Representatives of the VAT team of the Ministry of Finance emphasized that services provided by local charities and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that directly relate to charitable activities will be VAT exempt and the VAT programme provides for recouping of some taxes paid on goods for the use of such community services.

Reacting to an article appearing in The Nassau Guardian under the headline “Charity will 'suffer tremendously' under VAT,” Financial Secretary John Rolle clarified a number of  “It has to be emphasized that charities, such as the Humane Society, should be largely shielded in how they are impacted by VAT. The services that they deliver will be VAT-exempt under the provisions of the legislation and eligible charities will be able to claim a refund of VAT paid on the acquisition of certain goods and services,” he said.

“Eligible charities will need to meet the criteria for eligibility set out in the VAT Regulations. As charities are not uniform in their service and financial profiles, the guidelines and VAT rules about to be issued by the VAT Department will provide more clarification on how their operations will be treated. More than a dozen of these Guidelines are already in draft form and we are receiving preliminary feedback on them before they are more widely publicized.”Marvin Clarke, Project Manager for VAT implementation noted that the VAT Project Implementation team is making available a number of guides to the VAT legislation and associated rules and regulations that will guide the process once the VAT programme is implemented.

“In the coming weeks these will be issued to supplement the general guide that is already found on the government’s website. The VAT guides are living documents that will expand as the need for additional clarification is expressed by the public,” he said.