BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – WITH just over eight months left until Value Added Tax (VAT) is introduced in the Federation, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of the Eastern Caribbean has started a public awareness and education campaign to prepare all business stakeholders for the new tax.
The one-day seminar held today (Mar. 23) at the St. Kitts Marriott Resort was organized through the joint effort of the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants (ACCA) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of the Caribbean (ICAC). Over 100 accountants, Inland Revenue and Customs and Excise personnel, bankers, insurers and manufacturers, along with other entrepreneurs, convened for the introductory course on VAT.
Legal Counsel and Compliance Officer at the University of Technology (UTECH), Jamaica Ethlyn Norton-Coke opened the morning discussions with a lively and relatable presentation on VAT, drawing from her experiences in Jamaica. She was thorough in her explanation and analysis, concentrating largely on the attributes of a good tax system, an assessment of healthy tax policy, Sales Tax versus VAT and the ramifications of the introduction of this consumption tax.
“The tax operates on the basis that as the good passes from one step of manufacture to customer, or from one vendor to another, the price increases. It is not a tax on the service provider or on businesses or on manufacturers, but it is a tax that pulls through the system and is paid by the consumer,” Norton-Coke explained following an explanation of a VAT flow chart.
The UTECH attorney emphasized the need for ongoing, inclusive consultation to facilitate a seamless implementation of VAT. She added that business stakeholders must assess regional legislation regarding taxation so they can lobby for the “most advantageous” taxation clauses.
Harryram Parmesar, Partner in Parmesar Chartered Accountants, told SKNVibes that the most pressing question stakeholders are asking is how VAT would affect their business spending. He stressed that the seminar is therefore designed to guide participants in their preparation for VAT.
“What I think the presentations at the seminar explain to people is the whole process of VAT introduction. It will address who is eligible to register, tax returns and frequency of submission and the information needed in these returns. Stakeholders must also focus on the necessary accounting records to support tax returns and to facilitate audit verification by the relevant authorities,” Parmesar noted.
SKNVibes contacted ICAC’s CEO Misha Lobban, who informed that the organization would be looking toward working with local institutes to continue training, adding that training is one of the strategic initiatives of the ICAC to ensure capacity building of its member territories.
