TCI News
TCI: Penalty Rates Should Be Consistent Across All Government Bodies
#Providenciales, March 12, 2019 – TCI –While I appreciate the fact that the National Health and National Insurance are governed by separate Boards, the penalty for late payment should be consistent between these boards. The penalties for these Boards should also be the same as the Ministry of Finance which oversees the Business licence fees and Accommodation taxes. To be fair, I believe at one point, all bodies were charging the same 10% but somehow the rates change.
National Health Penalty
The penalty for the late payment of National Health Insurance is now 3% per month. This was change in 2014 after the amnesty period. Therefore, the first month will be 3%, the second month will be 6% and the third month will be 9% etc.
National Insurance Penalty
The penalty for the late payment of National Insurance change in 2011 after NIB offered the first and only amnesty. The penalty is now 10% for the first month and then an additional 3% for each month outstanding. Therefore the second month penalty will be 13%, the third month penalty will be 16% etc.
Business Licence Penalty
The penalty for the late payment of Business licence is 10% per month. Business licences are to be renewed by April 1st and if you renewed after April 30th, it will be 10% per month. If a business discontinues to operate, they must inform the Business Licence team otherwise, they will continue to charge the 10%. The first month will be 10%, the second month will be 20% and the third month 30%.
Accommodation Tax Penalty Rate
The penalty rate under the previous Hotel and tourism taxation ordinance was 10% per month for every month you were outstanding. Therefore, if you were outstanding for a year, the penalty would have been 120% and if you were outstanding for two years, the penalty rate would have been 240%
Based on section 28 of the new Hotel, restaurant and tourism taxation 2019 that the penalty rate has been changed to 20% and then an additional 1.5% for each month the taxes are unpaid. I think this new proposed rates are much better than what we currently have so I want to thank the Government for reviewing and implementing this change.
For example, if a company has $20,000 in unpaid taxes for 24 months, the penalty under the previous law would have been $48,000 plus the $20,000 unpaid taxes resulting in a total outstanding amount to Government for $68,000. Under this proposed law, the company penalty would be $11,200 plus the unpaid taxes of $20,000 resulting in a total outstanding amount of $31,200. This company would save $36,800
Financial Services Commission (FSC) penalty.
The FSC charges a penalty of a flat fee of $350 for every year a company does not pay their annual returns. If the company does not pay the annual return, the company is not consider to be in good standing.
Fortis
Fortis TCI is a private company and their penalty Rate is 2% per month is charged on all unpaid rates. Fortis also disconnects you if you do not pay by the required deadline. You have to pay the full amount to be reconnected.
Provo Water Company
Provo Water Company is also a private company and the penalty is 2% per month just like Fortis. PWC also disconnects you if you do not pay by the required deadline. You have to pay the full amount to be reconnected plus a flat reconnection.
FLOw and Digicel
Flow and Digicel do not charge a penalty. However, you will be disconnected if you do not pay your bill by the required time.
Recommendations
- A flat fee for late payment should be levy on business rather than the high% rate.
- At the end of each month, when payments are due, TCIG should run a report on who did not pay and let them desist from operating until they pay the taxes. If not, the taxes and penalties will continue to grow. Both TCIG and the customer will benefit from this.
- The recent amnesty waiver will not resolve future issue if customers do not have the discipline to pay the taxes on time.
- Business Licence should not be renewed if taxes are outstanding.
- Perhaps the payment dates for all taxes should be the same.
Conclusion
In addition to the above, I encourage everyone to familiarize themselves with the laws in their industry especially the accommodation taxation laws. Basically all services that are provided to guests during their stay at any accommodation are taxable. However, many of us do not know that and when the audit department inspects your books, you will be liable to pay the taxes and will incur not just the tax liability but also the penalties associated with it. It is interesting to note that the private sector penalties are lower than that of the Public sector. It appears that most people pay their taxes on time and so now is the time to have a flat rate across all the Public Sector Bodies.
By Drexwell Seymour
Wilkie Arthur
Freelance Court Correspondent
#TurksandCaicos, April 25, 2024 – He was busted at the Howard Hamilton Providenciales International Airport on Friday, April 16, 2024.
He allegedly had in his luggage four (4) rounds of 6.5mm ammunition on his departure to his homeland in Oklahoma in the United States of America (USA).
Ryan Watson and his wife were arrested and placed into police lock up. Both were later granted police bail, and upon return to police station the Monday after the couple’s arrest, the husband alone was charged by detective Police Constable Kimberlee Markland for
unlawful possession of the four rounds of ammunition.
Watson was escorted to court on Tuesday, April 23rd, placed before the learned Chief Magistrate Mr. Jolyon Hatmin and remanded to His Majesty’s Prison until his sufficiency hearing on June 7, this (2024) year.
His counsel, Mr. Oliver Smith KC and his junior assistant Mrs. Kimone Tennant immediately sought bail for him in the Supreme Court which was heard the following day (Wednesday April 24) before her Ladyship Ms. Tanya Lobban-Jackson and was granted bail, without hassle in the amount or $15,000.00 cash or surety.
The Crown, in the person of senior public prosecutor Ms. Tassja Mitchell did not oppose bail.
Magnetic Media can report that once again on the afternoon of the Tuesday April 24th, after the accused RYAN TYLER WATSON, 41 was remanded by the Magistrate’s court, the U.S. Embassy issued an warning to it’s citizens and travelers to carefully check their bags when traveling to Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) as TCI authorities are strictly enforcing firearm and ammunition laws and if found you could go to prison for 12 years.
A real question of great concern and public importance is: should the TCI courts sentence tourists to the full mandatory minimum of 12 years imprisonment for simple possession firearm and/or ammunition.
The succinct answer is: Yes!
The Court of Appeal, just last month said in its written judgment that “ALL PERSONS,” including tourist/visitors must go to prison if found guilty or pleas guilty to firearm and ammunition offences.
However, there remains the concern about how much time in prison a judge should give a visitor regardless of the existence of exceptional circumstances.
Should the judge imprison a visitor to the territory, who may have been wrongly informed, for example, the full mandatory minimum term or must a reduced prison term be imposed.
If TCI judges start to give less than the mandatory minimum to tourists/visitors, it is being strong and widely advocated by senior defense attorneys that the same must apply to local or residents of these Islands, who may also present exceptional circumstances.
Arguments about the equity in delivery of justice is what drove the question to the Court of Appeal late in 2023. The decision came this past February.
‘We cannot find ourselves sentencing tourists regardless of exceptional circumstances to lesser sentences, and when those same exceptional circumstances are found in local cases, it’s being ignored by our judges.’
Human Rights Attorney, Sheena Mair has on more than one occasion argued this point; including in firearm and ammunition bail applications. She would put the very same judges and prosecutors from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution on the spot by reminding the judges and the prosecutors that precedent has been set.
‘You’ve just granted bail to a tourist for firearm and ammunition but now here’s a local person, same charge but because he’s a local he can’t get bail? He has to be remanded pending a trial that could take years before it’s heard?’
Mair has valiantly outlined the wrong in this and clearly stated this practice is “not fair” and it’s “not proper administration of justice in the Turks and Caicos Islands.”
Ms. Mair further complained that tourists would plea guilty to possession of firearm and ammunition and be released on bail pending sentencing but as for a local, he or she has to wait on remand at the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation pending sentencing.
The attorney criticizes the optics of such decisions and is on record reminding the Judge that the Court of Appeal has already set out that the law applies to everyone; visitors and locals alike.
A police statement issued Wednesday April 24 informs: “Today (April 24th), Mr. Watson appeared in the Supreme Court and, following a bail application, was granted $15,000 bail with the following conditions:
1) Not travel out of TCI without the court’s permission.
2) Surrender his passport and all other travel documents to the court
3) Report to Grace Bay Police Station on Tuesdays and Thursdays between the hours of 8 am-4 pm,
4) Reside at the given address in Providenciales; any address change will be provided before the court.”
The American from Oklahoma whose story is trending in the US and has been carried by leading news networks was joined by a host of loved ones at the Courthouse.
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