Inland Revenue Department Report

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Inland Revenue Department Report 2011

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Acknowledgments

As I sum up draft of my study, I appreciatively reminisce the contribution of all those people

without whose support and help, this study would have never taken its present form.

I would like to express my gratitude to the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College staff for their

support, guidance, constructive supervision, instructions and advice to do this report. I would

also like to thank Lana Labadie who has provided me with additional ideas to make my

internship experience more fruitful. I am also thankful to Mrs. Virginia Blasse and Mrs. Felicia

Ellie for giving me the opportunity to carry out my internship at their organization. I am also

grateful to the employees of the Inland Revenue Department for their cordial acceptance and

support. They have been very proactive in initiating me with the work process and provided

relevant information for my report whenever I approached. They never hesitated or did not feel

disturbed on my queries. It was a great learning process and it will help my career excel in the

future.




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Table of Contents

Acknowledgments 1

Introduction 3

Personal Data 4

The Organization

Type & History of Establishment 5-7

Services 8

Staff/Number of Employees 9-12

Rules & Regulations 13-15

Company’s Culture 16

Types of Forms 17

Facilities 18

Sports Club 19

Office Layout Diagram (Vieux-Fort) 20

Job Description 22-22

Comments/Suggestions/Recommendations 23




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Introduction

This internship program undertaken is an integral part of the Business Administration course.

This work term should provide me with valuable insights into the professional side of an

organization. The internship took place at the Inland Revenue Department from August 2nd

2011 until August 31st

2011. The Inland Revenue Department is a revenue collecting agency of

the Government of Saint Lucia. It is responsible for the collection of various taxes on the island.

Within the project is information relating to the organization and the various task done during

the period of time.




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Personal Data

Name: Schwayne Keighan Desir

Date of Birth: 1992/10/03

Place of Birth: Vieux- Fort

Sex: Male

Civil Status: Single

Citizenship: St. Lucian

Address: Reunion, Choiseul

Telephone Number: (1758) 719-6367

Email Address: [email protected]

Educational Background:

1. Reunion Primary School

2. Choiseul Secondary School

3. Sir Arthur Lewis Community College

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]




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The Organization

TYPE & HISTORY OF ESTABLISHMENT

The Inland Revenue Department is a revenue collecting agency of the Government of Saint

Lucia. It is under the authority of the Ministry of Finance, with Prime Minister the Honorable

Stephenson King as the minister responsible. The department has the authority to collect

income tax and a number of other taxes. The Inland Revenue came into existence in 1910 as

part of the Customs and Excise Department. It was first established for the purpose of

collecting tobacco, liquor, canine, butcher, hawker and motor vehicle license payments. The

department began with one (1) employee manning the office and by 1965 the numbers had

grown to seventeen (17) and in 1976 twenty eight (28). To date there are approximately ninety

(90) staff members employed within the department’s three (3) branches. The Tax Service

Centre and Soufriere Sub-Office were established in 1985 to alleviate the congestion at the

main Castries branch. Following the restructuring of the department in 1997 the Vieux-Fort

Sub-office was upgraded to a Tax Service Centre. The centre provides the following services:

1. Collections

2. On-line services such as issuing of statements and assessments

3. Returns processing

4. Tax roll maintenance

5. Taxpayer assistance such as the resolution of simple issues




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The Department’s mission or statement of purpose is as follows:

The Inland Revenue Department stands committed in its impartial treatment of its customers.

We aim to provide an efficient, professional and courteous service, while administering the

relevant tax laws on behalf of the Government and people of Saint Lucia.

The main functions of the Inland Revenue are the assessment and collection of taxes. The

department also functions in an advisory capacity to the Minister of Finance & Planning and the

Permanent Secretary. Their roles are:

1. To encourage and achieve the highest possible degree of voluntary compliance in

accordance with the tax laws

2. To advise the public of their rights and responsibilities

3. To determine the extent of compliance and the cause of non-compliance

4. To do all things needed for the proper administration of the tax laws by administering

legislation fairly, uniformly and courteously

5. To continually search for and implement new, more efficient and effective ways of

accomplishing our Mission

The Inland Revenue uses a fully computerized tax system called the Standardized Integrated

Government Tax Administration System (SIGTAS). SIGTAS is a fully networked system running

on a modern database and network operating system. The system was developed using Oracle

as the relational database management system (RDBMS), one of the most powerful RDBMS

programs available today. The system runs on Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 file server, with

Microsoft Windows 95, 98 & NT Clients on the workstations.




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SIGTAS has the following features:

1. An automated tax-roll with unique taxpayer numbers

2. An integrated view of taxpayer’s liabilities

3. An automatic reminder to taxpayers that there is tax to pay by producing automated

remittance forms

4. Monitoring of non-filers and delinquent taxpayers

5. Automated calculation of penalties and interest

6. Management of payment agreements

7. Automated management of the audit and collection cases

The purpose of the Systems Unit is to manage and maintain the computerized systems of the

Department.




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Services

1. Tax for Individuals- A personal or individual income tax is levied on the total income of

the individual (with some deductions permitted). It is often collected on a pay-as-you-

earn basis, with small corrections made soon after the end of the tax year. These

corrections take one of two forms: payments to the government, for taxpayers who

have not paid enough during the tax year and tax refunds from the government for

those who have overpaid.

2. Tax for Businesses- Corporate tax refers to income, capital, net worth, or other taxes

imposed on corporations. Rates of tax and the taxable base for corporations may differ

from those for individuals or other taxable persons.

3. Tax for Practitioners

4. Property Tax- A property tax is an ad valorem tax levy on the value of property that the

owner of the property is required to pay to a government in which the property is

situated. Multiple jurisdictions may tax the same property. There are three general

varieties of property: land, improvements to land (immovable man-made things, e.g.

buildings) and personal property (movable things). Real estate or realty is the

combination of land and improvements to land.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PAYE


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_year

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxpayer

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_refund

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad_valorem_tax

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad_valorem_tax

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_refund

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxpayer

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_year






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Staff and Responsibilities

The Inland Revenue Department is headed by a Comptroller. The Department is subdivided into

five sections and has a Tax Service Centre in Vieux Fort and a sub-office in Soufriere. The five

main sections of the Inland Revenue Department are:

THE OFFICE OF THE COMPTROLLER- is responsible for performing audit reviews on the

internal control systems of the department and conducting technical research. The

technical research aspect of the job involves the preparation of law interpretations for

the approval of management. The officer is also responsible for assisting in the research

and preparation of the department’s position in cases submitted to the Appeal

Commissioners and the Court of Appeal. Other duties include:

1. Interpreting and reviewing tax legislation

2. Providing legal opinion on various tax issues

3. Drafting amendments to tax legislation

4. Researching law, investigating facts, preparing draft documents for discussion and

approval by management

5. Representing the Department in negotiating Double Tax and Tax Information Exchange

Agreements with other countries

THE OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY COMPTROLLER- The objections unit provides taxpayers with

an independent and expeditious reconciliation of assessments that are under

objection. The officers resort to resolving tax grievances on a basis which is fair and

impartial to the government and the taxpayer without resorting to litigation. Where

http://www.irdstlucia.gov.lc/about.htm#comptroller

http://www.irdstlucia.gov.lc/about.htm#deputycomp

http://www.irdstlucia.gov.lc/about.htm#deputycomp





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there is still disagreement on the outcome of an objection, the taxpayer has the right to

lodge an appeal to the appeal commissioners. This unit also handles requests by

taxpayers for reassessments to account for additional claims previously omitted by

them.

ADMINISTRATION- The officers of this unit are responsible for the physical needs of the

department and attend to personnel, finance and general office matters. Refunds also

falls under this unit and the officers of this subunit are responsible for processing and

mailing refund cheques to taxpayers and maintaining accurate records as to the

encashment of these cheques. Another subunit which falls under the administration

unit is the mail room which serves as a centralized unit for processing mail, and ensuring

their proper distribution for appropriate action.

DATA PROCESSING- The purpose of the data processing section is to assess taxpayers for

all tax types in accordance with the relevant tax laws. Key responsibilities:

1. Generating notices of assessments to inform taxpayers of their liability or refund

2. Providing taxpayers with the relevant remittances and pertinent information

3. Producing reminders and estimated assessments to non-filers for the relevant tax types

4. Producing installment notices, installment reminders and estimated installments

5. Creating files and registering related documents for all taxpayers on the database

6. Storing all taxpayer files and related documents

7. Processing and editing remittances received for the relevant tax types

COLLECTIONS-The staff of this section are responsible for the collection of the taxes,

including penalties and interest, which fall under the jurisdiction of the Inland Revenue

http://www.irdstlucia.gov.lc/about.htm#admin

http://www.irdstlucia.gov.lc/about.htm#dataprocessing

http://www.irdstlucia.gov.lc/about.htm#collections

http://www.irdstlucia.gov.lc/about.htm#collections

http://www.irdstlucia.gov.lc/about.htm#dataprocessing

http://www.irdstlucia.gov.lc/about.htm#admin




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Department, and maintain accurate records of these payments. This section is sub-

divided into:

1. Cash Unit- This Unit is responsible for receiving and accounting for all tax payments

received.

2. Corporation Tax Unit- This Unit is responsible for the timely collection of income tax,

both current and arrears, from all companies. It is also charged with the responsibility

of enforcing collection action against delinquent corporations.

3. Individual and Miscellaneous Taxes Unit- This Unit is responsible for the timely

collection of income tax and miscellaneous taxes, both current and arrears, from all

individuals and individual enterprises. It is also charged with the responsibility of

enforcing collection action against delinquent individuals and traders.

4. Enforcements Unit- The Enforcement Unit is responsible for the collection of all

outstanding taxes from delinquent taxpayers.

AUDIT- The audit program is directed at taxpayers, who have sources of income other

than regular salary generally, self employed persons, professionals, business people and

corporate taxpayers. The program verifies that the self-assessment system is working

properly this usually involves the examination of taxpayer books and records. Audits

vary with the complexity of the taxpayers return and involve limited or detailed

examinations of the taxpayer’s records. This may take from a few days to several weeks

to complete. The records of small businesses, professionals and large corporations may

be audited.

http://www.irdstlucia.gov.lc/about.htm#audit

http://www.irdstlucia.gov.lc/about.htm#audit




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PROPERTY TAX- The objective of the property tax section is to value and assess all

properties in accordance with the land and house tax ordinance. The unit is staffed by

valuation surveyors and assistants. Their main duties are:

1. To conduct valuation of properties

2. To maintain accurate valuation records

3. To compile market data and carry out market analyses for property tax purpose

OBJECTIONS

Each section is managed by an Assistant Comptroller who is responsible for performing specific

duties.

http://www.irdstlucia.gov.lc/about.htm#tax



http://www.irdstlucia.gov.lc/about.htm#tax




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Rules and Regulations

THE RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE ORGANIZATION ARE AS FOLLOWS:

1. An officer shall discharge the duties assigned to the post to which he is appointed and

any other related duties that his Permanent Secretary or Head of Department, at any

time, call upon to discharge, and such other special duties as he may be called upon to

perform in the public interest.

2. The normal working hours of work of public officers are thirty-seven and one half hours

in each week. Permanent Secretaries and Head of Departments may require any or all of

the staff to work temporarily for long hours than those prescribed whenever the public

interest the warrants it.

3. Officers who are regularly required by circumstances beyond their own control to work

outside normal working hours shall be paid overtime at prescribed rates.

4. No officer shall absent himself from duty during working hours without permission from

the Permanent Secretary or Head of Department in which he works or such other

officers as may be authorized to give such permission.

5. An officer who absents himself from duty without permission, expect for illness or other

unavoidable circumstances shall render himself liable to disciplinary action.

6. Officers shall be regular and punctual in their attendance. In each government office

and attendance register shall be kept in which each officer shall record daily the hour of

his arrival at and the departure from office and sign the entry.

7. An officer shall not at any time engage in any private activity which might:




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8. Bring the officer or the government into disrepute

9. Conflict with his official duties or responsibilities

10. Place him or give the appearance of placing him in a position to use his official position

for his private benefit

11. Make him unavailable for the reasonable out of hours or official commitments

12. Officers are not permitted to undertake paid work for the public boards or committed

without previously obtaining the sanction of the appropriate service commission.

13. No officer shall sign or procure signatures to any public petition against the declare

policies of the government.

14. No officer, whether on duty or leave of absence, shall:

a) Act as editor of any newspaper, magazine or periodical or take part directly or

indirectly in the management thereof or

b) Contribute to, whether anonymous or otherwise, or publish in newspaper,

magazine or periodical or otherwise cause to be published in any manner, in

St.Lucia or elsewhere, anything which maybe reasonably be regarded as of

political or administrative nature

c) Allow himself to be interviewed on questions of public policy, or any matter of a

public or administrative or the security of any state or territory

15. Unless authorized by the Minster in writing, no officer shall make public or

communicate to the press or to unauthorized individuals any documents, papers or

information which may come into his possession n his official capacity or make private

copies of any such documents or paper.




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16. Public officers shall not solicit or accept gifts for services rendered in their official

capacity.

17. Public officers shall be liable to disciplinary action if they continually subject themselves

to serious pecuniary embarrassment.

18. Public officers who go on strike except on the summons issued by the recognized Union

violate the terms of their employment and render themselves liable to dismissal.

19. Public officers and employees are expressly forbidden to give any unauthorized person

information relating to the business of the public service.

20. Impression of official seal shall not be given to any private person.




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Company’s Culture

A culture is the values and practices shared by the members of the group. Company Culture,

therefore, is the shared values and practices of the company's employees. Company culture is

important because it can make or break your company. Company cultures evolve and they

change over time. As employee leave the company and replacements are hired the company

culture will change. These changes may be positive, or they may not. Here are some

characteristics of company cultures used in the Inland Revenue Department:

Mission clarity

Employee commitment

High integrity workplace

Strong trust relationships

Effective systems and processes

Commitment to learning and skill development

Emphasis on recruiting and retaining outstanding employees

High accountability standards

Strong communication with all employees regarding policies and company issues

Strong company leaders with a strong sense of direction and purpose

http://management.about.com/cs/generalmanagement/g/culture.htm

http://management.about.com/cs/generalmanagement/g/culture.htm




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Types of Forms

These are various forms which are used by the Inland Revenue Department:

1. Returns

TD Form IT-1 - INDIVIDUAL INCOME TAX RETURN used by INDIVIDUALS

Who files: This form is to be completed and submitted with supporting documents by

Individuals who are:

Self-employed

Employed under Pay As You Earn and have other sources of income, in addition to

their salaried or wages

Not employed but having income from various sources

Filing date is 31st March of the following year.

2. Property Tax Clearance Form

3. Employee’s Declaration (Tax Code)

4. Clearance Application Form

5. Sole Proprietor Form (To be filled with return if business is owned)




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Facilities

Facilities at the Inland Revenue Department:

1. Equipment:

Fax machine

Printer

Scanner

Telephone (With various extensions)

Computers

2. Building:

Kitchen

Offices

Cashier Booth

Bathroom (Male and Female)




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Sports Club

The Inland Revenue Sports Club was duly registered with the Ministry of Sports in 1984. It was

created to:

1. Foster a spirit of harmony and goodwill among the staff of the Inland Revenue

Department

2. Engage members in sporting activities to encourage comradery and at the same time

promote their well being

3. Engage in sporting activities with other Sport Clubs within the Public Service and the

wider society

4. To establish and maintain relations with similar regional and international organizations

Games

The games began in 1998 with St. Lucia being the inaugural host. The event was created to

foster integration with sister Inland Revenue Departments in the region. To date all countries

named above have played host to the games with the exception of Guyana who began

participating in 2006.

The five day event is much more than a period of fun and frolic for tax officials. It is also an

opportunity to share experience and ideas in an informal setting. In this era of the CARICOM

Single market and Economy, member countries are mandated to share resources (including

personnel) and undertake harmonization of legislation, particularly in the area of taxation and

trade. The Inland Revenue Games is one of the channels to successfully achieve this mandate.




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Office Layout Diagram

K




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Job Description

JOB TITLE : Assessment Officer

REPORTS TO : Officer-In-Charge of the Vieux Fort Tax Service Center

A. RELATIONSHIP AND RESPONSIBILITIES

I. Reports to the Officer-In-Charge of the Vieux Fort Tax Service Center

II. The Officer in responsible for capturing all remittances forms for all tax types in

SIGTAS and producing notices of assessments for all tax types and tax payers.

B. DUTIES

I. Produce assessments for each tax type for each tax payer who has filed a

remittance form/return by:

a. Verifying if each remittance/return is complete

b. Capturing the information on the remittance/return in SIGTAS

c. Verifying that each remittance/return has been properly entered in

SIGTAS

d. Triggering the assessments calculations

e. Correcting any errors signaled by SIGTAS

f. Submitting assessments submission/correction form with batches for

review

g. Printing notices of assessments




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h. Preparing the notices of assessments for mailing and forwarding them to

mailroom for mailing to the taxpayer

C. Produce PAYE reconciliation assessments by:

I. Verifying PAYE and Contact Tax remittances are complete

II. Capturing all TD4, TD5 and Contract Tax information in SIGTAS

III. Capturing the PAYE and Contact Tax remittance form information on SIGTAS

IV. Printing the PAYE and Contact Tax notice of assessments




Comments/Recommendations/Suggestions

Students which undergo training in government departments should at least be given a

sum of money to make up for their expenses on bus and food.

More males should be employed within the Inland Revenue Department since there is

only one (1) male and eight (8) females.

Internet should be fully restored on every computer in the workplace to enable

efficiency and effectiveness. Instead of removing the internet completely the websites

should be blocked.

Inland Revenue Department Report

Documents

Transcript of Inland Revenue Department Report