Inniss ready to address concerns

Minister of Industry, International Business, Commerce and Small Business Development, Donville Inniss, admits that there is “quite a bit of confusion” in relation to the National Social Responsibility (NSR) Levy.

 

And the Minister told manufacturers attending a meeting hosted by the Barbados Investment and Development Corporation (BIDC) and the Barbados Revenue Authority (BRA) on Friday, that it merits him and ministerial colleague, Christopher Sinckler, engaging in discussions with the view of finding workable solutions to the challenges they face.

 

“The business community here or any part of the world cannot exist in an atmosphere of uncertainty and this two per cent levy has created a level of uncertainty that as far as I am concerned merits myself and the Minister of Finance, sitting down and having a conversation and giving clear guidelines on the matter,” he said.

 

Inniss made the point as he noted that the intention of the levy was not to cause damage to the local manufacturing sector, but acknowledged the interpretation of how it is to be implemented would cause some damage to that sector if followed through. He was alluding to the concerns from the manufacturers that they would have to charge fellow manufacturers the levy on raw materials, which would put added costs on their products in comparison to imported alternatives.

 

“If there is any increase in the costs of inputs, there would definitely be a higher increase in the cost of outputs. It would also affect your ability to maintain a level of employment; it would also make you uncompetitive in some markets that you seek to go into, including the domestic market. I am not going to bury my head in the sand in respect of that,” he said.

 

He added, “The intention as far as I am concerned was that inputs to be used by manufacturers ought not to attract the two per cent levy. Now the issue here may be a definition of input. Finished goods coming into Barbados do attract the levy, but what is a finished good for one entity might be a raw material necessary for the manufacturing process and I think this is a point we need 

to bring clarity to.”

 

The Industry and Commerce Minister insists that this clarity must be brought to bear, not in a matter of weeks, but hours, so that manufacturers are not disadvantaged. Inniss further suggested that a definition of manufacturer needs to be clarified as well. He made the point while noting that his Ministry is working on having that responsibility for determining who qualifies as a manufacturer transferred to the BIDC or the Ministry of Commerce.

 

Speaking to The Barbados Advocate after the meeting, he said the ambiguity as it relates to the levy is being addressed, indicating that he and Minister Sinckler have been in constant communication about the 

concerns of both the manufacturing sector as well as those manufacturers which are also international business companies.

 

“In creating the policy, the Minister of Finance and his team could not have envisaged all scenarios and I can tell anybody that Minister Sinckler is a listener and a doer. So once scenarios are put before him, he will quickly find a solution to the challenges. In some cases, there may not be a need to change anything; there may be a need to explain how things are to be applied. But I give the assurance that as a Government we are listening; Minister Sinckler and myself are in constant communication on the issues and we will address the concerns in quick time,” he stated.

 

He made the point while noting that he has already made representation to the Minister of Finance regarding international business companies being charged the levy. He said the laws governing that sector are very clear in terms of duties applicable to that sector and he expects that clarity will be offered as soon as it relates to the NSR levy. (JRT)