Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 27/12/2025 03:44

Suffering to pay taxes

THE EDITOR: I would like the chairman of the Board of Inland Revenue to explain to the taxpaying public why business owners are being chased to the Warden Office to remit taxes (business levy, Green Fund levy and health surcharge) to the board. It has been years that the south office in particular has been claiming to be short-staffed. There is frequently only one cashier, who closes the window and tells clients to sit until they are called. Given that most of the document preparation and forms are already being facilitated via an online platform, thereby freeing up workload on staff, is it really that difficult to ensure that the office is equipped to do the minimum – which is to receive payments? There is already no form of parking at the south location and the cashier is closed from noon to 1 pm. At 11.30 am, staff begin redirecting clients to the Warden Office because "the cashier is closing for lunch at 12 and may not be able to finish the line." When you returns at 1 pm, you are told to sit and wait for the cashier to call you. What nonsense is this? Why must business owners suffer to give the government what belongs to it? Didn't public servants recently receive the ten per cent they requested? Why should the public be begging them to serve when this is what they signed up for? There are thousands of unemployed citizens out there who are willing and able to work. Why has this office been understaffed for years? Why must a business owner take three hours to remit their taxes? Most importantly, why hasn't a ten per cent increase in salary equate to a ten per cent increase in productivity? JENIEVE ALEXANDER via e-mail The post Suffering to pay taxes appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.