By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Government is “choking the economy” with an ever-growing regulatory burden, a former Chamber chairman warned yesterday, arguing that it should instead focus on enforcing existing laws.

Robert Myers, now a principal with the newly-formed civil society group, the Organisation for Responsible Governance (ORG), urged the Government to “crackdown on the lawless” rather than constantly develop new laws and policies.

“They keep coming up with ways to tighten the noose, and all they do is choke the economy, instead of doing what they should be doing; cracking down on people who violate the laws and don’t pay their taxes,” Mr Myers told Tribune Business.

“The Government wants to create laws that try to improve the situation, rather than crackdown on the lawless.”

Mr Myers was alluding to the package of new tax enforcement and compliance measures that the Christie administration has either elected to implement, or is bringing into effect, to coincide with the 2016-2017 Budget.

Requirements such as the need to supply a monthly Tax Compliance Certificate (TCC) in order to receive payments from the Government for goods and services already rendered, plus making it mandatory for major shareholders and subsidiaries to also be compliant for a TCC to be obtained, have aroused considerable ire and concern in the private sector.

Tax compliant businesses fear they are being further burdened by a regulatory web that is becoming ever more complex and onerous, further undermining the ‘ease of doing’ business and increasing costs in an already high-cost economy.

“They continue to implement policies and laws that make it more difficult for law-abiding citizens and businesses, rather than cracking down on lawless businesses and citizens,” Mr Myers said, indicating that he agreed with such sentiments.

“It only creates more inefficiency, lessens the ease of doing business, and only hurts the law-abiding.... Stop writing laws that make you feel better, and enforce the ones that do exist.

“Cracking the heads of people that are breaking existing laws is the answer; getting non-compliant taxpayers compliant is the answer. Leave the compliant ones alone, those trying to pay their taxes.”

ORG’s main focus is greater transparency, accountability and openness in Bahamian governance, combined with improved economic growth and education reform.

Mr Myers suggested the Bahamas was far removed from “modern governance” in the way laws and policies were developed, with those on the receiving end too often treated as an ‘enemy’ and not properly consulted by the Government.

As a result, the Bahamas was forced to frequently grapple with inadequate, overbearing legislation that contained numerous unintended consequences for businesses and citizens.

“We don’t have enough businessmen and civil society groups involved in these decisions, and it’s why we keep making things more difficult for ourselves,” he argued.

“We’ve got to be more open, transparent and accountable. It might slow things down, but when you’re putting laws in place that hamper business and economic growth, and business and consumer confidence, you have to change.”

Mr Myers emphasised that he was not singling out the Christie administration for criticism, adding that these issues had plagued both PLP and FNM governments for the past four decades.

“It’s not just this administration,” he told Tribune Business. “It’s not a PLP thing. It’s a general statement on the Government for the last 35 years. They’ve got to stop it, got to change it. That’s our only hope.”