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“The aloo pie vending bourgeoisie, the saheena ladies and lords, the noblemen who sell nuts and fruits in traffic—all hiding in plain sight—are the wealthiest of all. Even Anthony Bourdain wasn’t invited to their houses for dinner!
“[…] Ever wondered why there are 30 different doubles vendors called ‘D Original’? It’s all tax planning: loss allocation and intra-group loans. The conspiracy runs deep.”
The following Letter to the Editor, submitted by ‘Baigan Jones’, offers a tongue-in-cheek retort to American Chamber of Commerce attorney and tax expert Angelique Bart’s call to make doubles vendors share their loot:
The lavish lifestyle of local doubles vendors was alluded to earlier this week by a prominent attorney-at-law, speaking at the American Chamber of Commerce’s mid-year budget analysis.
The attorney stated that she could quit the practice of law for the lucrative doubles vending profession. In her words:
“My husband says of the doubles vendor—if I were to quit law, we could do that. Because you have 200 customers buying at $5 per doubles, in five minutes. How much money would you be making?
“I can’t follow his math, but basically he is saying there is about 200-plus million on average that the doubles section of society generates.”
Math is indeed difficult. Nonetheless, the “doubles section” aren’t the only culprits. (For the uncultured, the doubles section is located near the percussion instruments).
The aloo pie vending bourgeoisie, the saheena ladies and lords, the noblemen who sell nuts and fruits in traffic—all hiding in plain sight—are the wealthiest of all. Even Anthony Bourdain wasn’t invited to their houses for dinner!
It’s time for them to come out of the shadows and face the ‘Tax man’. Their ill-gotten gains have been sheltered behind blind trusts and shell corporations for far too long!
Ever wondered why there are 30 different doubles vendors called ‘D Original’? It’s all tax planning: loss allocation and intra-group loans. The conspiracy runs deep.
I, for one, applaud the attorney’s disproportionate attack on the lowest income earners in society. The Government must immediately embark on a patriotic mission to expropriate these ill-gotten gains from the street-vending cabal.
Strip them of their Porsches, Rolexes and yachts; these proceeds of crime cannot be allowed to exist in a utopian society like sweet, sweet TnT.
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lol to all the fools on this thread: the problem isn’t enough taxes. The problem is rampant corruption and pillaging of the national treasury by polticians and their cronies. Stop getting fooled by this “we have no money” bullshit. It have plenty. But most of it ends up lining the 1% pockets.
too much big words. Kamla teef out d cheegy
2%
What Bull Fart is this????
Is Doubles healthy food Mr. Deyalsingh…….your comments please ?
Nice very nice ppl dont be tricked by politics. They are laughing at us saying look how stupid they are fighting amongst themselves and bringing down each other. I understand tax must be paid but really is this an important issue right now? How much money these governments have stolen and are still doing so. Yet we who are onnthe ground talking about taxing the doubles man, taxi driver and so on. Do you ppl really know this was part of the plan to distract, keep them entertained and make them fight amongst themselves while we the government keep stealing and selling out the last little end of our country. Allyuh wake up na plz. Bless up and good day.
correct is right
Swisha King P Sweetzz I need to shake your hand
Just one little comment here. Everyone who is earning is liable to income tax whether self employed or employed. Retired ppl are also subject to income tax. You don’t have to have a Porsche or live in a palace. Actually those ppl often pay less than the humble security guard or hospital Nurse. But all must contribute. One of the biggest divisions in our society is between those whose salary is automatically tax deducted and those who get their income in cash and feel ‘is mines. I work for it’
Why all yuh watching people money? Go out and do the same thing then.. geez. Good luck with taxing these people, would love to know how you would account for how many doubles are sold lmao. How much money all yuh waste on a boat? A painting?Medical Bills on Ministers?, Vat and duty for personal vehicles for MP’s, Roaming bills, and to pay sexual harassment charges? A&V drilling stole how much exactly?How much d banks robbing all yuh on a daily basis? . All yuh watching the street vendor. Boii Trinidadians really effing dotish..If Impsbert tax Oxygen , many will agree…
Ppl times getting hard plant something in your yard or a bucket exchange with your neighbors because taxing yourself into poverty just won’t do
Clearly many people don’t realize everybody suppose to pay income tax once they make more than 72000 a year.
Brandon Ramdial, Marlene Mnms, even if they minus “expenses” , they would still make an exorbitant “profit” TAX FREE.
Troy Roberts , please note the first word “MINIMUM”. We all know it’s much more than that. At a “minimum” these persons make $144,000.00 minimum, per annum, TAX FREE .
Marlene Mnms but they still have to pay taxes….however small it may be
There are a lot of stupid people in this country…..your calculations are simple……but then again…..there are the idiots……I hope they understand
Well i hope they tax all small shops all bake and shark all coconut vendors snowcone etc i have no problem with that
And the PH Illegal drivers too….no body commenting on that….half if them cant get a certificate of character and insurance companies know what they doing…..
Amar Haniff
Hmmmm true
Timely! Buying doubles in Chaguanas yesterday, and the vendors mumbling bout raising prices again because they may have to pay taxes just now. And as I looked at the four shiny gold teeth smiling as the guy bagged my purchase I told them “there is such a thing as pricing yourself out of business “. Food for thought.
Whenever a person applies for a food bad….some sort of evidence should be provided that they are tax compliant…so too taxi driver at licencing….doctors and lawyers at their respective governing agencies when the apply each year to renew their licences and so on…..so easy…governments come and gone and sticky politics get in the way…….the point is these individuals should come on board instead of being selfish and think about the future of our country
Food *badge
I knew this would eventually come down to race
I heard this logic yesterday on the news. I saw a woman in government stood up and talk about income of the doubles vendor, the side walk vendor and the other small vendors, but what I didn’t hear was one word being uttered about the expenditure for the income. Could you do it? Do you know the hard work it involves?
RM, The doubles vendor on the pavement a registered business?
I think a lot of people are missing the point about taxation of ALL business enterprises no matter how small. The Board of Inland Revenue needs to do some serious educational promotions, so the public understands the ramifications of taxation.
Well why don’t they get the right people to do the JOB?do you know all these ppl in these government offices getting paid to say I Don’t Know shameful.This shit pile so high it’s not a nightmare any more it’s a reality.
Guch Mane we don’t allow All Caps though. Please try to avoid that.
OK sorry about that
Guch can you give us your view on taxation again?
Taxation is all well and good. The problem is enforcement, and sitting by and watching your hard earned tax dollars being wasted away by improper use – and then the taxpayers have no recourse to hold the persons wasting your money liable.
Minus ingredients, transportation, at least one workers salary and redo your calculations.
Wow doubled people have no business expenses? Or is it that tax revenue is paid on gross amount and not net? Calculation flaud!!! Try again…
Has anyone gone to NEDCO to try to get a loan for a small business lately? Has anyone ever driven a maxi on the Bus Route for an owner? How easy is it to go the bank to get a loan to buy a maxi? How much security is the norm to secure a 10k loan?
Selling doubles is hard work. Who else makes the effort to wake up at early hours to feed the nation. Spme persons at home wont even fix a sandwich for their sig others.
How many young persons are involved in this trade as opposed to young persons with longt-term contracts or permanence in the public service? Should they pay taxes on top of the money they pay for a food badge?
Maybe the working class could get tax exemptions for patronising.
100 doubles per day? That doubles man is a hobby.
I can’t image any doubles man selling that few doubles in a day
They thiefing the ingredients and employees working for free?
Jay Zee tax your sno cone man, nuts man and soup lady one time
They can probably get their ingredients as a tax break.
Minimum: 100 doubles per day@$5.00 each=$500. 00 x 6days (1 week) =$3,000.00 x 4 weeks (month)=$12,000.00x12months (1yr)=$144,000.00—$72,000.00 (personal allowance) = $72,000.00 PAYE due =25%=$18,000.00
So they getting the ingredients free. And they not paying the people to cook the doubles? Do you think the same person selling is the same one waking from 2am every morning to make the doubles?
This is what people don’t get about self-employed persons. They have an undeclared income which is in many cases, above the personal allowance figure.
Did anybody notice that Black Bart focused directly on the doubles vendors, who by some strange coincidence happen to be over 99% Indian! Black Bart racism against Indians is alive and rampant today as it was in the fifties when old Deafie Eric Williams called us a hostile and recalcitrant minority, and never apologized as far as I know.
Fool, that $144,000 you quote is not income, not taxable income. That is gross sales. In a business like doubles, you deduct all your expenses from total sales, deduct all your allowances as far as Inland Revenue allows you, and what remains is your profit, which is the same as your taxable income. Didn’t you attend any economics class in school?
Just now you will get taxed for beggin in this country!
Clearly there is some truth to this …..they are running an all cash business. It is hard to track the income. Ever wondered why in big cities in the USA there are 4and 5 beauty salon on the same block, some are use to launder money because they cash business. Even though doubles and nut is a legitimate business they can under state their income easy.
Living in New York and Canada every body paying tax for every thing but all don’t to pay tax here all u selling doubles in New York and canada all those food places should pay tax
Saigiwan getting old, Terrence Farrell dust it, nobody ain’t want to hear Abdullah and Morgan Job has passed..Clearly some young female fool senses an opening , never mind how inane and absurd her propositions..Did she mention the vendors who sell roses in Gulf View?
And what’s wrong with the doubles man paying taxes? Aren’t we all subject to paye once we earn in excess of the stipulated pa?
The only reason I am not sharing this article is because the photograph shows spilled sauces. My Doubles man wipes up every drop – clean without fault and delicious to the max!!! If he starts to chinx because he has to pay taxes, I might stop buying.
How much money has been spent on CEPEP contractors – and what is the tax revenue from these en-trap-eneuers? Most don’t even make health surcharge and NIS deductions and payments! At least the doubles man and he whole damn family duhs work hard and supply tradeable goods and service – and is the fastest fast food in the country. Let us tax every damn hardworking person – so we could keep the voter banks going – in CEPEP, in Nha and nha house, on de port, in Petro-Singh, now Petro-Smith….we need more money to spend on more unproductive activity – and the productive must pay for it!
One line stated ill gotten gain;how is it calculated as ill gotten gain ;did they steal the ingredients to make their doubles; hmmmmm
tell dem nah rav
Doh forget dem people who selling punch
What about de pieman?
Tax dem too
Ppl may not like or agree with me on this but I seriously don’t give a flying fuck…..
I am no longer paying PAYE from my hard earned money that I, me one work for bc for the first 17 years of my working life I faithfully and dutifully paid it but when I had to access public health care,is long waits, can’t get medication needed at the hospital dispensary, roads bad which made it very uncomfortable to travel, police service really sucks Wit the amount of corruption within, then there came the time that rich ppl, had laws especially for them and fuck the poor ppl….
The education system kept going downhill faster than usain bolt and those are just A few of the issues that taxpayers money are supposed to be used to upgrade and correct….
No to pay parliamentarians huge tax free salaries, why the fuck they are not paying taxes they’re working it’s a job…
Paying to feed and house fucking criminals when they should just be killed and done with…
So fuck the government and everyone else….I not paying no mudder cunt taxes and who don’t like that could kiss the whitest part of my black ass and I still wouldn’t care
If the government of Trinidad and Tobago were to collect the correct taxes on big businesses, small to medium and on sole traders this country would experience a better level of living. We lose billions to unscrupulous business men and people escaping the tax man. We need to get serious with tax collection.
We also need to get serious if we getting “serious ” wit people who not paying electricity bills and wasa bills level d playing field and don’t target some people for trying. Let us all be raised by the tide of prosperity and let us all share in d burden of difficult times
Tax the 1%
Kickbacks will be the death of us, or maybe, it is
People in Trinbago have this general feeling that they are not suppose to do things that are statutorily driven. The PH driver feels he has the right to break the law because he has the right to make a living. So the little man feels his right to survive by doing a little thing means he also have the right to break the law by doing so. The big business man feels that he also has the right to squeeze back something because he needs a bigger house, another Benz or to gamble at the casino. The law states ¢26 cents on every dollar you make belongs to the government as tax. Big business has to pay VAT and other taxes, which the claim back. That doesn’t happen! Yet, there are people who pay their taxes and their money are used to support those who are not….that is unfair to me and others like me, who pay a LOT of taxes. So i say big, medium or small TAX EVERYONE, LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD!!!!
Junior Jules by law you have both tax concessions and tax allowances so if your profits are below the taxable threshold you have no tax to pay
Savitri Maharaj not maybe.
For sure.
And religious institutions, we have so many popping up all over, big $$
Junior Jules it’s actually 25 cents to every dollar
Junior Jules yes brother yuh preach I myself and others like me pay hefty taxes I mean thousand and up once we are working, so let them also answer the bell
Sorry, Reouti La Rosa youre correct. My bad.
What people do not realise, a lot of those businesses do pay tax, even the 1% -ers but they also do a lot of tax write offs. When you see an executive in a fancy restaurant or you working for a company and they give you a CC for company expenses, it is a write off. When you approach a company and they sponsor your football team or take a loan when they dont really need to, is a write off, big companies know how to LEGALLY fiddle the system. Hence the reason, in normal countries there is always constant tax reforms.
Junior Jules I agree! But I feel hard pressed when I am taxed knowing my hard earned money is being wasted by every government that has been in power! Maybe they should fix that first before going after people’s dollar! They is a lack of accountability by all governments that has ever been in power! Millions are wasted in there political warefare! let’s not forget the stealing in the dorm of contracts! When all these things stop then maybe he citizens wouldn’t try to escape the taxman because they truly benefitting from there paying of taxes!
And you are right Dion Rozay Farrell ive been saying in other threads. We have a mismanagement and corruption issue. But when we, the population only issue is colours, PNM & UNC then we encourage it, as a matter if fact we condone it. When UNC does something one set of people complain and vice versa. The politicians win because they feed us their crap and we lap it up because of our biases and not on what’s right and wrong.
What abt unscrupulous politicians who just fattening their friends and family?…
This has been my ‘song’ all along…and it will NOT change!!! Stop introducing NEW tax…until you can MANAGE (HANDLE/COLLECT) from currently listed entities!!! Do your research and do your job right!!! Faaarrr too many are evading paying correct taxes! But at the same time be sure to give these people value for their money…for example, if your are collecting millions/billions for heavens sake at least provide uptodate facilities, efficient service time and knowledgeable, customer friendly staff…I personally can right a book on the issues just mentioned…but again…manage what you have already in your hands…
Nalini Lalla this is not new! Why is everyone claiming this is new, no it’s not. The Board of Inland Revenue is mandated by law to collect ¢25 on every dollar you make. Some people have this done by their employers and some businesses does it for their employees and yes, there are sole traders who pay their taxes. Unfortunately, the BIR doesn’t do their job. There are people who make money and do not pay any taxes, that is wrong. Nobody could tell me fishermen, doubles vendors, etc. do not make money. As i have seen generations of doubles vendors up to this day still selling e.g. Ali’s, saucy in Curepe, Hassanali etc etc. All of them rich and do not pay taxes. You are right there needs to be better management of the thing. But you MUST pay taxes firat the management of it happens when and who you vote for and so far as I am concerned no government has succeeded in doing so.
What is the criteria available to establish taxation on these low income generators. Health surcharge, national insurance, yes, no problem. Presently, no administration have been able to harness the wastage of taxpayers money, nor give proper account as to how it was used. Yet everything is being taxed. Politicians only need the population up 6pm on election day. After that day, the population’s voice becomes a nuisance. Very few politicians are actually at work, their portfolio and community.. while others a developing hemorrhoids and testicular blisters….
Rewen Murray nice points, however, what makes you thing doubles vendors are low income generators?
Do taxpayers receive exchange for payment of taxes. No.
Seem to me that the tax expert attorney Angelique Bart husband is indicating to his dear wife that her monthly income will be at higher level if she made the career switch to selling doubles!…and then he can retire from his day job and check her tax free millions!!Smh.
I pay my Paye. They do not pay Quartely tax every time they have to do something and come to the Bir giving false numbers and that was twenty years when i worked Bir and the cry that is going now was the same cry as now. Why are you in business tofail. Come on people. I asked a sole trader once if you are not making money why stock?
I know a few that buy their vehicles with liquid cash.
Many self employed persons and small business persons avoiding tax…too many persons escaping the tax net
Like those who have rental properties and want you to pay cash only rather than transferring monies through the bank. Our laws are archaic and sadly those less fortunate bear the brunt
Lasana,two with slight .To go.
Add d bake an skark vendors, d pudding an souse vendors,
Doh forget the nuts man, the pepper vendors, the water vendors
Mohan Ramdeeny also the landlords who don’t report their income , the mechanics who accept cash only…..
F**k that everybody should pay tax doubles venders,Charlotte Street vendors, hairdressers once you earning a living pay the blasted tax.
Yeah lewwe tax everyone except politicians, massive corporations that hide their profits in offshore accounts,, yacht owners, and imbert porsche. We like it so.
Narish Surajabally especially the incompetent politicians they should be tax the hardest.
Dem on charlotte
Wasn’t vat the tax DAT brought every one into d tax regime, so vat brought in d doubles man, an the maxi an taxi drivers.
Doubles ingredients zero rated eh…
The untouchables.
When d NAR govt brought out vat DAT was d purpose, so everyone wud pay taxes indirectly,
Still they make lots of profit and pay no tax.
They covering VAT with the price of the doubles.
Ok
How are they paying VAT when ALL the ingredients are zero rated?
Was al d items always zero rated??
Mohan Ramdeeny what foolishness you asking? They ARE zero rated…
I pay VAT and income tax. Why not them?
Well then let’s all stop paying tax when we get our salary by this logic.
Mohan Ramdeeny flour,oil, dry peas(channa), baking powder have been zero rated since the introduction of VAT
There is no paper trail for cash only businesses and this includes the eye specialists. No linx no credit card. The patient pays cash for eye surgery.
Dats a real bartie,
Well said…
I so would mark them when they come by my stand.
Special sauce!!!
I am often amazed by the logic that suggests that the government is a proper allocator of resources. The fact is that on evidence the taxes collected are currently not well spent but we have no choice but to pay. The question is not who should pay but instead why should we?
Hmm…you have a damn good point!
Well,don’t pay then pick up your own garbage,pay to send your children to school,pay for health services,each time you call the police,you pay them,etc.,etc.
Lance Noel i pick up my own garbage now ..i have my receipts for school fees and the bills for health services along with the bills for cdap medicine that i pay for my parents…i pay for security and alarm systems…next….
Wendell Raeburn whilst I can relate to your sentiment, you don’t lay roads, install public street lighting etc… Our tax dollars aren’t all badly spent. Yes there is room for improvement.
I think youre missing an essential point ..we have no say in how it is spent. The latest idb report essentially asks why is tax dollars in trinidad and tobago not delivering?…
Wendell Raeburn how can we say that when every night we drive home on paved roads with street lighting. We go to the public health centre in an emergency and there are beds, sheets, pillows, air conditioning, medicine…and the list goes on. Come on we are not even close to third world. Look at the cost of petrol and electricity. It ranks amongst the cheapest in the world.
Michele Celestine who said anything about third world what i am saying is that we do not get value for money.
Wendell Raeburn I will read the idb report. I think we do but then I know I continue to compare with the other parts of the world that I have lived. It could just be that they get even less value.
Wendell Raeburn said he picks up his own garbage…lol. Do you go to the dump too Wendell….lol.
Fyi i pay bk holdings to do so….
Hooray for you sir,you are the only person in this country who does not benefit from anything the government does.????
Well said.
She clearly needs 10 doubles wid non-slight scorpion.
There’s some mysterious disease currently afflicting the educated (better yet schooled) experts in our land. The disease causes painful outbursts of drivel. Symptoms appear to resemble “diablemblem “. This disease was discovered in the hallowed halls of QRC by my classmate Colin Flemming. He discovered this in form 2A, after listening to one of our “beloved” teachers. His description was “plenty and flowing bullshit utterances which cause unimaginable pain, to those observing the outbursts.” The cure is to banish the utterer .