THE Kingston and St Andrew Corporation (KSAC) will next Monday resume its drive against delinquent traders in the capital city as it moves to collect millions of dollars owed in licence fees.

"Currently, some $10 million are being collected annually (for trade licences). The data we have suggests that if the appropriate strategies are put in place, and if they are efficiently managed and adequately sustained, income from trade licences can be increased to an estimated $75 million each year," Mayor of Kingston Councillor Angela Brown Burke told a press conference at the corporation's offices on Church Street this week.

The launch of the programme — the Trade Licence Compliance 2012 Initiative — follows a similar strategy introduced by former Mayor Desmond McKenzie, but this time there will be additional human resources.

Mayor Brown Burke said the corporation has already recruited 20 persons who will be trained to assist representatives of the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) and the Municipal Police Force in the drive, which will last for three months.

The initiative aims to:

* Identify businesses involved in trading activities that require a trade licence;

* Determine their current status of payments;

* Ensure that the responsibilities of traders and business practitioners are clearly communicated; and * Improve their compliance rate

The project involves a street survey to determine businesses currently operating in the targeted areas, comparison of survey data with the Inland Revenue Department's payment records to determine tax liability; the preparation of assessment notices and service of assessment notices; and analyses of payment records.