The Government has been bending over backwards to get the Opposition to support the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA).
While the Opposition recently refused to vote on the Bill unless Government agrees to establish a Joint Select Committee (JSC), Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley sounded a warning that whether the Government got support or not on the Bill, a day of reckoning would come.
Rowley was speaking at a People’s National Movement public meeting, which was attended by Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi and Finance Minister Colm Imbert at the Mt D’Or Community Centre, Champ Fleurs, on Tuesday.
T&T was given until September 30 by the US to come in line with FATCA.
In giving the latest details on FATCA, Al-Rawi said of September 20 “the Treasury Department of the US had told the T&T Government “nothing with respect to our request for an extension of time.”
If we failed to comply with FATCA, Imbert said the United States revenue authority would deduct 30 per cent from every payment made to an entity in the US.
Imbert said under FATCA, all the correspondence banks in the US would stop doing business with T&T. He said T&T could end up like Belize which was deemed uncompliant and could no longer engage in transactions with companies and individuals in the US.
Imbert produced two Cabinet minutes which confirmed that the then People’s Partnership government agreed in 2013 that T&T would “adopt the model one option of the inter-governmental agreement with the US” which enabled compliance with the requirements of FATCA.
Even though the agreement was initialled by then finance minister Larry Howai, Imbert said it was not signed.
Weighing in on the issue, Rowley said if the Opposition refused to vote on the Bill T&T would be faced with a calamity and grave consequences, which Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar was aware of. He said the UNC was putting a gun to the head of T&T.
“Our country is not in a position to bargain with the US. We have no option. We will do everything possible to get them (Opposition) to do what has to be done,” he added.
Rowley said if the JSC could meet on Parliament “they will meet” to facilitate the UNC with the hopes of getting its vote.
“So as of now the deadline may not be attainable. So we are at the mercy of the United States to do with us as they will... like Belize... or they may listen to us an give us an extension which we have no control over. And an extension is not guaranteed.”
Rowley questioned what fear the UNC had with FATCA.
“This will wreck our economy and destroy our country. They believe by not voting for it nothing will happen. I want to put them on notice tonight whether you vote for it or you don’t vote for it a day of reckoning will come,” he added.
Rowley said the Opposition wanted to see the B ill fail and if that had happened, it would have taken six months to come back to Parliament for debate.
The PM said the Opposition was concerned that the Government was giving the US information to help their authorities find tax dollars.