Planned mediation talks between officials at Beaches Turks and Caicos and the territory’s government regarding a $20 million tax dispute will not commence after the resort operator withdrew from the scheduled discussions, said Sharlene Robinson, the Turks and Caicos’ premier and minister of finance.
“Beaches is regrettably, no longer willing to engage in a mediation concerning its outstanding tax liabilities,” said Robinson in a government press statement posted to Facebook by Travel Advisors Selling the Caribbean (TAC) principal Kelly Fontenelle-Clarke.
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“This is a mediation [the government] has said for many months it was prepared to participate in, and in respect of which an agreed mediator had been selected and a date set,” said Robinson. Officials at Sandals Resorts International, which own the resort, did not respond to TravelPulse.com requests for comment on the TCI News report.
Beaches officials have not yet announced a reopening for the property as the Caribbean’s crucial holiday travel season approaches. Robinson said Beaches officials abandoned mediation after earlier deriding government officials in local press reports and claimed to owe no taxes.
The long-running dispute increasingly overshadows even COVID-19 with regards to Turks & Caicos tourism. The dispute is under litigation in the Turks and Caicos’ courts, said Robinson. Last week the Turks & Caicos Hotel and Tourism Association (TCHTA) called for a resolution to the standoff, which stems from an alleged $20 million tax bill government officials say is owed by Beaches.
In a statement, TCHTA officials said its members are “gravely concerned” with the imbroglio’s “negative impact” and added the resort’s continued closure would trigger a “devastating fallout for the overall [Turks and Caicos] economy.”
“At an extremely fragile time where all Caribbean countries are fighting for the rebounding of their tourism product, travel partner confidence is essential,” the statement added. The resort generates “approximately 70 percent of long-stay visitor arrivals to Providenciales” and local airlift demand “is highly dependent on its reopening.”
The continued shutdown creates “a damning plight for the approximately 13,000 individuals employed by the hospitality industry,” the statement adds.
Robinson said although mediation is not binding in law, the process is “helpful” and “was suggested by Beaches and agreed[to] by us.”
