Afraid of the Tax Man? New Bill Targets Small Businesses
Small business owners could soon face fewer regulatory hurdles under proposed legislation that would consolidate payments and reporting requirements across several government agencies.
The Micro-Enterprise and Entrepreneur Support Bill is expected to introduce a one-stop system for business regulatory processes. It would reduce the need for entrepreneurs to navigate separate requirements for business tax, trade licences and company registration.
Prime Minister John Briceño announced the bill at this year’s EntreCon conference.
“All of a sudden, you miss one lee line and then they come at you with all kind of penalties and all kind of interest,” Briceño said as he recognised the frustration and fear business owners have against the tax department.
“Everybody afraid for the tax people them,” Briceño added. “ All of a sudden, you miss one lee line and then they come at you with all kind of penalties and all kind of interest.”
He argued that the tax system should ensure businesses meet their obligations without unnecessarily penalising those who make honest mistakes.
Meanwhile, Director of Investment Policy and Compliance Unit Lincoln Blake says the bill would replace multiple payments with a standard fee “that they would be able to pay, just like a trade licence,” Blake said. The fee would be capped by category, based on a business’s sales.
Reporting would also be simplified. Blake says regulators currently ask small businesses for the same information. Under the bill, a business would send its information to one location, which would share it with the other agencies.
Payments would work the same way.
“We have, like, four different agencies collecting from these small entities,” Blake said. One agency would collect a single, discounted payment and distribute it to the others.
The bill would create a one-stop desk covering business tax, trade licences and the Companies Registry.
“So we’re trying to make it easy for them so that they have more time to make money,” Blake said.