NEWS
Illegal Taxes
Leader of Government Business, Franklin Khan, said Government was taking this course of action because of legal advice it received from the Treasury Solicitor. This prompted Opposition Senator Wade Mark to accuse the Government of imposing illegal taxes on the population and signalling the Opposition’s intention to challenge the matter legally. Following the adjournment, Finance Minister Colm Imbert dismissed Mark’s allegations. He said all taxes are being collected in accordance with the law. He also said the opinion of the Treasury Solicitor was sought, “just to confirm that our understanding of the law is correct.” The Bill and the three motions were passed in the House of Representatives on November 9. Before the debate could begin on the Bill and the motions, Khan said Government had intended to debate those matters yesterday but, “we got an opinion from the Treasury Solicitor.” Quoting part of the Treasury Solicitor’s opinion, Khan said, “In the interim, I am of the view that the Provisional Collection of Taxes Order 2016, continues in operation and will continue in operation until Finance Bill Number Three and the relevant orders 2016, completes its full passage in the Parliament and the Act is assented to by the President. Read more here
Six cops arrested in $400,000 robbery
Six police officers who allegedly used a police vehicle and tactical gear to commit a $400,000 robbery last week have been arrested. One of the six was arrested last Friday hours after the robbery. He allegedly confessed to the crime that same day and squealed on the identities of his five accomplices. The robbery was captured on closed circuit television cameras which was posted and viewed on several social media sites. The officers are attached to the Northern Division. The robbery occurred at the home of businessman Wei Hui Zhu at Soledad Road, Claxton Bay. Footage showed a marked police vehicle with lights flashing at the gate of the businessman. Three suspects emerged from that vehicle, police said. Read more here
Toddler drowns in family pool
The family of little Sephra Sankar was still trying to come to terms with her death yesterday, hours after she drowned in the family’s pool. Undetected by her mother, Sephra, a year-and-four-month-old toddler, also known as “Scoochie,” ventured into the yard and fell into the pool on Monday evening and drowned. She was taken to the Chaguanas Health Facility but was pronounced dead on arrival. Police said between 1.45 pm and 2 pm, Sephra went missing from inside her Las Lomas home and when her mother, Freeda Cruickshank, went looking she found her floating in the pool. Acting Cpl Gopaul, PC Phillips and a party of officers visited the scene and the child’s body was taken to the San Fernando Mortuary for an autopsy. Read more here
POLITICS
Kamla stands by $12M contract claim
Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar, on Monday stood by her claim that it was under a People’s National Movement (PNM) Administration that a top government official’s wife had received a hefty contract from the Housing Development Corporation (HDC). Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley had denied this claim and has alleged that the deal was done under a former United National Congress (UNC) regime, but Persad-Bissessar dug her heels in, addressing a UNC local government election campaign meeting in Sangre Grande. She claimed the $12 million contract was awarded without tender and incurred 150 percent in cost-overruns, as she denied Rowley’s claim that she is confused about the facts. “While the millions of dollars are being paid out to a few, those are the dollars that can feed a child, those are the dollars that could have saved a life, those are the dollars that could have prevented a death, but it is millions to some and zero-zero-zero to the many,” she said. Read more here
Decision on Prakash’s appeal against brother reserved
Former Congress of the People (COP) political leader Prakash Ramadhar is appealing the decision of a High Court judge who ordered him to pay $255,000 in compensation to his estranged brother and two other COP members for defamation. Chief Justice Ivor Archie and appellate judges Gregory Smith and Prakash Moosai yesterday reserved their decision in the appeal after hearing submissions from Ramadhar’s attorneys and those for his brother Kishore, Rudolph Hanamji and Satu-Ann Ramcharan. A date for their decision will be announced by the court over the next few weeks. In his appeal, Ramadhar is claiming that Justice Vasheist Kokaram misinterpreted his statements when he ruled that he (Ramadhar) had defamed the trio in December last year. Read more here
Rowley a lot more positive about 2017
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley is confident about Trinidad and Tobago’s economic prospects going into the new year. He says once oil and gas prices do not fall to where they were earlier this year, he is “a lot more positive about 2017”. Rowley was speaking to reporters following a local government election campaign walkabout in St Joseph on Monday. Asked to comment on the Central Bank Governor’s projection last week of a resumption in economic growth in early 2017, he said: “We have a little bit of a mix-up between the Central Statistical Office data and the Central Bank’s data, and that is attracting the attention of the Government at the moment. So while the numbers themselves are a matter of concern, overall, the gross picture is that we are about to be a little more positive in 2017. Read more here
BUSINESS
Assuria Group director: TT possesses growth opportunities
Despite the economic difficulties presently gripping the Caribbean region, a director of the Assuria Group, Suriname’s largest financial institution, has expressed the belief that the Trinidad and Tobago market possesses opportunities for growth and investment. Assuria Insurances, a member of the Assuria Group, took over two Trinidadian companies - Gulf Insurance Ltd in April 2013 and Mega Insurance Company Limited in 2015. The Assuria Group is a holding company comprising five operating companies: a life insurance company, a general insurance company, a medical insurance company and two investment companies, the first of which invests in the international capital market and the second in Surinamese companies. Speaking to reporters following the re-opening of Gulf Insurance’s San Fernando branch, Assuria Group commercial director, Mario Merhai, stated that an assessment had been undertaken by the Group before making its investments in 2013. “From the moment we decided that we would invest in the Trinidad and Tobago market, that in itself was a sign of confidence because we access the current state of the market and the future developments,” Merhai said. Read more here
Gambling Bill flawed
The T&T Members Club Association (TTMCA) is warning that in its current form the Gambling (Gaming and Betting) Control Bill, 2016, which goes to Parliament for debate from Friday, will result on the virtual shut down of the local gaming industry and massive job losses. In a statement yesterday, the group said while it had been lobbying for legislation to properly and fairly regulate the industry, the Bill contains several clauses they considered to be flawed. They want the legislation to go before a Joint Select Committee before it is debated. The TTMCA said it had more than a year to study the Bill and to get legal advice. They are appealing to the Government to ensure a good law is passed to properly regulate the industry. Read more here
Stop the soft touch
Government’s boast that its most recent tax amnesty yielded $750 million, and Finance Minister Colm Imbert’s quip, “it seems that quite a few don’t pay taxes”, are manifestations of the multiple deficiencies in our tax collection agencies and the cavalier approach to this gaping hole by successive governments. This amnesty, which allowed delinquent taxpayers to make good on their debts to the Board of Inland Revenue and the VAT Division without having to pay interest incurred for late payment and possibly penalties, was the fourth or fifth such “forgiveness” exercise since 2000.
REGIONAL
Panama Papers law firm fined $440,000 by BVI regulator
The British Virgin Islands independent regulator, the Financial Services Commission (FSC), has fined the local arm of the Panama Papers law firm, Mossack Fonseca, $440,000 for its contravention of numerous sections of the Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Code of Practice and BVI Regulatory Code. The fine, which is the largest ever issued by the FSC, relates specifically to failures in record keeping, risk assessment and adequate updating of customer due diligence by Mossack Fonseca & Co (BVI) Limited. Commenting, Premier Dr Orlando Smith, said, “Today’s enforcement action clearly demonstrates the effectiveness of the territory’s independent regulator, the seriousness with which it tackles any breaches of its code and, through the adjustments made to its risk assessment framework, an ongoing commitment to strengthening its regime to ensure this remains fit for purpose.” Read more here
Toughing It Out ... Women Are More Likely Than Men To Check With Their Doc Once A Year
When it comes to health care, Devaughn Colquhoun is a typical Jamaican male. He sees a doctor only when he absolutely has to. "I know how I feel," said Colquhoun, a 30-year-old management accountant with the Jamaica Constabulary Force. "So unless something is very serious or there is something irregular, like an issue with the heart, that's when you find me going to the doctor to find out what could go wrong." He adds: "It's not a fear; it's just not priority for me." Indeed, Colquhoun's attitude is borne out by pollster Bill Johnson in a Gleaner-commissioned survey on Jamaicans' approach to personal health management, and the perspectives on the island's health-care system. It showed that women are nearly one and a half times (65 per cent to 48 per cent) more likely than men to have a check with their doctor once a year. But while women are more proactive about check-ups, the survey, conducted in September, suggested that Jamaicans as a whole are not very good at it. Only 57 per cent said they see a doctor, even without an obvious ailment; 41 per cent didn't. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
France's Macron joins presidential race to 'unblock France'
Donald Trump's team of bitter rivals
Donald Trump's turbulent transition already suggests that the instinctive off-the-cuff leadership style that powered his outsider campaign is a prototype of the impromptu approach he will adopt from inside the Oval Office. He hires people, he fires people, he sets them against one another, he says things and takes them back, with the chaos often unfolding in real time on cable TV. It happened in the campaign and there's no reason to think his presidency won't be the same. Read more here
16th November 2016