The Inland Revenue Department will be implementing a new Tax Refunds’ Policy this year.
A Release from the Department says Personal Income Tax refunds would ONLY be issued to taxpayers via direct deposit to their financial institution accounts, as opposed to the current method of issuing refunds by physical cheques.
Prior to the direct deposits being made, taxpayers would receive notice of the refund via personal email address ONLY – provided to the IRD by the taxpayer or representative.
The Department says this new Tax Refunds’ Policy aligns with the mandate of the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, under the Caribbean Digital Transformation Project CARDTP, to improve digital public service delivery and modernize government operations.
Under the CARDTP, the Government has flagged the development of citizen-facing digital government services as a key priority, to improve the user experience for citizens accessing public services and to improve the efficiency of internal government operations.
To this end, the Inland Revenue Department, in October 2022, launched its Debit/Credit Card payment option for the payment of taxes and licenses at the IRD.
Under the CARDTP, the IRD will be procuring a new Tax Information Management System, and will also launch an E-filing portal later this year, which would encourage more efficient and timely filing of returns and would eliminate the need for paper submissions.
The IRD also intends, imminently, to commence the issuance of automated electronic receipts to taxpayers.
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