-
by pltm
(PLTM) - The government is in need of money to help build the infrastructure of the territory and one way to make this happen is to raise taxes. This is one of the arguments put forward by Premier and Finance Minister, Hon. Dr. Orlando Smith during the debate of the Hotel Accommodation (Taxation)(Amendment) Act, 2016. Government is increasing the Hotel Accommodation Tax from 7% to 10%. If taxes are collected up to date, by the end of 2017, government is projecting to receive close to $28 million, and they are hoping that under this bill, they will also cover persons who stay on yachts and not just in hotel rooms. Speaking in the House of Assembly this afternoon, October 13, during the debate of the bill, Premier Smith said that many things need to be done for the youth, building more classrooms for the extra school year, better healthcare, water and electricity, etc. "Requires money to be expended from the government's purse...But the government then has to find funds to be able to provide these services," he said. The Premier stated that this money can come from improving the economy, cutting government costs, and then there are taxes. "The other way we can finance all the things we need to do for the people of the territory is taxes. Tax is something that all governments have to do from time to time, and that includes the BVI government," he said. "I did mention in my budget address that we will be increasing taxes in certain areas and one of those areas is hotel accommodation. We have had one rate since 1984." Premier Smith also mentioned other counterparts in the region, where Anguilla has 10 percent on hotel tax accommodation; Cayman Islands 13 percent, Guyana 10 percent and Dominican Republic 16 percent. Also commenting on the bill, Hon. Archibald Christian, Junior Minister of Tourism said that the BVI government has justification for raising the tax. "Certainly in the BVI where we have the lowest tax jurisdiction in the world; from time to time we may need to increase taxes. In this instance, the last time the hotel accommodation tax was increased was some 32 years ago." He added, "We can justify that there is a need to increase the taxes on hotel accommodation; we are now competing with over 31 countries in the region alone..." Hon. Christian stated that he understands that whenever government contemplates the desire to increase taxes there is always a cry from the majority of people who pay taxes. "..Because it is normally felt that ‘there they go again'. I fully understand to a certain point why those concerns will always exist. The truth be told, sometimes governments do not really spend the people’s money wisely. Sometimes they cannot justify why they are increasing taxes," he said. Meanwhile, Hon. Andrew Fahie, Opposition Member commented that he hopes that the government engaged the hoteliers. He said that 10 percent may sound small, but doing business in the BVI is expensive. He said that there is no information to show how this will affect the hoteliers, who are already facing tough times. Back in June, BVI Platinum News spoke with several hoteliers, who stated that this is an attempt to retrieve money that the government has wasted. Majority of the owners and managers envisage the worst, not only for their establishments, but for the tourism industry in the British Virgin Islands. The members of the House of Assembly still debating the bill.
-----
Copyright 2023 by Virgin Islands Platinum News. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
