This week, we will look at the VAT readiness checklist which can assist businesses in determining their level of readiness for VAT implementation. The list is not at all exhaustive but provides some guidelines of some of the issues which businesses should be looking at.
The Government of St. Lucia recently announced the introduction of VAT on September 1, 2012. This announcement did not come as a surprise to most business development watchers in St. Lucia and around the OCES. St. Lucia remains the only OECS state which has not introduced the VAT and with the pressure mounting from the international financial organizations, it was only a matter of time for the VAT to be introduced here, irrespective of the party in power.
If history is to be our guide, it is safe to assume that the VAT will be implemented, come September 1 and with only four months to go, businesses and organizations may want to begin to prepare for that magic date. Yes, there are many challenges to be faced with the implementation by September 1, but one must also remember that this talk about VAT being implemented in St. Lucia has been around for a few years and with an economy which is not doing so well and international lenders who are insisting on tax reform as a condition for receiving assistance which may get the country out of the recession, there is more to gain by embracing the opportunities which September 1 can bring, rather than to focus mainly on the challenges ahead.
Let us talk VAT!