By Trudy Simpson, Staff ReporterTHE NATIONAL Housing Trust (NHT) has said that it is not ruling out making public the names of delinquent employers who fail to hand over more than $1.7 billion in statutory deductions to the Trust.
Speaking to The Gleaner, NHT managing director, Earl Samuels, said that the measure was not being considered at this time, but may be used as a last resort to collect outstanding funds.
Late last month, the NHT said it was owed in excess of $1.7 billion in statutory deductions by delinquent employers. This was resulting in hundreds of employees, in both the public and private sectors, being potentially unable to access housing benefits from the NHT.
CASH FLOW PROBLEM
The NHT estimates that it should receive approximately $6.73 billion in statutory deductions, annually. However, it came up $1.73 billion short at the end of the 2001/2002 financial year. The Trust said some employers have indicated that they are experiencing cash flow problems, while others claim they have gone out of business. In some instances, employers have simply evaded their responsibilities, the NHT said.
The NHT said also pointed out that employees were facing additional problems, as many companies failed to file annual returns which would give details outlining various employees and their contributions.
PUBLIC EDUCATION PROGRAMME
NHT officials said statistics up to January 31, 2003, showed the Trust received only 53 per cent, or 87,420 of the 159,635 annual returns expected for the period 1995 to 2001. "Some contributors have had to be making several trips between the NHT and the employers to get the required data needed for the processing of their loans and contribution refunds," the Trust remarked.
The NHT said it had implemented measures to encourage more companies to pay deductions and file annual returns, including an on-going public education programme.
