Published 19 August 2020
Buckie Got It, St. Kitts and Nevis News Source
OVER 1600 BUSINESSES BENEFIT FROM COVID-19 STIMULUS MEASURES, SAYS COMPTROLLER OF INLAND REVENUE
Basseterre, St. Kitts, August 19, 2020 (SKNIS): Several strategies have been used to stimulate economic recovery in St. Kitts and Nevis which have resulted in over 1600 businesses benefiting from measures implemented by the government as a result of the economic downturn due to COVID-19.
“We saw the reduction in the tax rates for several businesses, for example, the unincorporated business tax was reduced from four percent to two percent. To date, over 1624 businesses have benefited from this stimulus measure,” said Edward Gift, Comptroller of Inland Revenue during the August 18 edition of ‘Leadership Matters’, a virtual forum on ZIZ TV.
The Corporate Income Tax rate was also reduced from 33 percent to 25 percent for the period April to June 2020 for businesses that retained at least 75 percent of their employees.
The Comptroller said that the department continues to work with businesses to ensure that they are up-to-date with their taxes.
“The Inland Revenue Department under the guidance of the Ministry of Finance has been working with affected businesses to help them stay current with their tax liabilities by allowing them to enter into low-interest payment plans to ease their cash flow situation during this crisis,” he said.
Mr. Gift used the occasion to update the general public on the department’s e-services that have proven very beneficial to many.
“The department has expanded its services with the introduction of a mobile call centre with dedicated staff to assist customers with their online transactions during the pandemic. We expanded our e-services portal to allow for the payment of all taxes to the department. The portal was also expanded to facilitate motor and vehicle licence renewal,” said Mr. Gift.
He noted that to date, St. Kitts and Nevis is the only country in the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) sub-region to have such a facility and only one of two countries in the entire CARICOM region to offer such facility to its citizens.
