Mascoll: Lift tax off bands

Crop Over bands should be given special tax consideration says Dr Clyde Mascoll, the Barbados Labour Party’s spokesman on economic affairs.
He explained that while businesses are expected to register for VAT their annual revenue exceeds $80 000 or if it is pursuing profit, Crop Over bands are “uniquely special and seasonal”.
“Has the government become so bankrupt that it is prepared to kill our major cultural festival in the future?” Mascoll queried in a statement issued yesterday.
Last week several officers of the Barbados Revenue Authority visited band houses in effort to get leaders to comply with their tax obligations to the Government. That prompted President of the Barbados Association of Masqueraders (BAM), Chetwyn Stewart to complain about the last minute assault by BRA.
But Mascoll said the latest move by the government continues to baffle the public about its approach to public and tax policy. (AC)