Tax authorities in Antigua demand Sandals Grande Antigua pay over $24 million in ABST
The Cabinet invited the Commissioner of Inland Revenue, his Deputy, a Legal Advisor and a technician to address the brewing ABST discord with Sandals Resort and Spa.
The Prime Minister has learned from the IRD that the resort has not been paying-over all the ABST which it has collected from its customers, upon checkout.
The ABST is a tax which is imposed on the totality of the bill that a guest at the hotel has incurred during their stay.
It is the Government’s money, collected by the hotel on behalf of the Government.
During the previous administration, an arrangement had been made with the property for it to deduct a portion of the ABST to compensate for the marketing of the Antigua destination when the resort was advertised.
When the Gaston Browne administration learned of this practice, it immediately reversed that policy and required the hotel to pay 100% of its ABST collection to the Inland Revenue Department.
It appears that the resort has re-commenced making similar deductions; the IRD has made a demand for an amount exceeding $24 million collected between 2017 and 2021.
The IRD is continuing its audit to investigate the deficit in payments made in 2022 and 2023.
The Cabinet has also learned that workers at the hotel are not allowed to accept tips from customers but must place all tips received into a pool, which goes towards funding the Sandals Foundation.
The Cabinet is considering legislation that will compel hoteliers to pay tips to workers and not to divert those resources to other ends.
