With the debate intensifying on the introduction of value-added tax (VAT), Raymond Winder, managing partner at Deloitte and Touche, doesn't believe that form of taxation is "appropriate" for web shops.
"You have to remember that VAT ultimately goes to the consumer, so if you tax the web shops VAT, what they would do is pass it on to the players. That's not what you want," he said yesterday.
"You're really saying that you have enterprises that are generating huge profits and they should be making more of a contribution to government. That's what you're saying and that will not happen through VAT. Clearly, it's unfortunate for us to have enterprises the size of web shops in The Bahamas and they are not feeling some sort of taxation. But I'm not sure if value-added tax is the appropriate taxation for the web shops."
As a solution, he suggested that web shops be made to pay higher business licenses taxes.
Winder's comments are a far cry from those of Philip Galanis, managing partner at HLB Galanis & Co., who recently told Guardian Business it's an area that VAT should be added to because the country's
gaming sector is currently "revenue central".
"I think the issue is really going to be whether or not the winners are going to be taxed at the VAT level because I don't think they are," Galanis said.
According to the Valued Added Tax Bill 2013 and the Value Added Tax Regulations 2013, while most goods and services, including cable, phone and electricity bills for most consumers, will be "vatable", some services and goods will be exempted from the new tax such as games of chance, gambling and lotteries.
But Galanis said it's something the government should reconsider.
His comments were backed up by a International Monetary Fund report on tax reform in The Bahamas, titled "Tax Reforms for Revenue Buoyancy", which suggests that spending on gambling activities should be subject to value-added tax in the same manner as other forms of consumption expenditures.
Robert Myers, co-chair of the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation's Coalition for Responsible Taxation, has suggested that in the interest of bolstering government revenues and fairness web shops must be subject to taxation of some kind.

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian