The Government is targeting an extra $40-$80 million in additional revenue over the next six to 12 months as it pursues an enhanced enforcement/compliance strategy, a Cabinet minister said yesterday.
Michael Halkitis, minister of state for finance, told the Bahamas Institute of Chartered Accountants (BICA) Accountant’s Week conference that the Christie administration has launched a multi-year tax compliance initiative to reduce leakages.
“After a careful diagnostic review of the existing revenue compliance efforts and framework, the Government has launched a targeted multi-year tax and compliance initiative with the ultimate objective of reducing leakages,” he said.
“A few weeks ago, a joint 32-man revenue task force, consisting of the Department of Inland Revenue and Customs, was established to focus on four streams using data and other methodologies that will bring our revenue administration processes, tools and techniques more in line with international best practices.”
Mr Halkitis added enforcement efforts will initially focus on real property tax.
“There are some 15,000 properties which have been identified as having not been valued, as being grossly undervalued or having the incorrect usage; that is, commercial properties that are classified as residential,” he explained.
“Within the next two weeks, new invoices will be hand delivered to those concerns with a proper follow-up and monitoring systems devised to address compliance gaps.”
Mr Halkitis said the Government will also focus on tax non-compliance in the areas of Business Licenses and Value-Added Tax (VAT).
“The third stream involves the post-clearance audits of large importers, which number some 250, and the fourth initiative focuses on the examination of shipping containers,” he added.
“After a careful assessment, these initiatives are targeted to yield $40 million to $80 million in additional revenue in the coming six to 12 months.”
Comments
Honestman 8 years, 1 month ago
“There are some 15,000 properties which have been identified as having not been valued, as being grossly undervalued or having the incorrect usage; that is, commercial properties that are classified as residential,” he explained.
What has CPLP being doing these last 4 and a half years??? Why wait until the economy is in its death throws before some action is taken???
The_Oracle 8 years, 1 month ago
Will the Government Collections Negligence Program of the last 5 decades be discontinued, or will this program run concurrent with it? Bunch of jokers. The only reason for this effort (if actually made) is to make more $$ available for personal pillaging of the treasury. It must be bone dry for such a desperate measure!
TalRussell 8 years, 1 month ago
Comrades! One upon a time Michael Halkitis, the minister of state for finance was looked upon as a leading candidate to replace prime minister Christie.
Michael, why chase after 15,000 souls when your collectors could streamline the collection by going after the much smaller group of the "politically connected," whose $100 million in delinquent loans were transferred off the balance sheets over at the Bank of Bahamaland, courtesy of $100 million in funds from the Peoples National Insurance Board's bank account? Protests have taken place in countries over a few pennies increase for a loaf of bread....much-less when the "politically connected" are not even been asked to repay the BOB's $100 millions that they were loaned in good faith of being repaid.
Michael, even worse, is it not a fact that had the NIB, not stepped in to fund the BOB's bad $100 million BAD loans portfolio, that the peoples bank would have been declared insolvent? That the banks main branch and all its branches would have been boarded-up like a financial hurricane had had swept over them?
Honestman 8 years, 1 month ago
Tal, do you let someone take over your keyboard when you get bored? A few of your posts, like this one, are quite coherent and well argued.....others are well......gobbledygook.
TalRussell 8 years, 1 month ago
Comrade Honestman, think whisky, whisky my Comrade. There's some gobbledygook in pouring a double whiskey and sitting down to blog with my dear soberly Comrades.
banker 8 years, 1 month ago
Keep drinking the whiskey. The partisan stuff goes away and the patriotism shines out.
Sickened 8 years, 1 month ago
Tal... you sure are getting a lot of thumbs up these days. Good to have you aboard. See you next Friday on the march?
TalRussell 8 years, 1 month ago
Comrade Sickened, here we go again, asking where the real Comrade Tal has been. You can't see these tears are real. I'm crying (Yes I'm crying) for my Bahamaland.....But not without remaining suspiciously so about lots things and people in and connected with politics....and of colours political affiliations T-shirts, including but not limited to.... If there not some quiet dark forces group behind the scene who could very well be knowingly or unknowingly strongly influencing this Friday March of which you speak of?
Socrates 8 years, 1 month ago
To sum up, what this all means is these lousy f'ers weren't doing their jobs while faithfully collecting those large salaries and accumulating tenure for a fatter pension. Paid for doing nothing and now, as though they have discovered gravity or something, they talk about doing the obvious. F%*k me..,
banker 8 years, 1 month ago
I know a person -- a British expat -- who lives on PI -- who hasn't paid his property tax in over 5 years and no one bothers him over it. They do not even know that he is in arrears.
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