By the Caribbean Journal staff

Continuing its preparation for the implementation of VAT in September, the St Lucian government is holding a series of discussions with stakeholder groups to ensure that the interest of all sectors are attended to.

This week, Adria Rose Sonson, the new project coordinator of the VAT Implementation Project office, along with other members of the office, met with representatives of St Lucia’s Ministry of Commerce to discuss ways the government can support small enterprise.

According to Sonson, the dialogue was a “brainstorming session” with a focus on capacity building for microenterprise and the informal business sector.

“When you think of micro business in relation to how VAT works to streamline and simplify the collection of tax, any facilitation designed to bring them on to the system must also strengthen their own internal accounting methods and record keeping,” Sonson said. “Our consideration is to identify what types and levels of facilitation government can reasonably provide that makes the transition as seamless for microbusinesses and with as little impact on their pockets as possible.”

The office also held talks this week with the Executive of the St Lucia Hotel and Tourism Association to asses the hospitality sector’s readiness for VAT implementation.