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Sales Tax Sets The Record Straight
posted (April 12, 2017)

Last night we showed you the letter from GST Officer Elmer Reyes.  He wrote the Solicitor General a four page letter saying that there were irregularities and inconsistencies in the tax assessment procedures used the by the department. The most disturbing part of his letter is that he said the department would manipulate tax methodologies to charge businesses as much as possible.  

It’s a sharp indictment of the department and what makes it even more damning is that it comes in the from within the department.  

Well the Ministry of Finance sent out a release today mostly to respond to the Chamber of Commerce which has demanded an investigation of the Department’s tax assessment procedures.  In it, the Ministry rejects “any suggestion of manipulation on the part of the GST Senior Management of any Audit carried out by mid-level to lower level GST Auditors.â€￾  It adds that the Commissioner of GST is responsible for the administration of the GST, including the review and approval of audits.  The release says the Commissioner can make, quote, “any adjustments or choice of methodology that may be required in the course of such review.â€￾  And, the ministry adds to this position the opinion of the Solicitor General, Nigel Hawke. Â As he put it regarding GST Officer Elmer Reyes, quote, â€œ…it is highly improper for a (regular) Officer to challenge the method of assessment recommended by (senior) Management/ Supervisor of Audit and it is an attempt to bring a major revenue department into disrepute …â€￾  

But more than just having the authority to make a review, the Ministry notes that the power given to the Commissioner is “absolutely necessaryâ€￾ since she acts as, quote, “an ultimate backstop.â€￾ The Ministry takes its own shot at the business community saying this is needed, quote, “because there have been cases…where taxpayers have sought to collude with GST staff to procure audit outcomes favourable to the taxpayer and resulting in the revenue being deprived of its rightful tax take.â€￾

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