By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

FORMER Deputy Prime Minister Brent Symonette said the Christie administration cannot be trusted with the anticipated billions in revenue that Value Added Tax will bring in.

Mr Symonette said successive Progressive Liberal Party governments had a track record of misappropriating public funds. The former foreign affairs and immigration minister said the money collected from VAT should be monitored closely.

“No absolutely not (they cannot be trusted with VAT revenues),” Mr Symonette said during a recent interview. “People need to remember the reason why the government said we needed this tax which was to bring down the country’s debt.

“They have to prove themselves. You see the VAT money is going in the Consolidated Fund, which is the only place that it can go.

“But as I drive throughout Nassau and on different islands they are spending a tremendous amount of money. Look at the Bahamas Agriculture and Marine Science Institute, there is $5m more going out there, the result of one fire.

“These guys are spending money at a time that they said the FNM was reckless about spending money.”

VAT is charged at a rate of 7.5 per cent on most goods and services.

The government has said it expects to collect around $300m from VAT in the first year of implementation.

Mr Symonette said the PLP campaigned ahead of the 2012 general election to cut back on the spending of public funds, but as he sees it, there has been no evidence of this almost three years into their political term.

“We are seeing different now that they are in office. Prime Minister Perry Christie can stand up and say whatever he wants to say and Mr Halkitis can stand up too. But I personally do not believe it.

“So just show us the figures. Don’t give us these wonderful long speeches or try and veil the tax on people. Because it just isn’t good enough. Come to the people and lay the real facts on the table.”

Last week, State Finance Minister Michael Halkitis said the government had collected $28m in VAT returns since its implementation on January 1.

Mr Halkitis told The Tribune that the Department of Customs collected $11m at the country’s borders and $17m was taken in from large businesses – those making more than $5m in gross sales – during the first filing period.

The prime minister has said he is absolutely certain that VAT will be a major success story for the people of the Bahamas.