Amid concerns raised by the business community regarding lengthy delays for business license renewals, due to the Department of Inland Revenue's (DIR) new renewal policies, Minister of Economic Affairs Michael Halkitis yesterday assured that all renewal applications will be processed by March 31.
Halkitis revealed that the DIR has to date received 33,000 applications and 3,000 have been processed and approved.
"We've agreed to fast track straw vendors, taxi drivers, roadside vendors, the small landscaping individuals," said Halkitis at an Office of the Prime Minister press briefing.
"We are looking at other instances where we can facilitate speed. This is an effort to ensure that the information we get is credible information."
Earlier this week, the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers' Confederation (BCCEC) lamented the new stipulations for business license renewals, saying that they are creating frustrating conditions for the private sector. Specifically, it spoke to the new requirement for all businesses to submit a real property tax (RPT) assessment number - even if they are renters - when applying for a business license renewal; and the requirement that all businesses earning less than $100,000 in annual revenue must provide proof of income, among other things.
Halkitis highlighted instances where businesses are blatantly under-reporting their earnings.
"There have been issues where there has been under-reporting. I don't want to point the finger at everybody, but we have to ensure that we do our best to ensure [reporting] that is credible, that's possible," he said.
"The law empowers Inland Revenue to request additional information. So, for example, if they see a return that just does not make sense, it's too low... you might have a business you know did not make $20,000 last year.
"You have ways to check this by customs imports, utility bills, all those sorts of things. So you know that in this particular case that is under-reporting."
Halkitis continued, "We have, I think, just under half of the businesses either reporting zero turnover, or they just put the same number that was in every year for the last three years.
"What Inland Revenue has to do is verify that what businesses are reporting, as best as they can, is accurate. So it is incumbent upon them to do some checks.
"If we look at the big picture, all of us are taxpayers and all of us are required to pay our share. The Department of Inland Revenue cannot just look the other way."
Halkitis noted that the DIR is not requiring every business to provide a statement of income, but rather is seeking more information for clarity in special cases.
"Again, we are not requiring everybody to go and hire an accountant, or put in audited statements, or even put in income statements," Halkitis said.
"What we are saying is in some cases additional information is required. That might be a utility bill, that might be a bank statement, that might be a rental agreement, whatever. It's an effort to ensure that these turnover amounts are credible."
He added, "We're not going exact down to the penny, but it's our responsibility that when we see a situation where it is not credible information that's being given, we have to make an effort to make sure we get the right information."
Acting Comptroller in the Department of Inland Revenue Shunda Strachan last month appealed to business owners to be truthful about their yields.
She said the department will be scrutinizing business turnover more deeply this year, given that of the roughly 50,000 businesses registered last year, only about 9,000 have reported a turnover of $100,000 or more.
Businesses that provide taxable supplies of $100,000 or more are required by law to register for value-added tax (VAT) and collect VAT on behalf of the government.
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