House approves two bills to facilitate improved tax compliance
KINGSTON, Jamaica — (JIS) The House of Representatives has approved two Bills, aimed at facilitating the collection of taxes and improving the rate of compliance by Jamaicans.
They are the Tax Collection (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2014, and the Tax Penalties (Harmonization) Act. They were passed on July 23.
Closing the debate which began on July 22, Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr Peter Phillips, who piloted the Bills, highlighted the tax delinquency rate among companies.
“We have some 82,000 companies listed at the Companies Office of Jamaica. Filing returns at the Companies Office are some 62,000 (companies). So, we assume that those are functioning. Only 18,500 are registered for corporate income tax with the Tax Administration,” Phillips said.
“That is the type of environment we are operating in. Among large tax payers, with sales of $1 billion or more, 27 per cent don’t file at all. When you look at companies where you have sales of $150 million or more, you have close to 56 per cent not filing,” he added.
The minister said that both pieces of legislation aim to create an environment in which companies and other specified groups, including professionals, are required to file.
In his contribution to the debate, Opposition Spokesperson on Finance, Audley Shaw, raised concerns about both laws, arguing that they will likely “lead to a further erosion of business confidence.”
For his part, Attorney General, Patrick Atkinson, noted that tax evasion is a major issue facing the country.
“These provisions are not there to interfere with people who pay their taxes. It is pointed at tax evaders,” Atkinson said.
The Tax Collection (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill seeks to amend the Revenue Administration Act, the Income Tax Act, and the Tax Collection Act, to provide additional measures to facilitate the collection of taxes.
The additional provisions include a requirement by the Income Tax Act for all bodies corporate, including registered charitable organisations and other persons, to be prescribed to file tax returns.
It also provides for an amendment to the Revenue Administration Act to authorise the Commissioner General to provide information to Credit Bureaus under the Credit Reporting Act, regarding taxes owed by tax payers.
The Bill provides for an amendment to the Revenue Administration Act to extend the powers of the Commissioner General, with regard to the production of information and documents, to include the Commissioner of Customs.