VAT Officer Investigating Courts Barbados Was Reassigned?
The problem with enforcing the VAT laws has nothing to do with the junior public officers whose duty it is to collect the tax. Often, officers are proceeding against someone who has failed to pay the VAT and the officer is taken off the case after the VAT cheat made a phone call to a…
Senator Caswell Franklyn, Head of Unity Workers Union
The problem with enforcing the VAT laws has nothing to do with the junior public officers whose duty it is to collect the tax. Often, officers are proceeding against someone who has failed to pay the VAT and the officer is taken off the case after the VAT cheat made a phone call to a Minister of Government or a senior public officer.
I remember a few years ago, an officer discovered that Courts Barbados Ltd. was not paying in the VAT. An investigation was carried out and an assessment of $25 million was made against the company. The file was taken away from the officer and she was reassigned other work. The assessment was never pursued. All this was happening while the company was giving away cars and free living for a year, presumably out of the stolen VAT.
By the way, because of that case and others like it, the officer got disgusted and retired early and is now drawing a Government pension.
This comment was posted to Barbados Underground on 04 November 2012 by Senator Caswell Franklyn. He has repeated the statement many times since, HOWEVER, he has never been able to elicit a response from the Democratic Labour Party then or the Barbados Labour Party today. If what the Senator alleges is true doesn’t the situation fit nicely into the agenda the Mia Mottley campaigned on?
To the minister of government concerned – here is the question posed in three parts.
Does Courts Barbados owe the taxpayers of Barbados 25 million dollars (plus interest and penalties)?
If YES why is this profitable company not being moved against by our government?
If NO does it make since to issue a statement of clarification to ensure the reputation of the company is protected.
We are so up to here at the sloth exhibited by successive governments as it relates to doing the people’s business.
58 responses to “VAT Officer Investigating Courts Barbados Was Reassigned?”
Donna
Artax,
I was quite familiar with Lloyd and his business woes. I didn’t know what was causing his difficulties. I always found him to be a good man in whatever field we interacted. He worked hard to build that business and wanted to pass it on to his offspring.
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Vincent Codrington
Very interesting. Should we not have arrested these leakages from the revenue stream before imposing other measures which will follow the same paths?
If we follow this matter carefully these large companies have the resources to exhaust the appeal process and this as always leads to stalemate.
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Vincent Codrington
@ David at 1 :19 PM
Predicting a legal stalemate is a cop out. The law should be enforced without fear or favour. What is the point of drafting new laws when you could not enforce the old? To me that is an exercise in futility. We are just engaging in optics ;and we,the public, are not impressed.
We are where we are because we do not enforce the law. Those with money are the same that finance political campaigns.
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Vincent Codrington
@ David BU at 1 :38 PM
There is no evidence that the financiers of political campaigns are the persons avoiding paying their share of tax revenues.
It is the obvious that needs correcting. Not some imagined conspiracy. We are not here for entertainment.
A minister is reported to have said ” “I’m doing tours . . . to retail sectors. I’ve done the supermarkets and I am now doing the gas stations, getting familiar with the operations and seeing how you, as a key stakeholder, are helping to build out this economy.
Gone are the days when we as ministers sit and behave as paragons of piety and ask people to come to us and try to dictate policy.”
I will keep my opinion to my self but my best friend cannot believe that a government minister could be so ……….
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