"In all other jurisdictions, tax administration has access to banking information," Viralee Latibeaudiere, director general of the Tax Administration Depart-ment, told a Gleaner Editors' Forum yesterday.

"When you go to these tax forums they wonder how we survive without access to banking information in Jamaica."

She added: "It is very limited that you would have to go through the court system in order to get that information. In other jurisdictions, it is mandatory that the information from the banks flow directly into tax administration."

She was supported by Rosalee Brown, commissioner of the Inland Revenue Department.

Changes necessary

According to Brown, the present legislation is greatly affecting Jamaica's ability to identify tax cheats.

"If we are serious about tax administration, this is necessary," Brown added, as she noted that the proposed legislative changes have been on the table for some time.

The tax authorities argued that if they had access to banking data, they would be in a better position to profile individuals and businesses.

Currently, the authorities are using the Taxpayer Registration Number (TRN) to do some of this profiling.

"The TRN is the linchpin. I can see when you buy property, I can see what you brought through the ports, I can see how many motor vehicles you own and other transactions," Latibeaudiere said.

The TAD has been leading the Government's campaign to collect taxes after recent surveys showed that thousands of people are outside the net.

One random sample of 500 doctors found that 400 were not paying their taxes, while a similar study conducted by the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions (JCTU) in 2001 found that 94 per cent of self-employed persons were not paying taxes. According to the JCTU, with 470,000 people self-employed, only 25,625 filed returns in 2001.