Barbados: A Tax Reform Roadmap for Simplicity and Revenue Buoyancy
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65 responses to “Barbados: A Tax Reform Roadmap for Simplicity and Revenue Buoyancy”
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The observation by the IMF team about how the government craft tax concessions is not complementary.
Tax holidays are commonly not well targeted as they constitute only temporary exemptions to new investments from certain specified taxes. International experience suggests that tax holidays tend to attract footloose industries—such as global textile manufacturers, and have minimum backward linkages to the economy. Tax holidays for hotels with a duration of decades are unprecedented and unnecessary given that once the investment is sunk, the investor will not easily relocate. It is of least value for long-term investments (with a long gestation period). Note that for long-term investors the loss carry-forward provision and depreciation allowances as an essential element of a CIT already
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89. provides a de facto tax holiday (see above). Tax holidays for start-up firms are therefore ineffective. They are particularly prone to abuse such as the manipulation of transfer pricing so as to channel profits to the untaxed affiliate. Moreover, tax holidays granted to large investors create serious distortions between new and existing firms (probably small and local), which cannot be abolished easily. The unfair competitive cash flow advantage handed to large foreign investors for long periods tends to erode small firms’ prospects for survival. -
…tax holidays granted to large investors create serious distortions between new and existing firms (probably small and local), which cannot be abolished easily. The unfair competitive cash flow advantage handed to large foreign investors for long periods tends to erode small firms’ prospects for survival…
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….Imagine a bunch of NON-UWI educated IMF people had to come and point this OBVIOUS nonsense out…?
…but then again, they are pointing this out to shiites who would look to buy an abandoned hotel for MILLIONS of dollars, spend further MILLIONS to lick um down…. BORROW $500M (probably US$) to build um back …..AND THEN GIVE IT TO A FOREIGNER WHO FRIGGED UP PARADISE BEACH…..
steupssss…
Why the hell don’t we appoint Julian Glyne Hunte-Williams as PM?
shiite man…. right now he is the most coherent public figure on this shiite rock called Barbados…. -
Why doesn’t Dr. Estwick resign? The latest according to Barbados Today, the backers of the USD250 million restructuring project have pulled out citing credit rating downgrades as the reason. In the process the goodly minister of agriculture has been quoted as being very critical of the cabinet in which he sits.
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Resign and loss he pension? Ova a intangible issue bout integrity? In a cvntry where your fellow ministers does customarily get kickbacks for houses built for the public?
Man David[BU] I surprised at you man, though I think I know whu happening…
de Donkey effect.
It had was to happen after a while..
Blogosphericus Whiplashus.
Latin for Blogosphere Whiplass commonly found in Blogmasters who are subjected to the likes of AC and The other Fellow I frighten to mention he name cause he gone descend pun me like a ton a bricks, induced by constant review of WPSAAM, What Paddy Shot At And Missed, for unlike us blogsters you gots to read every word to ensure that he does not defile, sorry defame the Armed a Forces of the United States….Whuloss me guts hurting me…
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Whiplash
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I think the Government should really consider using the EC dollar as Barbados’ standard currency. The politicians can always use the guise that it is a further step along the road to the Caribbean Single Market and Economy.
The reason for this is I think every Bajan should be sensible enough to know by now that we are facing devaluation in the face.
The Sugar project is yet another failed investment. Hyatt will never get started and “so forth and so on” (Sinckler’s common phrase 1). Four Seasons will not be started anytime soon and that will be seen “in the fullness of time” (Sinckler’s common phrase 2). -
What is not being properly discussed is the strategy of the government to drive the country out of the economic difficulty we find ourselves. Several projects were mentioned as key to stimulating economic activity in the country, the port marina project, 250 million sugar revitalization project, four seasons etc. None of these projects have started and will obviously impact the timetable for growth. How can the GoCBB continue to project growth when projects have stalled. The MoF mentioned in the case of the port project our junk status has made funding too expensive. We read about the backers of the sugar project pulling out and so on.
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@David
Do you recall Sinckler’s comments regarding the restructuring of the sugar industry in his last press conference? -
@enuff
Remind us.
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The media is reporting 36 will lose jobs as a result of the NPC/BNOC rationalization. This is why we have issues, government needs to be ahead of the game before info makes its way into the public domain. We are dealing with human beings.
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David wrote “What is not being properly discussed is the strategy of the government to drive the country out of the economic difficulty we find ourselves.”
Therein lies the problem. Nobody wants to point to the fact that there is no solution that government can “sell” to the public.
There will be more pain before any gain.
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It is absolute foolishness the reported comments of Mr. Al Gilkes in today’s Sunday Sun, Sunday, November 9, 2014, on the question of whether he and the other people involved in the Hennessey Artistry Show at Kensington Oval, on the 6 of December 2014, have to hand over money to the stupid BRA, on the amount of complimentary tickets given out by them to prospective patrons of or participants in the show.
Quite honestly, were we – the PDC – the promoters of that show, we would not have even been starting to think about giving a red cent to any stupid theiving BRA over any complimentary tickets.
Anyhow, Mr Gilkes is reported, in the same news story, as having said the following: ‘I was shown (by whom?) a copy of the appropriate section of the Act (which section of which Act?) and it addresses more things like costumes and things like that. It seems like it was written more for Crop Over (in law in this case it cannot be what seems like anything; it must be what it is absolutely properly read as). But it also says ‘and other complimentary items’ (did he or the reporter get their spelling correct?).
It does not mention tickets. We’re being told that ‘other complimentary’ items may include tickets so we can’t argue.’
Now clearly Gikles has got it totally wrong or he has been grossly mislead by a two-bit lawyer or two, or both.
For there is no law any where in Barbados that is written as, or that can properly be interpreted by Joe Blow as, preventing, in its enforcement, any one from giving any thing to any person in such cases.
So therefore there is no political basis for the promoters of the upcoming show giving any money over to any stupid thriving BRA on any number of complimentary tickets.
Furthermore the law must clearly set out to state a methodology for officials from the theiving BRA officals to calculate such amounts as are to be handed over by Gilkes and company to the said officials.
In such cases, the law must be very clear, precise and reasonable.
From what was reported in the story there was no reference by Gilkes or any one else to any such methodology in the VAT Act, principally because there is NONE.
It cannot be enough for the relevant people at the Nation newspaper to obscenely indulge in the speculation that the promoters may be asked to pay 17.5 per cent on the price printed (what idiotic rubbish!!) when they could have easily gone and done their own detailed searches for such a methodology before publishing what is clearly partly erroneous false misleading information on their part and Gilkes’.
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David
And what did the honourable Minister Sinckler say in said press conference with respect to layoffs? -
@enuff
He said the numbers to go home as a result of the rationalization of statutory agencies will not be in the same large numbers as large year. So far 36 out of 250 NPC/BNOC represents 14%.
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In light of the substantially erroneous, false, misleading and inflammatory information put out into the public domain by the people at the Nation Publishing Co, and with the complicity of Mr Al Gilkes, via some baseless reckless story, that so-called free tickets to the upcoming Henessy Artistry Show, may be taxed (what absolute ignorance) – and thus the impression being given to many readers of the said Sunday Sun news story, that the promoters’ revenues from persons participating in the show would be supposedly taxed to the extent of the number of complimentary tickets given away (more ignorance on stilts), it behoves one of those joke senior officials at the BRA, upon being informed of or seeing the said news information, to, in the public interest, come right out and provide, a necessary clarification as to the truth of the matter.
PDC
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