Shaneek Amoy Frank, a 12th grade student of William Knibb Memorial High School, Jamaica will be among her country's delegates at the upcoming Eighteenth General Assembly and Technical Conference of the Caribbean Organisation of Tax Administrators (COTA) in The Bahamas from 26-29 July, 2004.
Frank's attendance at the meeting forms part of her first prize for the winning entry in an essay competition recently staged by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat and COTA, under the theme, “The Human Side of Taxation.” The competition, which attracted participation from eleven CARICOM Member States, amassed a total of 28 entries. It was aimed at improving voluntary tax compliance by stimulating interest in taxation, and by channeling interest and debate from secondary school students.
Regional tax officials have singled out low tax compliance levels in the Region, increased tax avoidance and tax evasion as contributory factors for revenue shortfalls and an unstable Regional macro environment. These conditions were used as the basis for staging the competition. Organisers of the tax essay competition also felt that the human element within tax administration, the tax paying public and government are factors crucial to tax revenue performance.
In addition to the trip to the COTA General Assembly in The Bahamas, the Jamaican high school student has also won herself a computer and printer valued US$1500.00, while her school will also be presented with a similar prize of a computer.
Kathie Francis of Sir Arthur Lewis Community College in Saint Lucia, was second in the competition, while Jessie Boissiere of Washington Archibald High School, St Kitts and Nevis was adjudged third place winner. The second prize and third prizewinners will receive individual computers, while one computer and a trophy also earmarked for the respective winning schools. The Ministry of Finance and the Private Sector in The Bahamas donated prizes for the competition.
Entrants were required to submit their compositions of not more than 650 words to their respective Tax Department Heads. Credit was given to essays that demonstrated reasonable knowledge and understanding of human aspects of taxation, application of concepts, proper grammar, sound arguments, and ingenuity of ideas.
Students from Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, The Bahamas, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago also submitted entries.
Contact:
Rose Blenman
E-mail: rblenman@caricom.org
