Sandals clarifies Turks and Caicos closure

Sandals Resorts International (SRI) has sought to clarify its decision to close its Beaches Turk & Caicos Resort Villages and Spa from January 2021 saying this was not as a result of unpaid taxes but for breaches by the Turks and Caicos Islands, (TCI) government of “legally binding documents.”

SRI announced recently that its Beaches resort will be closed from September 3 to October 15 in 2019 and from September 7 to October 22, 2020, and then “for an indefinite period from January 2021.”

TCI Premier and Finance Minister Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson, in a statement said her administration has been addressing the “long outstanding “issue with Beaches and remains confident “that with the facts in full view, we can bring an end to a critical outstanding matter that has seen its basis in an arrangement in place since the Resort’s operation started in the 90s and existed throughout every government in the TCI since then”.

Cartwright-Robinson said the matter is not one of Beaches avoiding taxes or of the former governments intentionally leaving this matter unaddressed.

In a statement, SRI said the resort has operated in TCI for the past 23 years and has “punctually and accurately paid taxes according to law.”

“As a matter of fact, we are the first in line to pay our taxes. To the contrary, it is Beaches Resorts that is currently owed many millions of dollars in over paid taxes.”