A recent law change allows Inland Revenue Anguilla to waive up to EC$20,000 in tax penalties and interest for an individual taxpayer each year.
This increase, from the previous limit of $1,000, means that business owners will no longer have to take their requests to higher channels, which can be a lengthy administrative process.
The Bill for Inland Revenue Department (Amendment) Act, 2024, was read for a second and third time before being passed by the Anguilla House of Assembly on 17 December.
On introducing the bill, Premier Ellis Webster, who also serves as finance minister, said it had been established in response to a rise in waiver requests.
Webster said that tax clearances, which show a business owner is up-to-date with their tax obligations, are required for most transactions, especially when buying land or getting a business licence.
If they owe penalties, interest or back taxes, that could stop them from getting the necessary clearance, he explained, so waivers can allow them to move forward.
Quincia Gumbs-Marie, Minister of Sustainability, Innovation and the Environment, standing in support of the bill said it is an example of government ensuring that services are rendered in a timely fashion.
She said those in the business community, especially, can benefit from not needing to go through the bureaucratic processes of going to Executive Council or to the Anguilla House of Assembly.
Instead they can take their requests directly to the comptroller of the Inland Revenue Anguilla, but Gumbs-Marie added that it is for “more extreme circumstances”.
“So you have to have a valid reason why you will qualify for this opportunity to be considered for additional leniency,” she said.
The minister added that anything over the new $20,000 threshold will be considered by the Executive Council and then “escalated through the usual channels”.
Gumbs-Marie urged businesses to continue to pay tax after a query has been submitted because interest will not be remitted if tax is not paid.
“I think it will help a lot of persons. It will make business the easier and Anguilla,” she said.
“It also will give the people the opportunity to understand wherever they may have misunderstandings, and allow the Inland Revenue Department to function as an efficient arm of government.”
Also speaking in support of the legislative change was Dee-Ann Kentish-Rogers, Minister of Education and Social Development, said it was part of a data driven approach to changes.
She explained that it was just one of an “ongoing suite of amendments” that the government has implemented to assist the business community.
Watch the Anguilla House of Assembly sitting in full below:
