The Barbados Bankers Association (BBA) shoots down a proposal by the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) to guarantee VAT settlement refunds for hoteliers.

The BHTA has expressed its concern over the “tens of millions of dollars of VAT refunds” that are owed to them and “critical for their operations.” They suggested that the banks would pay the refunds on behalf of the Government and collect their monies at a later date. Their argument is that the banks have excess liquidity.

The BBA, in response, has indicated that this “vision” is doomed to fail because the banks have “no confidence in the Government’s ability to pay on time.” They maintain that banks have a responsibility to depositors not to engage loans that they believe will go bad.

Link: https://www.barbadostoday.bb/2017/03/09/banks-wont-take-up-vat-payments-to-hotels/