In a matter of days, shoppers will once again benefit from a major break on the Antigua & Barbuda Sales Tax (ABST).

The head of the marine association is warning that recent gains in the yachting industry could be lost entirely to a sales tax issue.

The closure of Coco Point Lodge in Barbuda at the end of the tourist winter season, last week, has raised concerns that the cash-strapped Barbuda Council will face further financial woes.

Government is reporting significant improvement in sales tax compliance among the country’s top 215 taxpayers, but the man in charge of the Tax Compliance Unit is cautioning that better behaving enterprises does not exactly equate to higher government revenues.

Businesses owed millions of dollars in tax returns are unlikely to get their money any time soon unless other businesses that owe taxes to the government pay up.

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry wants government to introduce a stimulus package for the private sector, a request that follows members reporting that they are facing major challenges in navigating the current economic and financial turmoil.

Government has collected $63 million in taxes for the first quarter of the year – a figure that meets the amount budgeted by the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) for the period.

A claim by Government’s Revenue Implementation Officer Everette Christian that businesses and individuals are withholding taxes might be premature according to Economist Petra Williams.