Gillian Wolffe-O’Neil, director, Tax Services, at KPMG T&T, agrees with the changes in the tax system announced last week by Finance Minister Colm Imbert. Oil revenues have declined, she said, and whether it is from corporation tax, business levy, or income tax, revenue has to come from somewhere.
If anything, she told the T&T Guardian, the minister may not have done enough “to deal with the level of expenditure that we have.”
However, while Wolffe-O’Neil supports changes in T&T’s tax regime, she is concerned that the Board of Inland Revenue (BIR) is not attracting the talent needed to administer the system
“Tax is such a complex area. We know the problems that the Board of Inland Revenue is going through. Persons have left either through retirement or resignation but the positions have not been filled,” she said.
Wolffe-O’Neil, who has 25 years experience in taxation including nine years at the BIR, in an interview following a KPMG’s tax seminar at the Hyatt Regency in Port-of-Spain, said it takes time to learn, understand, and apply a new system. Putting a Revenue Authority in place will take time, she explained, and she is wondering about the strategy that will be used to train personnel.
Commenting on the measures announced in the mid-term budget review, she said the seven per cent levy on online purchases will result in Government collecting more money but costs will not be unduly high for online shoppers.
Wolffe-O’Neil said she believes the 50 per cent increase in the customs duty and motor vehicle tax on luxury vehicles is intended to shift demand toward cars which use CNG.
“The problem is that you will buy this car that is supposed to be run on CNG but there are few stations. They have to get more gas stations that sell CNG. Once that is done it will be very good for consumers. The prices of the cars should be much cheaper and the reliance on super gasolene and diesel will decrease.”