NSR Levy concerns being addressed
Minister of Industry, International Business, Commerce and Small Business Development, Donville Inniss, says he has every confidence that all the issues surrounding the National Social Responsibility (NSR) Levy will be ironed out soon.
Speaking to The Barbados Advocate yesterday morning, Inniss said while the administration of the two per cent levy, which came into effect September 1, is really a matter to be dealt with by the Barbados Revenue Authority (BRA), which falls under the Ministry of Finance, his ministry has been keeping tabs on the situation and especially the impact it has been having on sectors under his ambit and is doing whatever it can to help address the concerns.
“Obviously, there has been ambiguity with its implementation and methods around that and the BRA has committed to work on addressing those concerns. From my end as Minister of Industry and Commerce, I have met with various stakeholders directly and through the Barbados Investment and Development Corporation (BIDC), which held stakeholder meetings on the issue, and we would have fed information into the Ministry of Finance and back to the BRA,” he said.
The Cabinet Minister, while remaining mum on the details, indicated that additional concerns were raised with him in the last week, which he also passed on to the relevant authorities. His comments came as he maintained that greater dialogue is needed between the various parties.
“I think at the end of the day, it boils down to effective communication on both sides. We can do better in explaining these things, and more importantly, I think where business people have a concern, through their organisations they can raise the issues and we can work with the BRA to rectify them.
“The bigger issue seems to be the collection of it, where it is imposed and who imposes it. These are matters that I have talked quite a bit with the Minister of Finance about and we know have to be cleared up. But I would advice those who have concerns to contact the Barbados Revenue Authority and seek to discuss them,” he stated.
Meanwhile, in relation to complaints that the levy has resulted in the costs of goods rising, he said while he understands the concerns given consumers’ tight budgets, a slight upward movement in prices was expected. He is therefore urging persons to remember the levy is being implemented for a good cause, which is to offset the cost associated with financing health care. (JRT)
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