By Tahna Weston
The government is moving to obtain unpaid taxes from telecommunications service provider Starlink.
Starlink is a satellite internet constellation operated by Starlink Services, LLC, an international telecommunications provider offering coverage in over 100 countries. It also aims to provide global mobile broadband.
Information and Technology Minister Melford Nicholas told Cabinet on Wednesday that Starlink has been serving customers in Antigua and Barbuda but has not been paying taxes to the government.
According to the Chief of Staff in the Office of the Prime Minister, Lionel Hurst, the technology firm utilizes satellite services which allow it to bypass the technologies utilized by other telecommunication firms.
However, Hurst was unable to give a definitive answer as to how much money is owed to the government.
“I don’t think the quantum has yet been determined, but we do know that there are over 100 people that are utilizing Starlink at the moment, and the other telecommunications companies must pay an ABST on the services which they provide to consumers.
“Starlink — because of its direct connection with the customer — is not reporting the companies or the persons who are utilizing its services. But we do know that it is operating out of Antigua, and so the government intends to collect the ABST. This is some of the information that we have garnered,” Hurst said during Thursday’s post-Cabinet press briefing.
Hurst added that the Antigua and Barbuda Sales Tax (ABST) should be paid and every effort will be made to secure the taxes owed, to which the Cabinet agreed during its weekly meeting.
All telecommunications companies must pay the 17 percent ABST on the value of the service which they provide, he stated, adding that the Ministry of Telecommunications has been conducting its investigations into Starlink for some time.
However, he added that no discussions have been held with regards to disrupting the service of the telecommunications service provider, but only to collect what it owes.
“The amount would be insignificant in terms of the quantum of ABST, but the rule is that every telecommunications company must pay the ABST. Well, we know this was only shared with the Cabinet yesterday, but it appears as though the Information and Telecommunications Ministry has been doing the necessary research to determine how many people; I believe that it started sometime last year, and so the investigation has been ongoing.
“Whether or not we will actually be able to get that ABST is a question that we have not yet been able to answer, but the idea is that we must at least inform them that taxes are due to the government of Antigua and Barbuda,” Hurst concluded.
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