During the House of Assembly the Deputy Premier & Minister of Finance, Investment & Trade, the Hon. E.Jay Saunders spoke on the written off business licence arrears given in a previous sitting.
Mr. Speaker,
I would like to start my presentation off with a quote by Mr. Rob Cohen. He stated that: “no one should go their entire lives saddled with unmanageable debts. It’s OK to ask for help once you’ve run out of options.”
In November, our Government, the people’s Government, launched, what we called the “Cruise Tourism Sector Assistance Programme”. We did this because we recognize that the tourism sector here in the nation’s Capital needs economic assistance, as a result of it being severely impacted due to the cruise port being shut down due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. This was not their fault Mr. Speaker. And our Government feel their pain!!!
As a caring Government Mr. Speaker, we knew that we had to approve “a limited” stimulus in order to:
1. maintain the industry, and mostly importantly
2. to help existing vendors prepare for the revival of the cruise-ship industry, which as we all know, started today.
And Mr. Speaker, to qualify for this stimulus, the Applicant must be a Turks and Caicos Islander or British Overseas Territory Citizen, or the business must be majority owned by Turks and Caicos Islander(s).
Let me be clear Mr. Speaker, this Motion is to help Turk & Caicos owned business get back on their feet and to go from surviving to thriving.
Mr. Speaker, this stimulus programme was launched on the 15th November 2021 and it ran until the 26th November 2021, with applicants having until the 13th December 2021 to submit all outstanding documentation. Mr. Speaker, for yours and the public’s consumption, I want to say that out of the 135 applications received, only 12 (or 9%) were declined, with 74 (or 55%) having already receive their approvals. Mr. Speaker, that’s money in the bank for those businesses!!!
Notwithstanding everything I said previously Mr. Speaker, in looking at the Programme, it was found that while many businesses were able to pay up their business license fees, unfortunately, a significant number of businesses were and are still unable to do so. As a result, Mr. Speaker, penalties have been accruing on a monthly basis at a rate of ten percent (10%) for each month, or part of each month, business license fees remain not paid up. In addition Mr. Speaker, those businesses faced an additional hardship, as their outstanding business license renewal restricted them from applying for the Cruise Tourism Sector Assistance Programme, due to one of the criteria being that businesses show proof that their licenses were paid up. To help these businesses, and Mr. Speaker it is the right thing to do, the People’s Government, our Government has seen it fit to wave the business license fee penalties.
Mr. Speaker, before a Bill (or Motion in this case) makes its way to this Honorable House for debate, it must pass through Cabinet, and before it gets to Cabinet, it is sent out for comments from various Heads of Departments. I would like to read one of the comments, which states that:
“There is a burden that comes with insurmountable debt, particularly during times of financial struggles. If approved, the write off can serve as an incentive to businesses and afford them the opportunity to start afresh.” .
Mr. Speaker, I agree with that sentiment wholeheartedly. By bringing this Motion to this Honorable House today, our caring Government, the People’s Government, is giving businesses a fresh start, which as Minister of Finance, I am honored and am happy to do. As the guardian of the Public’s Purse, Mr. Speaker, it is also my moral obligation to always look out for the people of the Turks & Caicos Islands. With that Mr. Speaker:
I beg leave to lay on the Table of this Honourable House in accordance with S.O. 32, and S.O. 49.1 (b):THE GOVERNMENT OF THE TURKS & CAICOS ISLANDS MOTION NO. 3 OF 2021
· WRITE OFF OF BUSINESS LICENSE ARREARS (PENALTIES)
Thank you.
