the Task Force are up to it. We’ve got some ideas to speed it up and move more quickly.”

The Task Force is focusing on three core training ‘modules’. The first, focusing on the legislation, regulations and pre-registration details, will be run “simultaneously” with the second, which tackles how firms register for VAT.

“That’s the most important element,” Mr Sumner told Tribune Business, adding that the Task Force was embarking on a ‘registration drive’.

“The Government has set as an objective to get as many businesses registered as possible, once registration opens on October 13. We will make sure as many businesses are prepared.”

He added that the third and final ‘module’ would deal with VAT return filings and claiming refunds, with BICA and its members playing a key role in this area.