CABINET NOTES: The Cabinet took note of the profitability reported by the Central Marketing Corporation (CMC) that has been recent.
The Cabinet opined that the original vision of the CMC was for it to purchase agricultural produce from farmers, in order to ensure that they had a market for their goods.
CMC has evolved and now imports a variety of goods; it attracts wholesalers, supermarkets, and other large purchasers, making it a successful enterprise.
The Cabinet asked the Comptroller of Customs to undertake a study that would indicate the extent to which waiver of duty and other taxes on imported items have led to a profitable CMC.
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BRIXTONIAN’S ALTERNATIVE CABINET MEETING
[The Prime Minister “dancing abroad” in Samoa 🇼🇸 and Chet Greene is running tings in his absence]
Chet Greene: “Welcome to one and all. Bwoy, me like sitting at the top table – it feels nice and comfortable!”
Maria Browne 👩🏽: “My dawling husband asked me to keep an eye on you …”
CG: “Don’t worry yourself Maria, I’m just keeping he seat warm for he” [Chet looks around at the other cabinet members and gives them a ‘knowing’ wink😉]
Charles ‘Max’ Fernández: “Fellow cabinet members, we must quash these rumours that’s running rife throughout the country that we are unhappy with the Prime Minister”
Steadroy Benjamin: “I’m in agreement with you Charles. Even though one or two of you in this room are the main instigators”
Daryl Matthew’s: “Why are you looking at me ‘Cutie’?
SB: “As Bob Marley once sang Daryl 🎶🎤 ‘If The Cap Fits, Mek Dem Wear it…'”🎶
CG: “I’m enjoying this meeting, and this beautiful leather chair – can I call another meeting before Gaston returns?”
[The whole room erupts with laughter except for Maria Browne, whose face is distorted with rage]
CHET CALLS AN END TO THE HILARITY
A study on all concessions is what of needed and a clear policy on how concessions are to be granted and vetted….as it stands now civil servants just rubber stamp whatever the minister signs.
Recalled in 2014 when there was a change of government the new Finance Minister put an immediate end to the ABST concessions that Sandals was getting, stating that it was illegal, not base on law. The question must be ask…No one at the Inland Revenue Department knew that the concessions were illegal? No one at the ministry of Finance knew that the concessions were illegal? Customs? Legality is not base on which party is in power but on the law. It cannot be legal under Lovell and illegal under Browne.
I challenge the current administration to undertake a review or a study on the system of concessions ( especially exemption on ABST on vehicles) ….this would reveal an iceberg that could sink a hundred titanic
CMC is not a successful enterprise- it is a cheating enterprise. By that I mean that they are given duty free concessions on good, containers of goods which they resale to other wholesalers. In other words they are robbing the country of custom revenue. I have inside knowledge of this from years ago, under this same manager Ms.M. They were actually at one point allowing a particular wholesaler to bring in containers in their name- duty free.
Cabinet you don’t need no comptroller of customs to investigate this – unless the investigation might lead to bigger “bubull”.
Mr. Controller the only duty free concessions , CMC should be receiving is on Agriculture supplies which they should be passing on to the farmers. Mr. Controller please check out their markup and really see if they are passing on the duty free concessions.
Then what about a total audit of the entire establishment????????
IS THIS REALLY A JOB FOR THE COMPTROLLER OF CUSTOMS, REALLY? THE BOOK ENTITLED ” CORRUPTION & LUNACY” WRITTEN BY N. BURNETTE, pg 134 THIS IS WHAT THE AUTHOR SAYS ABOUT THE CUSTOMS DEPARTMENT ” THERE IS INHERENT CORRUPTION IN THE DEPARTMENT…AND IT GOES ALL THE WAY TO THE VERY TOP,” SO I ASK AGAIN ….IS THIS REALLY A JOB FOR THE COMPTROLLER OF CUSTOMS?
frankly speaking October 26, 2024 At 9:14 am
I agree with you 1000% and I would lay out my case in a subsequent post
Sometime ago as I was listening to the ever popular Browne and Browne show on Pointe FM, I heard the PM bragging about CMC making so much money and that he was going to borrow some money from them. In then heard someone questioning the PM about this asking him whether or not it is only poor people buying from CMC. The word on the street is, and I have gone to witness this, is that lots of businesses are buying from CMC. And why not. After-all CMC is DUTY Free and ABST Free Shopping. The Hotels have making use of this and so do the restaurants. The sad thing is the prices in the hotels and the restaurant do not reflect the cheap produce they purchase from CMC. In the meantime, the government is THE big loser. The loss of revenues at the port is only reflected in the earnings that CMC now claims as profit. CMC is not a well thought out project to assist poor people. One suggestion is to stop the wholesale sales of goods. Another thing is to limit the items that CMC can bring in Duty Free. Items which are Zero Rated anyway. CMC should be charging ABST on items that attract ABST, and also pay ABST at the port on these items. Where CMC should differ from other retailers and wholesalers is in their profit margin.
Retailers and Wholesalers have for much too long accepted this UNFAIR competition. And in an effort to live with the situation they have resulted in purchasing directly from CMC. I guess the saying goes here, if you cannot beat them then join them. The Comptroller should be able by the click of the button tells the Cabinet immediately how much Duties and other taxes have been waived to CMC. I would have loved to see the figure.
Now let us look at another angle, CMC is a statutory corporation and therefore fully owned by the government. When CMC was in financial difficulties it was the government’s obligation to subsidize CMC, and one can see that in their accounts I would believe. Shareholders are entitled to dividends. Therefore, all the profits of CMC can be declared dividend tomorrow if the Cabinet wishes. There is nothing wrong with that. The same is true for businesses that operate as SOLE TRADERS, or single shareholder companies. Once there is no policy that mandates that a fund of equity has to be built each year. I have seen companies that declare every cent that a company has a ‘Net’ profit, dividend and taken out by the shareholders. Leaving the Retained Earnings to ZERO. All that is left is share capital and capital gain of the shares. And some companies even ensure that the Fixed Assets side of the balance sheet is ZERO. They own nothing. Everything is rented or leased. This makes liquidation at anytime very easy. Liat 20/20 should consider this.
But coming back to CMC. They are not operating according to the act. They are simply a retail and wholesale company with a duty-free status. How do we turn it around. I have said this before, and I’ll say it again. If the aim of the government is to assist the poor they have the PDV Carib program. They can issue many more people with debit cards and these debit cards can only be used by CMC. Or by ALL Retail Shops. No special tax exemption for CMC. It is an unfair business practice. And we now see the loopholes that the system has. Another thing is the means-testing awarding persons a debit card. I do not agree with the means-testing presently done. Especially when it comes to people with disabilities. A disabled person is not necessarily a poor person. One could have a job, like Mr. Bernard Warner, have a decent salary and still have a debit card. This is unfair towards someone that works at the same job with Bernard and doesn’t qualify for a debit card, just because he/she is not disabled. Mr. PM FIX this. Another loophole of the program is that some elderly people have support from their children in the USA and some living right here, but because their Social Security pension is below the threshold they qualified for the debit card. When you see them shopping in CMC or their Children come shop for them, it makes you wonder if Xmas is every month fort these people. Next you have the Senior Citizens Utility Benefit Program. All that is needed is that you are a Social Security Pensioner, and you Qualify. Yes, I also qualify. That is $1200 per year I do not need to pay out of my earnings. Given that I have my own business, and I am a pensioner. These are the issues IMF have with our system of government. We give away money much to easy and then we are short of cash in other areas, and we want help? Oh no, says IMF. First close these loopholes and then see what your cash shortage is. Not to mention our over bloated government public sector. There are some measures that need to be taken that takes political fortitude to so do. Mia Mottley was one that was not shy to do it. And it did not cost her a vote, in fact she won an election by a landslide. No opposition whatsoever. Does our PM have the Political Fortitude to take the steps and implement the medicine for the cure that is needed for our economy and fiscal balance. Or will we always be scrambling to find money to pay for these programs and our bills. I have once said that the UPP was good in spending money on Social Programs, but they never bothered where the money has to come from. That is left for someone else to deal with.