Senior Reporter
geisha.kowlessar@guardian.co.tt
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has given Finance Minister Colm Imbert instructions to move on with plans to fully establish the T&T Revenue Authority (TTRA). And he is also warning the Public Services Association (PSA) and certain politicians that if they continue to stand in the way of Government’s “reasonable actions” in trying to ensure the country’s revenue streams are robust, T&T is going to end up in a situation “in the not too distant future” where the Government’s revenues will be insufficient to pay the country’s bills.
Rowley made the comment when asked about the PSA’s move to head to the Privy Council following the Court of Appeal’s ruling on Tuesday that the T&T Revenue Act is valid and constitutional and also does not breach the constitutional rights of public officers, paving the way for Government to forge ahead with its plans for the TTRA.
Speaking after the launch of the Overwatch Cyber Fusion Centre at the Brix Hotel, Port-of-Spain, Rowley said he was “disappointed at the poor level of leadership at the PSA” but had since Imbert to move on with plans to fully establish the authority.
“I’ve instructed the Minister of Finance to proceed. No more waiting to see what the court will say. The court has spoken at the level of the High Court at the level of the Appeal Court. We will proceed. Of course, they have the right to go to the Privy Council and if they do that they will incur more costs by taxpayers. Let’s go see what Englishman says,” Rowley said.
Appellate Judges Nolan Bereaux, Charmaine Pemberton, and Mira Dean-Armorer on Tuesday rejected an appeal brought by PSA member and customs officer Terrisa Dhoray, over the dismissal of her case by High Court Judge Westmin James in November last year.
However, with the PSA filing a petition to go to the Privy Council, the Appeal Court will now have to consider whether there is a disputable issue to be determined before the union is allowed to proceed to the country’s highest court.
Reiterating his disappointment in the PSA’s decision to take the matter further, the PM said, “And when at the end of the month, the same PSA that has now cost us I would say billions of dollars, because you will notice that the minister of finance held his hand and did not move forward, waited until decisions in the court were made, went to the Appeal Court, we waited for the appeal to come out. Now that the appeal has come, it is crystal clear there is no legal breach and if the PSA decides to use their right to go to court to further delay all that is happening here is their attempt to prevent the Government from collecting revenue that has been earned already because bear in mind, nobody pays tax unless you have earned profits.”
He added this means the profits have already been earned and the tax is now due on the profit.
“What is this excessive attempt to prevent that from being collected?... In the case of the PSA workers working for the State, what is it you want to tell your employer? Where you could work and who should make you work where?
“... All of us know when you go to buy a tyre in a shop there is a VAT bill collected by whom? So you know this is happening, but you’re going to the court to argue what?” Rowley reiterated.
He again warned that if there is success in this attempt, when revenues are not collected to run the country and “we reach a point where we cannot service the country, all of them will not be able to help anybody”.
“They are all about themselves because I cannot for the life of me understand how public servants and the leadership could believe that it’s something good to block tax collection in the country. I cannot understand that. I understand the UNC position because they want mayhem in the country and in a serious, in a situation of mayhem and aggravation and bad-talking and everything, they believe that their political chips will be lifted,” Rowley added.