By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A top Finance official has pledged there will be "no sacred cows" as the Government embarks on a wide-ranging review of all tax laws, regulations and procedures.

Marlon Johnson, the Ministry of Finance's acting financial secretary, told Tribune Business that "nothing is out of bounds" as the Government seeks to marry tax administration and enforcement with an improved 'ease of doing business'.

He revealed that the Minnis administration had given the Ministry and its revenue collecting agencies, including the Department of Inland Revenue (DIR) and Bahamas Customs, "a clear mandate" to review all current tax processes and make recommendations on how they can be improved to better enable commercial flows.

"In terms of all the Acts, we have been mandated to look at all the prevailing legislation that impacts upon what we do," Mr Johnson said. "And, consistent with the whole ease of doing business initiative, those things we can amend to facilitate the ease of business but maintain the integrity of collecting taxes in a way that is a lot more facilitative and effective.

"Cabinet has been very clear with us. There are no sacred cows. Nothing is out of bounds. We have a clear mandate to examine what we do, and come back with the kind of legislative change that allows us to operate efficiently, effectively and still preserve the legitimacy of tax collection. In that regard, everything is up for discussion."

Confirming the wide-ranging review of all systems, procedures and processes, K P Turnquest, deputy prime minister and minister of finance, said the comprehensive effort would examine "every nook and cranny" of tax law and policy.

"We want to ensure compliance," he told Tribune Business, "and we have certain tools available to us through the existing laws to enable us to do that. At the same time, we don't want to do anything that hampers or frustrates business.

"We want to look at everything we're doing to ensure it makes sense, and that the benefits outweigh the costs."

Mr Johnson and Mr Turnquest's comments are likely to be warmly greeted as an 'expression of intent' by the private sector, which has long grown frustrated at the increased bureaucracy and 'red tape' that accompanies the payment and administration of taxes.

Besides the tight timeline and workload associated with Business Licence compliance, which the Minnis administration has promised to correct, the difficulties and runaround associated with obtaining Tax Compliance Certificates (TCCs) continues to be an issue for many companies.

The Government is moving to streamline the Business Licence process for all new businesses via the use of technology and online portals, some of which will also aid existing companies. And the National Insurance Board (NIB) last week announced that businesses can apply for 'Letters of Good Standing' via that same Department of Inland Revenue portal which launches today.

An improvement in the 'ease of paying taxes' could also aid the Government's compliance and enforcement efforts, as it seeks to strike the correct - and, so far, elusive - balance between every cent due to it and allowing commerce to flow unimpeded.