By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

OPPOSITION leader Philip “Brave” Davis said the government has not been paying legitimate VAT refunds, adding yesterday that it is undermining the compliance level of the tax and “overstating its true performance value”.

Mr Davis said three business people have complained to him about the government’s failure to pay them VAT refunds in accordance with the law. The total amount due to them is about $7m, he said.

“Persons have called me and asked me to intervene on their behalf,” he said. “I’ve had at least three people do so and I’m told there are many, many more. If the government is truly committed to transparency, they should publish the level of VAT refunds which are approved but not yet paid. As chairman of the Public Accounts Committee and leader of the opposition, I will be compiling a list of vendors for government or from state owned enterprises, whether domestic or international, who are owed refunds for long periods and are facing financial hardships as a result. Through this communication, I am calling these vendors and VAT registrants to present their claims for payment or VAT or other tax refunds to me on a confidential basis and I will seek clarity from the prime minister on the settlement of these claims.

“I should add that I will also bring to the attention of those who independently review the fiscal state of this country – including the IMF, Moody’s and Standard and Poor’s – the magnitude and nature of these claims to ensure that the government properly accounts for these claims in its fiscal accounts.”

Yesterday, Financial Secretary Marlon Johnson told The Tribune he is not aware of any systemic problem with paying VAT refunds.

“We have been making steps to try to speed up the refund process and we have had some success with that,” he said. “I’m not aware of any particular issues and I can say certainly there is no systemic issue that is keeping people from getting their VAT refunds. If there is a company that is having trouble getting VAT refunds, as always they can report it to the Ministry of Finance and we would take a look at it, but there are no systemic issues with VAT refunds.”