In a recent decision of Justice R. Rahim, PriceSmart Clubs (TT) Ltd and The Board of Inland Revenue CV2019-01898 (the “PriceSmart Decision”), the Court held, amongst other things, that the Board of Inland Revenue (the “Revenue”) failed to make a decision on the taxpayer’s application for a repayment of tax pursuant to section 90(1) of the Income Tax Act, Chap. 75:01 (the “ITA”) within a reasonable time and, accordingly, Rahim…

The Miscellaneous Provisions (Tax Amnesty, Pensions, Freedom Of Information, National Insurance, Central Bank, Companies And Non-Profit Organisations) Bill, 2019 was assented to on 25th June 2019.  This Act includes a provision for another tax amnesty (the "Amnesty") for the period 15 June to 15 September 2019, and waives the following: (a)  interest on any outstanding tax due and payable for the years up to and including the year ending 31st…

Background In JAVC Limited v. the Board of Inland Revenue (“JAVC Limited”), the issue for the Tax Appeal Board (the "Board") was whether it had jurisdiction to hear an appeal where the taxpayer implored it to find, inter alia, that it was improper for the Board of Inland Revenue (the “Revenue”) to commence enforcement proceedings against it founded upon a VAT assessment that had been superseded and / or discharged…

On October 1, 2018, Trinidad and Tobago's Minister of Finance released his Budget Document entitled "Turnaround". The following is a summary of the key proposed fiscal measures: Subject Proposed Measure Proposed Date of Implementation Tax Administration Trinidad and Tobago Revenue Authority 2019 (Full benefits of reform to manifest in 2020) Property Tax Board of Inland Revenue to issue notices to property owners for the payment of property tax. 2019 Note:…

Background Construction projects can be very expensive. Moreover, they often involve a number of specialist technical service providers, some of whom may not be resident in Trinidad and Tobago (“T&T”), and will not be registered for Value Added Tax (“VAT”). For unregistered recipients of vatable services, VAT represents a 12.5% uplift on the overall cost of the Project. But make no mistake: registered receipts of vatable services are also affected…

Issue It is not uncommon for taxpayers to make decisions to treat with certain items of income and / or expense in a manner that can have tax implications spanning over a number of Years of Income. For example, if a taxpayer consistently treats certain purchases required in the furtherance of his business venture as “revenue” as opposed to “capital” expenditure - or certain property related expenses as “repairs” instead…

It is the bane of every taxpayer, and every tax professional who represents taxpayers, to receive the following reason in an "Explanation of (Audit) Adjustments" from the Board of Inland Revenue (the “Revenue”) as the purported justification for why an additional assessment was raised upon the taxpayer: •  “The Company failed to provide adequate documentary evidence to substantiate the claim in respect of XXXXXX”; or •  “The documents presented were…

On October 2, 2017, Trinidad and Tobago's Minister of Finance released his Budget Document entitled "Changing the Paradigm". The following is a summary of the key proposed fiscal measures: Subject Proposed Measure Proposed Date of Implementation Corporation Tax for Commercial Banks Commercial banks will be subject to a flat 35% rate of tax. January 1st 2018 Corporation Tax (Generally) Companies will be subject to a new flat 30% rate of…

Barbados' Minister of Finance, the Rt. Hon. Christopher Sinckler, presented the 2017 Budgetary proposals on Tuesday 30 May 2017.  The proposals were centered around objectives of: Reducing the fiscal deficit; and Protecting and increasing the country's foreign exchange reserve levels. Among many other things, the Minister considered recommendations made by private sector entities in Barbados. The recommendations were inter alia aimed at reducing the Government's level of expenses and increasing…

  Obtaining an Order for Summary Judgement in Tax Appeal Cases   Background A summary judgement is a judgement entered by a court for one party and against another party summarily, i.e., without a full trial. In the absence of an award of summary judgement (or some type of pretrial settlement), a lawsuit ordinarily proceeds to trial. This process can be costly and lengthy. A party applying for summary judgement…