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Contact: Ministry of
Finance
Friday, April 20, 2012
- In full preparation mode for the implementation of the Value Added Tax
in Saint Lucia, the VAT Implementation Project Office, under the direction of
new Coordinator Adria Rose Sonson is continuing discussions with all
stakeholder groups to ensure that the interests of all sectors have
been attended to leading up to the implementation of VAT on September 1, 2012.
On Thursday April 19, the Project
Coordinator and other members of the Office met with representatives of the
Ministry of Commerce, to discuss support which Government can facilitate for the
Small and Micro Business Sector through the Small Enterprise Development Unit (SEDU).
The Coordinator described the dialogue as a brainstorming session with a focus
on capacity building for micros and the informal business sector that has
value beyond VAT.
“When you think of micro business in relation to how VAT works to streamline and
simplify the collection of tax, any facilitation designed to bring them on to
the system must also strengthen their own internal accounting methods and record
keeping. Our consideration is to identify what types and levels of facilitation
Government can reasonably provide that makes the transition as seamless for
Micro-businesses and with as little impact on their pockets as possible.”
To this end Coordinator Sonson said the discussions were very useful for the
design of a package, which following the scrutiny of SEDU, will be submitted to
Cabinet for consideration.
“Of course, these things are subject to processes and procedures, but the
important thing to bear in mind is that Government is well aware of these
sector-specific concerns, and all due diligence concerns will be addressed.”
This past week, the Office also continued dialogue with the Executive of the
Saint Lucia Hotel and Tourism Association, to assess the sector’s state of
readiness for the implementation of the new taxation regime, as well as other
concerns.
Ms Sonson indicated that as soon as these arrangements are finalised, they will
be communicated through mass media, Social Media and a new VAT website, which is
expected to be unveiled sometime next week.
Over the course of 2009 and 2010 an extensive islandwide public education
programme was undertaken. The VAT Project Offcie will commence its public
awareness drive from Monday April 23 which will be ongoing through to
implementation and beyond.
The
Project team can be contacted at 468-1420 or email us at
vatcoordinator@vat.gov.lc
or
vatinfo@vat.gov.lc
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