IRD Comptroller, Marcia Vité says the Department is compiling Tax Legislations which are similar in scope. Vité says this is an international practice which makes the payment of tax easier for citizens and businesses, and makes the collection of tax easier for the Department. This consolidation of Acts began in 2020 under the instruction of then Minister for Finance, Allen Chastanet.
“The common parts of those legislations like the Income Tax Act, the VAT Act, we've sought to take and put them in a piece of legislation for ease for the taxpayer,” she says.
This amendment, she says, will reduce redundancies and put the information regarding taxes more accessories.
“So you will find that the collection sections of these pieces of legislation are very similar so we put it [together]. You would find the administrative parts of the legislation are similar. We put it in one document,” she explained, continuing, “So the TAPA is basically for the taxpayer, for ease of reference and for the business person.”
Senior Legal Officer at the IRD, Catherine Spooner, emphasised that the Bill is currently undergoing consultation. This is a part of the process, she says.
Organisations like the Saint Lucia Bar Association, the Chamber of Commerce and the Accountants Association, have received the first draft of the Bill. Spooner says these consultations will provide clarity on the different aspects of the legislation.
“There are a number of provisions that were not otherwise clear in the other pieces of legislation having to do with the rights of taxpayers,” she says.
One issue she highlighted was the importance of timelines in tax collection. This is one of the aspects being clarified by the tax amendment.
“It also, I think, is very important to know that it identifies timelines by which the IRD and or the Comptroller should act, feeling that the taxpayer rights kicks in. So no longer will a taxpayer have to sit back and say, “I have not heard from the IRD.”,” she said.
The rights of taxpayers are being taken seriously in this amendment, she explained.
“If we are not meeting the timeline, the taxpayer now initiates the right to act against the IRD. So I think this bill is important and it underscores the rights of a taxpayer.”
Spooner says the Bill has to undergo further consultations to achieve a second draft, before it is presented to the Cabinet of Ministers for review and then Parliament for Debate.