The Tribune

• BICA chief says Gov't rejected request also made by Chamber

• Tax portal woe 'story of frustration' for Business Licence 'frenzy'

• Leniency for late submission fines sought as not taxpayer's fault

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Government was yesterday said to have rejected calls to extend the Business Licence filing deadline despite multiple companies complaining they were unable to access its online tax payment portal.

Pretino P. Albury, the Bahamas Institute of Chartered Accountants (BICA) president, told Tribune Business that the body's calls for an extension to yesterday's deadline were met with "a resounding 'no'" from government officials on the basis that "some people are getting through" with their returns.

Confirming that BICA had earlier this week informed the Davis administration of the ongoing difficulties users are encountering with the Department of Inland Revenue's recently-upgraded portal, which include an inability to access it, being knocked out or "constant buffering", he added that the "story continues to be a frustration" amid the "frenzy" of yesterday's Business Licence rush.

BICA's call for a Business Licence filing extension, given the portal's woes, was yesterday backed by Timothy Ingraham, the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation's (BCCEC) chairman, who said the private sector group is now awaiting the Government's response.

"The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation notes the ongoing challenges some members of the business community continue to have with the online tax system and have reached out to the Department of Inland Revenue to recommend that the deadline for reporting be extended for those entities which are being impacted. We are awaiting their response," Mr Ingraham told Tribune Business.

Neither Simon Wilson, the Ministry of Finance's financial secretary, nor Dexter Fernander, the Department of Inland Revenue's operations manager, could be contacted for comment on the latest tax portal controversy before press time despite multiple calls being placed to their respective phones.

One accountant, though, speaking on condition of anonymity, told this newspaper he had been informed that the Government will not levy fines on companies who missed yesterday's Business Licence filing deadline provided they can show they made legitimate, bona fide efforts to comply only to be thwarted by the technology.

"I have been tipped that there will be no penalties with late filings; reasonable late filings," the source added. "I have been informed there will be no penalties for reasonable lateness. It's reasonable lateness, not very, very late. We'll see how it pans out. We'll see what tomorrow brings. It's become normal. The roads have pot holes, the Road Traffic Department doesn't work etc, etc."

Mr Albury, though, said that to his knowledge there has been no official confirmation from the Government that it will waive financial sanctions and penalties for companies who are late on their filings and payments as a result of the tax portal problems.

"They have not informed us that there have been any extensions to the deadline, but I can tell you we made them aware two days ago - definitely earlier this week - of all the issues we're facing. Everyone over and over again," he told Tribune Business.

"Their position is that some people are getting through. Really? We have asked them to extend the deadline, and they just came back with a resounding 'no', we're not going to do that, because some people are getting through."

Asked whether the Government has signalled that it will be lenient, and flexible, when it comes to levying fines on late filers and payers, Mr Albury replied: "They may have some leniency with fines, but that has not been made official. That's as far as they went with us, and they have not made that official."

Speaking to the obstacles facing the estimated 50,000 Business Licence filers, the BICA president added: "It's very unfortunate, very unfortunate the position for a lot of people. Everyone's trying to get in. It's a mad rush right now, and the queue is clogged up with a lot of people trying to get in. They should have anticipated it. Ill-preparation. It's very unfortunate."

Besides an inability to access the online tax payment portal, and/or eventually being kicked out of the system, Mr Albury said other difficulties encountered by users include "the system just sitting there and nothing happening. You wait there and you wait..... The story continues to be a frustration. It's still an issue, still a frenzy."

The BICA president, who confirmed he was working to provide last-minute assistance to clients as yesterday's Business Licence filing deadline loomed, added that he was also working through outstanding technical issues.

"We've also had people who did not know what to report," Mr Albury added. "There's an estimate [of turnover] that you have to fill out, and an actual you have to fill out. I've been explaining to a lot of clients how to fill that out. That's the first time they've seen it this year. They have some videos out there on it, but it has not been made clear. That's still an issue."

Adrian White, the Opposition MP for St Anne's, who raised the tax filing and reporting woes in the House of Assembly yesterday, said the effect was to create "a complete loss on multiple levels". Not only are businesses losing confidence and productivity from obstacles to the ease of doing business, and the time taken to file declarations, but taxes are not flowing properly into the cash-strapped Government's Treasury.

"We have clients that have written to us," the attorney said. "They issue they are currently experiencing is getting into the system. Instead of completing the process they are getting a notice that the system doesn't seem to be working properly." He added that his law firm also worked with accountants who had been unable to file for both January's VAT returns and the Business Licence.

Wayde Watson, the Bain and Grants Town MP, who as parliamentary secretary in the Ministry of Economic Affairs heads the Government's digitisation drive, yesterday told the House of Assembly that the online tax portal's provider was obtaining the necessary "resources" to upgrade the sits and these should arrive on New Providence shortly (see article on Page 3B).

However, Mr White yesterday accused the Government of failing to provide the private sector with any help or information despite being aware of the tax portal's woes, and argued that it had left "people to fight it out on their own".

"It takes time for people to get submissions through the system instead of being able to generate income," the St Anne's MP said of business owners. "It's a complete loss on multiple levels. A loss of confidence, a loss of revenue for businesses themselves, a loss of productivity in the business and a loss of income. It also leads to a loss for the Government's consolidated fund without these declarations being completed."

Apart from the likely disruption to the Government's cash flow from companies being unable to make the due tax and fee payments, Mr White added: "Keeping a business open where it's not operating in the red is a real concern, and that includes many business owners. Most business owners are only providing an income for themselves and their staff, and there isn't a pot of gold at the end of the year."

He added that, in the case of the tax portal, "the system is up against you, the bureaucracy is clogging it up" with the end result that the ease of doing business is almost totally eliminated. "There doesn't seem to be any concern from the Government," Mr White said, arguing that fines for missed filing deadlines should be waived for companies "booted out from the system again and again" and unable to pay through no fault of their own.

"It's a huge problem, and there are a lot of people that are under extreme pressure trying to resolve this and sort this out," Mr White said. "The frustration is at its highest level, and something needs to be done. There needs to be a communication from the Government on what's going to happen."

Peter Maury, the former Association of Bahamas Marinas (ABM) president, told Tribune Business that he "gave up" trying to complete two Business Licence submissions on Tuesday after the difficulties encountered in accessing the Department of Inland Revenue's portal.

Describing January 2024 as a candidate for "the worst month in history", given saturation global media coverage of The Bahamas' crime problems, combined with the fact that "Road Traffic doesn't work, Inland Revenue doesn't work", he added: "I couldn't get on the portal yesterday, and then I got on and did some of it.

"I have a real simple Business Licence to do for one or two companies. They're holding companies. It doesn't take very long usually, yet I gave up. It should take about 20 minutes, but just to go from one page to the next was taking 20 minutes. I had something else to do yesterday [Tuesday] and gave up, but today was just as bad. It's not moving. It's insane. It just keeps circling around."

Suggesting that The Bahamas appears to be "going backwards" in its digitisation efforts, Mr Maury questioned why the Department of Inland Revenue had waited until the 2023 fourth quarter - the busiest period of the year for most companies - and the hectic VAT and Business Licence filings in January to upgrade the online tax portal.

"How can I pay it if I cannot get on?" he asked. "I want to pay. They picked a terrible time to try out a new system..... It's definitely not easier, it's definitely not efficient or anything else. I'm just going to give up for now and try later. It's on Facebook and social media. 'Are you able to get on' and 'are you able to file?'. Nobody is getting on."