EDITORIAL - Lessons to be learnt

The narrative surrounding Elliot Mottley and the then Inland Revenue Department has added to the hot topics surrounding the 2018 General Elections. For those who may have missed it, former Prime Minister Owen Arthur held a press conference on Monday giving his version of events of what transpired or did not transpire when Mr. Mottley had judgement entered against him for owing over $1 millionin taxes, interest and penalties to the Treasury.

So far the discussion has focused on the timeline of events in 1995 and whether Mr. Arthur is correct in his recounting of the matter.

Mr. Mottley has indicated through his attorney-at-law Roger Forde that a defamation case is likely to be pursued against Mr. Arthur. This is his right to exercise under the laws of Barbados.

However, there are wider questions that must be asked, especially since this is the time of the year that politicians are campaigning for their parties: how is it that one individual had outstanding sums to the tune of $20 587.91 and $1 031 284.37?

Are there other individuals or corporations who presently owe the state such high amounts? Shouldn’t that information be made public?

This is a concern that goes beyond the circumstances of this case. For far too long, the state has had an abysmal record of collecting from its creditors. We cannot imagine why this is so. One can only look at the Student Revolving Loan Fund (SRLF) to see that the state has seemingly allowed outrageous amounts of money to be owed to for many years.

A press conference in 2014 revealed that the chronic evasion to the SRLF dated back to the 1980s and 1990s, with pressure exerted on the defaulters around the year 2000.

Despite monies collected at the time, there were further appeals over the years where moral suasion was employed. By 2016, a decision
was taken to name and shame defaulters in the press, months after Minister of Education Ronald Jones indicated the high debt outstanding to the fund – over $30 million dollars at the time. Perhaps a similar tactic should be employed by those who owe a huge backlog of taxes.

Likewise, the state also must acknowledge its responsibilities. It isn’t entirely blameless on paying its own debts. Locally, businesses and individuals are owed VAT and tax returns.

We were told by Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler in February of this year that “the relevant entities (must) find an appropriate and timely solution to the backlog of tax refunds” in a way that does not cause further harm to the economy. We can only hope this promise is honoured.

There is a wider lesson to be learnt from this saga. Successive administrations have not moved as quickly as they should have to recover monies from debtors. Whichever
party forms the next government has to get tough on those who have defaulted on their payments, especially since Barbados has such high debts to service which we are in no position to miss. If we as a country must honour our commitments, so too must those who owe the state.

There really is no excuse any longer.