By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

ACTING Controller Shunda Strachan said the government is owed an alarming number of taxes, even though the number has been reduced to $875m after being $1bn when the Davis administration came to power.

Ms Strachan said $193m in VAT is owed to the government.

“Based on businesses that actually filed returns, the VAT arrears currently is at $193m, but again, I’m going to use the recent (tax crackdown) operation (in Harbour Island) as an example: none of those taxpayers were filing VAT, and that is already at the $3m dollar mark.

“So, we know we tell you that the arrears are currently at $193m, but that’s really like I said only those businesses that filed, and the concern for us is the unknown. Those businesses that are operating, charging VAT, not filing, not declaring, so I don’t really take that $193m as being real, it’s what’s on the books but I know there’s a lot more out there.”

Ms Strachan said potential penalties for failing to pay taxes range from $100 to $250,000.

When questioned about the increased scrutiny on tax delinquents and businesses suspected of evading VAT and Business Licence fee payments, she said this has been a “critical move”.

“You’ve not seen this level of enforcement before, no, you haven’t,” she said.

“But it is critical now because as the country moves in a particular direction, and our expenses increase we need the revenue in order to satisfy those expenses. And so, while the Department of Inland Revenue doesn’t deal with expenditure, per se, we have to deal with revenue collection.

“A couple of months ago, we reported our arrears were over $1bn and we took that very seriously, and, really, it’s for us to bring those arrears down.

“So, while arrears are continuously added to the bucket, and there’s an up and down kind of action going on, we really don’t want those arrears to be in the billions. So, bit by bit, we’re trying to get them a bit lower, right, and so we’re right now … we’re probably at the $875m dollar mark, we’re not at a billion anymore but it’s still alarming that we have that amount of such greater arrears there.”

Last year, Financial Secretary Simon Wilson revealed the Revenue Enhancement Unit’s (REU) audits showed 50 per cent of registered companies were non-compliant with VAT laws.