By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A Bahamian auto dealer yesterday complained that the $260,000 owed to him by the Government, most of which has been outstanding for 15 months, is the difference “between being here today and gone tomorrow”.

Ben Albury, Bahamas Bus and Truck’s general manager, told Tribune Business that he and other companies were “helping to bankroll” the Government through the excessive wait for tax refunds due to them.

This, he explained, was causing a major impediment to cash flow, so much so that he “panicked” when most of Bahamas Bus & Truck’s 2016 inventory arrived in this nation at once, fearing he would be unable to afford the Excise Tax payments.

Ben Albury explained that around $160,000 of the sum owed to Bahamas Bus and Truck related to tax refunds on vehicles the dealership had sold to the Royal Bahamas Police Force in January 2015 - some 15 months ago.

The remainder related to “miscellaneous” import tax refunds on taxis and other vehicles sold to the Government, both of which are supposed to be duty-free.

Ben Albury said he would have been “better off” not selling those vehicles, especially the ones purchased by the Police, as his company had “lost the money” tied up in the tax refunds - which could have been used to purchase new inventory or for other investments.

“They owe us over $260,000, some of which has been due for 15 months,” the Bahamas Bus and Truck general manager told Tribune Business of the Government.

“January-past [2015] makes one year waiting for some of it. I’ve been waiting for $160,000, and it’s like running into a brick wall. Everyone [in government] that I talk to bounces you from department to department.

“I spoke to one lady a few weeks ago, who said she was processing it, and that it was going to be on her supervisor’ desk later that day. I called back a week later, and she said she was just attempting to do that. I said: ‘You told me it would be ready a week ago’.”

Mr Albury said that unlike auto dealers, for example, which had to pay Excise Taxes immediately once cars arrived at the dock, the Government appeared to have the luxury of paying its debts to the private sector only when it desired to.

He is far from alone, as Tribune Business revealed yesterday how the Auto Mall, the business operated by Fred Albury, the Bahamas Motor Dealers Association’s (BMDA) president, had been waiting six-eight months for exactly the same thing - a refund of Excise Taxes paid on vehicles leased/sold to the Government.

This newspaper has also disclosed how many businesses have endured long waits for Value-Added Tax (VAT) refunds, an issue that has been addressed by the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation (BCCEC), after many retailers complained that it impeded Christmas inventory purchases.

It all creates the impression of a Government that is struggling for cash flow, and unable to pay its debts and bills in a timely manner, despite exhorting the private sector to do this and levying fines/penalties when it does not.

“I’m not getting anywhere,” Ben Albury told Tribune Business yesterday. “It’s really tough to continue this way, and is very inconvenient.

“Thank God that in these tough times the owners of this company did not take all the money out, otherwise we’d have had to close the doors. Thankfully, we’re in a position where we played things safe.”

Ben Albury said the $260,000 owed to Bahamas Bus and Truck would have been especially valuable in paying duty when its 2016 inventory arrived at the dock at one time,.

“I was in a panic, calling them [the Government], begging and pleading, and scared we’d go into an overdraft, as we have all this money outstanding and are required to pay for the inventory,” he revealed.

“Had this company not been run prudently and carefully, we’d have either gone out of business or the vehicles would have stayed on the dock, incurring Customs penalties and storage fees.

“Cash flow in this business is very important. We’re not ordering t-shirts here. It adds up quickly when you’re bringing in vehicles ranging from $40,000 and upwards.”

Ben Albury said the private sector needed to raise awareness of the ‘tax refund’ situation, and the problems it was causing companies and the wider Bahamian economy.

“I’ve spoken to people in various industries who say they are waiting on various refunds from Government depending on the line of business they’re in,” he told Tribune Business.

“Nothing has been done to address it. I just feel like my calls are falling on deaf ears, and they’re being diverted to someone else. I’ve been calling one person in Customs diligently and patiently for a year.

“I don’t like to fell like I’m calling them, begging for something, but what I’m calling for and begging for is mine. That could be the difference between here today and gone tomorrow.”

Pointing out that Bahamas Bus and Truck had made no profit on those vehicle sales, because of the capital lost in the refund wait, Ben Albury said: ‘I’m basically helping to bankroll the Government.

“That’s not what I’m here for. I already pay enough in Business Licences, NIB contributions and VAT. Here we are, as a mid-size business, stuck holding the bag.

“The Government has a never-ending amount of money to do what they want, but when it comes to pay debts to the business community, which keeps the country moving forward, they can’t do it in a timely manner.”