Government reviewing WHI tax records
Published:Wednesday | May 5, 2021 | 12:21 AM
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An internal review of tax records has started in government following revelations that the Western Hospitality Institute (WHI), a prominent skills training school, declared only six employees in a three-year period in payroll taxes to the HEART/...
An internal review of tax records has started in government following revelations that the Western Hospitality Institute (WHI), a prominent skills training school, declared only six employees in a three-year period in payroll taxes to the HEART/NSTA Trust.
The WHI, whose founder and president, Cecil Cornwall, is a former board member of HEART, declared two employees for 2017, 2018 and 2019 and paid an average monthly contribution of approximately $1,818, a Sunday Gleaner investigation found.
The WHI has three campuses – St James (headquarters); Westmoreland; and Manchester, and up to December 2020 had over 1,200 students.
Though HEART is yet to answer Gleaner questions, officials in the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) have indicated that tax documents are under review “with a view to take any necessary action required”.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness is the minister with responsibility for HEART.
Staff have also been reportedly warned against engaging with the media outside of the established channels.
HEART itself is also likely to face questions over the effectiveness of its systems to ensure records from employers are accurate and, therefore, the taxes to be paid.
There are also concerns at OPM about whether government agencies such as HEART and the education ministry confirmed that WHI had tax compliance certificates before entering into any dealings.
An audit of WHI in mid-2017 reportedly revealed almost a decade of arrears which were cleared through a mass payment almost two years ago.
TRAINING AGENCY
HEART, the state’s multibillion-dollar training agency, is funded by a three per cent tax on employers’ gross monthly wage bill, which is then used to train Jamaicans to meet the needs of industries like tourism.
Employers become eligible to pay HEART contributions when their pre-tax wage bill exceeds $14,444. They get a relief if they have HEART trainees.
Under Section 24 of HEART’s legislation, employers convicted for non-payment of contributions could be asked to pay a fine of $5,000, pay triple the outstanding the amounts or, in default, face imprisonment of up to 12 months.
Those are the same penalties if an employer is found guilty of making false declarations.
The law also empowers HEART to inspect the accuracy of data submitted by employers, including demanding the employment records of all staff.