Govt changes BIR board structure; PNM warns of political control

Finance Minister Davendranath Tancoo has announced that the Board of Inland Revenue will be reconstituted and expanded to nine commissioners as part of amendments to the Income Tax Act.

The new board will include six public officers from the Inland Revenue Division, up from the previous five. It will also now include an attorney with at least ten years’ experience, an accountant with at least ten years’ experience, and a permanent secretary from the Ministry of Finance serving as an ex officio commissioner.

Tancoo yesterday told Parliament that the President will appoint the professional members and the permanent secretary, while the chairman will continue to be selected from among the public officers of the Inland Revenue Division.

“This new structure strengthens the professional capability and capacity of the board, ensures the presence of specialised legal and accounting expertise and aligns the governance of our tax administration with best practice,” he said.

The legislation also introduces a new governance framework through the insertion of sections 3A to 3E of the act. These provisions require the board to meet monthly, keep proper minutes and decisions, and establish committees in key areas such as risk management, audit and taxpayer compliance.

New conflict of interest rules will also apply, including the creation of an offence carrying a penalty of $500,000 and two years’ imprisonment for wilful non-disclosure. The board will also be required to submit an annual report on its activities to the Minister of Finance, which will also be laid in Parliament.

“Overall, we are confident, Mr Speaker, that these reforms improve oversight, efficiency, integrity in decision-making and promote transparency and accountability throughout the tax system,” Tancoo said.

However, Opposition MP Brian Manning, a former minister in the Ministry of Finance, rejected the changes and accused the Government of attempting to politicise the board.

“Clause 15 of the bill would amend the Income Tax Act, Chapter 75:01, to revise the structure and procedures of the Board of Inland Revenue. Mister Speaker, when I say revise the structure and procedures of the Board of Inland Revenue, they basically mean installing their political appointees on the Board of Inland Revenue, another supposedly independent institution,” Manning said.

“This Minister of Finance is arrogating powers unto himself, unto himself, Mister Speaker, that he has no business doing,” he added.

Manning questioned the minister’s intentions, asking, “What does the Minister of Finance want to access at the Board of Inland Revenue?”

He also referenced the now-defunct Trinidad and Tobago Revenue Authority, saying, “We had the TTRA, Mister Speaker, which was supposed to democratise tax collection in this country. They destroyed that. They said that it was politically influenced… The Privy Council said something entirely different.”

He accused the Government of inconsistency, adding, “So after scrapping that institution, claiming that it was politically influenced, here we have the Minister of Finance attempting to force two of his political appointees onto the previously independent Board of Inland Revenue.”