West: No tax from gambling

THIS country collects no tax from the local gambling sector, revealed Minister in the Ministry of Finance Allyson West in her wind up of the budget debate in the Senate yesterday. The Senate passed the budget, already passed by the House of Representatives whose Standing Finance Committee had scrutinised it line by line.

Saying the gambling industry, each year, earns billions of dollars, West made her startling revelation.

“We are collecting nothing. Why? All we need is legislation to regulate and tax them.”

She also reckoned the government could rake in an extra $8 billion per year in VAT. She said at present $3 billion in VAT is lost due to improper compliance and $5 billion lost because of policy decisions on VAT, for a sum of $8 billion.

West pointed out several reasons why the TT Stock Exchange has not boomed to the extent of Jamaica’s. Even before listing the reasons, she said Jamaica has a more active and aggressive private sector than TT’s, the latter who tend to be more risk-averse. Recalling her previous professional life as a tax adviser, she said she had often advised local companies to register on the TT Stock Exchange. However while businesses may initially like her suggestion, they ultimately want to maintain control of their companies and secondly they want to keep the privacy of their information.

“We need to change that thinking,” she urged, saying otherwise it will be impossible to boost the TT Stock Exchange.

Replying to a senator’s complaint that local housing is not affordable, West said that unlike countries such as the US where prices plunged during the Fanny Mae crisis (in 2008), in TT house prices are inelastic, that is, price is not much affected by local events. She used the occasion to say house prices would be sent up if a future UNC government were to keep their promise to raise the repo rate, a Central Bank lending rate that impacts bank interest rates.

West added, “Does he want TT to go back to regulating prices? We can’t do that in a free economy.” She then asked if Independent Senator Josh Drayton, if he is an attorney or engineer for example, would want the government to control the fees he is allowed to receive. She said, “Demand and supply control prices.”

West then got a bit party political. “We do not tell our story. That’s the one failing I would ascribe to this Government.”

Replying to Opposition Senator Khadijah Ameen’s earlier claims that the former government built 106 secondary and 30 primary schools, West instead claimed they had given out construction contracts before accessing financing. “Don’t try to fool the population!” she chided.

West then saluted “the most unappreciated person in the country” and “the most vilified person” who she named as the Prime Minister. She instead hailed him as a man of resolve, principle and integrity who had solved the long-standing problems of Petrotrin and of the tax paid by foreign energy companies in TT.

“One day the citizens of this country will get up and appreciate the mettle of the man who leads us,” West said. After the budget was passed, Divali greetings were given and the Senate adjourned to a date to be fixed.