The Antigua and Barbuda Chamber of Commerce says it wants to have more
consultation and interactions between the public and private sectors as these will
redound to their mutual benefit.
This comes following the recent conclusion of a public consultation held as part of
the Chamber’s biennial General Meeting on the Economy. “As part of its
Knowledge Sharing and Best Practices Pillar, following the BGM, the Chamber
held a public discussion on the effects of the recently increased ABST on the
business community,” a Chamber press statement noted.
According to the release the panelist from the Public Sector were; the
Commissioner of Inland Revenue, Ralph Warner, Director of Prices and Consumer
Affairs, Orrin Steele, Senior Statistician Statistics Division, Jerry Aska, Debt
Manager, Ministry of Finance, Peter Abraham Jr.
The Private Sector was represented by the Director of Tax Services, Grant
Thornton, Neil Coates.
The discussion was moderated by the treasurer of the Chamber, Bertram
Alexander. The two-hour session was extremely informative, as the audience was
very pleased as they were served by the breadth and depth of knowledge of the
panelists, from both private and public sectors.
During the question-and-answer session, the audience was thoroughly engaged as
they expressed concerns and even disappointments with the process of
government’s recent increases of the ABST and the amendments of the reporting
periods.
Generally, there were concerns about the way the information about the changes is
coming to the public: not giving sufficient response time, and the cost of adjusting
to accommodate those changes. Specifically, concern was also aired about the lack
of meaningful engagement with taxpayers before increasing our tax burden. The
public sector panelist promised to take the concerns and feedback on board and to
seek to have more meaningful engagements.
From the perspective of the business community, the members of the Chamber
recognize the fiscal responsibility it bears to pay for the services provided by the
public sector, but agreed that there must be better consultation.
The Chamber also wishes to acknowledge the cordial relationship it has with the
Inland Revenue Department, as well as other government departments, divisions,
and ministries. The Chamber sincerely desires that there will continue to be the
type of access which will redound to richer level of consultations, which should
enhance the ease of doing business, and so reduce the cost of doing business as
well.
The new board looks forward to the term of office ahead as the Chamber seeks to
serve the country in a bigger and better way through more engagement by and
advocacy of the private sector.
