Sumner: waiver is “a great concern”
Edison Sumner, chief executive of the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation, is asking the Bahamian government to “give further consideration” to making web shop gaming exempt from a value-added tax, reports the Bahamas Tribune Business News.
The revised 7.5 per cent VAT Bill lists a number of activities that will not be taxed, including “games of chance (and) gambling and lotteries, which fall under the existing Lotteries and Gaming Act.
“A great concern is making the gaming industry exempt from VAT,” Sumner said. “The gaming sector has been operating in the informal economy for a long time, and is now coming close to legalization. To make them exempt is something the government should look at again.”
Prime Minister Perry Christie has decided gaming at both casino and web shops should be VAT-exempt because the sector is already taxed under its own special structure, the Tribune Business reported.
That argument does not persuade Sumner, who noted that many other businesses will have to pay taxes under their own special structures as well as the VAT.
“The fact they’re taxed under other legislation should not exempt them from paying VAT like other businesses,” he said. “Also, with games of chance, web shops have been making large profits from the community for many years. They should pay whatever taxes the government levies on them. They shouldn’t be exempt from paying VAT even if they’re paying under other legislation.”
