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Corporate Area businesses ‘disappear’ amidst KSAC clampdown
BY CLAUDIENNE EDWARDS Observer writer edwardsc@jamaicaobserver.com
Thursday, December 13, 2012
THE owners of several Corporate Area businesses, who were given an ultimatum by the Kingston and St Andrew Corporation (KSAC) to regularise their operations after they were found to be operating without the necessary permits, have closed their shutters and left town.
Mayor of Kingston Angella Brown Burke disclosed Tuesday that at least 25 per cent of the businesses in downtown Kingston and Cross Roads in St Andrew, visited by the KSAC since it launched its 2012 Trade Licence Compliance Initiative in September, were no longer in operation by the time of the follow-up visit.
Kingston Mayor Angella Brown Burke checks her cellphone as she and Town Clerk Errol Green (centre), a policeman, and members of the fire and Tax Administration departments (not seen) walk a street in downtown Kingston last month as part of the Kingston and St Andrew Corporation’s clampdown on businesses operating illegally in the city. (Photo: Shawn Barnes)
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"Twenty five per cent of the stores have disappeared by the time the KSAC came to do its second round. They no longer exist. When you go back it's a new business," the mayor told the corporation's monthly meeting.
However, she said, despite the compliance drive, some 80 per cent of businesses still in operation are not registered or paying General Consumption Tax.
"It's unfair to businesses who pay their fee. It's unfair to the municipality which needs the revenue," the mayor declared.
She said that compliance, which was 10 per cent before the initiative began, has increased to 20 per cent. An estimated $8.7 million in revenue was collected between September and November.
On Sunday, a KSAC notice published in the print media listed the names and addresses of 58 delinquent business operators. The notice warned that "failure to comply within five working days of the notice will result in legal action".
However one of the listed businesses, LP Azar, has since denied that it had been delinquent, telling the Jamaica Observer that its fees had been fully paid and that it had a trade licence valid until March 31, 2013.
Meanwhile, the mayor announced that an assessment would be done on KSAC's rodent eradication programme in New Kingston. She commended businesses that participated and said that the assessment could be used in arranging programmes for other communities.
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/...#ixzz2Ew98kaXm
BY CLAUDIENNE EDWARDS Observer writer edwardsc@jamaicaobserver.com
Thursday, December 13, 2012
THE owners of several Corporate Area businesses, who were given an ultimatum by the Kingston and St Andrew Corporation (KSAC) to regularise their operations after they were found to be operating without the necessary permits, have closed their shutters and left town.
Mayor of Kingston Angella Brown Burke disclosed Tuesday that at least 25 per cent of the businesses in downtown Kingston and Cross Roads in St Andrew, visited by the KSAC since it launched its 2012 Trade Licence Compliance Initiative in September, were no longer in operation by the time of the follow-up visit.
Kingston Mayor Angella Brown Burke checks her cellphone as she and Town Clerk Errol Green (centre), a policeman, and members of the fire and Tax Administration departments (not seen) walk a street in downtown Kingston last month as part of the Kingston and St Andrew Corporation’s clampdown on businesses operating illegally in the city. (Photo: Shawn Barnes) 1/1 "Twenty five per cent of the stores have disappeared by the time the KSAC came to do its second round. They no longer exist. When you go back it's a new business," the mayor told the corporation's monthly meeting.
However, she said, despite the compliance drive, some 80 per cent of businesses still in operation are not registered or paying General Consumption Tax.
"It's unfair to businesses who pay their fee. It's unfair to the municipality which needs the revenue," the mayor declared.
She said that compliance, which was 10 per cent before the initiative began, has increased to 20 per cent. An estimated $8.7 million in revenue was collected between September and November.
On Sunday, a KSAC notice published in the print media listed the names and addresses of 58 delinquent business operators. The notice warned that "failure to comply within five working days of the notice will result in legal action".
However one of the listed businesses, LP Azar, has since denied that it had been delinquent, telling the Jamaica Observer that its fees had been fully paid and that it had a trade licence valid until March 31, 2013.
Meanwhile, the mayor announced that an assessment would be done on KSAC's rodent eradication programme in New Kingston. She commended businesses that participated and said that the assessment could be used in arranging programmes for other communities.
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/...#ixzz2Ew98kaXm