Sandals to pay VAT, excise taxes

By Demion McTair. Updated 2:02 a.m., Thursday, July 23, 2020, Atlantic Standard Time (GMT-4).

Kingstown, St. Vincent (ONE NEWS SVG) – Sandals Resorts International (SRI), will pay Value Added Tax (VAT), and excise taxes when Beaches Resort becomes operational in St. Vincent.

Finance Minister, Camillo Gonsalves said at the signing ceremony for the contract between Sandals and the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, that most resorts in other countries are exempted from VAT and excise taxes, but Sandals will pay those taxes when Beaches Resort is “fully up and running” in St. Vincent.

“In VAT alone, eight million US dollars is anticipated to be spent”, Gonsalves said.

“Many, without saying anything about other contracts that have been signed, there are many agreements with major hotels that exempt them from VAT, all around the Caribbean, but eight million dollars in VAT will be spent,” Gonsalves said.

“Similarly, there are many agreements that exempt them from excise tax but over $500,000 US dollars of excise tax will be generated by this facility,” the finance minister said.

According to local accounting firm KPMG, the standard rate for Value Added Tax in St. Vincent and the Grenadines is 16-percent, and 11-percent for the hotel sector.