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CCNTV6
  • 8 months ago
Some people have been wondering what is the government's plan in light of its decision to repeal the Trinidad and Tobago Revenue Authority Act.


That answer was forthcoming, as the Kamla Persad-Bissessar-led Cabinet met for the first time.


Alicia Boucher tells us more.
Transcript
00:00It's out with the TNT Revenue Authority and a continuation of the Board of Inland Revenue, but with some changes.
00:08The announcement comes from Prime Minister Kamala Passat-Bissasa.
00:11In keeping with government's stated policy, this government's policy,
00:16government will focus on resources, on strengthening the BIR,
00:21instead of spending to establish this failure of a TTRA.
00:26In this regard, the following measures will be explored.
00:31Strengthening the composition of the BIR by increasing the number of commissioners.
00:37We will also give consideration to including non-public officers as commissioners,
00:46as this will allow for greater expertise to be included in the BIR's governance structure.
00:51The Prime Minister says amendments will be made to the Income Tax Act,
00:55mandating the BIR to host board meetings on a monthly basis.
01:01Establish subcommittees for greater management.
01:04Establish timelines for the BIR to deliberate on important matters.
01:09Notify the Minister of Finance on important matters,
01:15excluding taxpayer information.
01:16And I'll come back to that in a moment.
01:20And to establish policy in the Inland Revenue Division and other matters.
01:25Establish a corporate secretariat in the BIR to allow for proper governance and record keeping.
01:31According to the Prime Minister, the Inland Revenue Division will see a full complement of staff,
01:37risk management and compliance improvements.
01:39Establish a special committee will be established.
01:43We violate and make proposals for an effective suite of measures
01:46to enable citizens, of course, to comply with the law.
01:52Passat-Bissessa states that only 32.6% of public officers bought into the TTRA,
01:59which she views as an abysmal failure.
02:01She expressed concerns over the TTRA legislation.
02:05They placed into the law a bill that was brought to the Parliament some very dangerous provisions.
02:12And we have already seen evidence how dangerous those provisions could have become.
02:17And what that was is they were weaponizing private data to attack those they didn't like
02:25or to attack and vilify those they felt were not in their own fold, in their own party.
02:32And we saw it with Derek Chin.
02:33She states that the UNC, when it was in opposition, just could not support it.
02:38Alicia Boucher, TV6 News.
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