The news about Anguilla getting “over $30 Million (USD) per year” for “AI” Domain Registrations is true! Yes. US dollars![1] So why haven’t they repealed GST?
This is many times more than they demanded to “justify” GST – during Covid. The GST goal was exceeded right after reopening, with the original taxes – before GST! [2] It was immoral to impose it then. It is immoral not to repeal it now.
Tech Registrations Collected from Portals – “Not Reflected”
Yet, actual Domain Registration fees were not reflected in the budget. GOA estimates are just $24 Million EC for 2023, going to ~$30 Million EC by 2025.[2] EC, not US, dollars.
Domain Registration fees are actually much higher, or ~$100 Million EC. And the trend “is following the ‘dot com’ growth curve.” [1,3] That could replace every tax we pay in the next 2 years. That is, they could repeal GST today – and another hundred taxes next year!
GST Collected at the Ports – “Not Reflected”
Domain Registration fees are now more than the GST they posted on Facebook in July. But GST collected at the ports was “not reflected” [4] – but why?
Remember: GST is only one of the broad-based taxes paid at the ports. Nothing else can be “deducted”: Not customs duties, excise tax, fees – nor, bookkeeping hours and costs, or time wasted to clear goods that bleed businesses by serving the government, instead of customers.
In fact, expecting to “deduct” GST made fools of many, who thought “getting it back” meant all duties and fees could be deducted from GST paid by customers. A pitiful exercise for a paltry part of port taxes. GST just forced businesses into being unpaid, subservient tax agents. No one got duty-free status.
And. GST has forced businesses to succumb to hours of invasive audits, chiseling customers, monthly reports and payments, 7 years of recordkeeping, 5 years of Comptroller powers over every transaction, and having to pay 50% of disputed amounts, only to dispute them. Not to mention lost business and gratuities from customers feeling fleeced! All that and more, under law, with painful penalties and pestering while just trying to make a living and put bread on the table.
No wonder both parties blame the other for “starting” GST. Don’t they hear how they sound, as if neither had the good sense to stop what they claim the other started when each had the chance?
“Domains” Are Not Just Lots of Land
The term “domain” suggests ownership of land for most of us. However, on the Internet, a domain is, “a subdivision of the Internet consisting of computers or sites usually with a common purpose (such as providing commercial information) and denoted in Internet addresses by a unique abbreviation (such as com for commercial sites or gov for government sites).” [5]
Domain abbreviations can also be unique to countries, or the activity conducted on them. For example, many British websites end with “dot UK” (.uk) and in Canada, with “dot CA” (.ca). Whereas university sites usually end in “dot EDU” (.edu) and non-governmental organization sites, with “dot ORG” (.org). By July of 2023, there were 628.5 million registered domains worldwide, up from 438.4 million in 2021, and 37% are “dot com” (.com) sites. The first was registered in 1985. They are now essential for every modern business and society in the world. [6]
Tech Registrations: The “AI” Domain
Now, exactly how are these “Domain Registration” fees coming here? For Anguilla, our country domain is like our postal code: “dot AI” (.ai). The entire domain belongs to the government, which should mean it belongs to the People of Anguilla.
The “AI” domain is another alternative to “dot com” as we might refer to a website location, where the abbreviation literally follows a dot, or period. However, businesses, organisations, and governments are rapidly recognising that A-I can also signify, “Artificial Intelligence”: That is, using computer programs that simulate human intelligence is becoming a viable, inescapable aspect of communicating in every sector, worldwide. “Dot AI” is therefore in demand for websites that use such programs for commerce, education, and other purposes.
An average of 21,000 new “AI” domains are now being purchased every month. For each, $140US is transferred to the government as a “Domain Registration” fee, or about ~$3 Million USD, every month. That’s almost as much as the GST from all stores and restaurants in the last year.[4] Every month.
More Predictable and Diversified than All Anguillian Taxes – Including GST
Just think: 21,000 new domain customers outnumber our entire population. Every month. That average has been registering “AI” domain sites from around the world, with about a quarter of a million new customers just this year. They now contribute more to the Government than all our tourists in Accommodation GST. And registrations are ongoing, not seasonal.
Registrants use these domains as portals to the world for online commerce, communications, education, events, meetings, and more. Once selected, registered, and routinely renewed, a domain represents a form of intellectual property – and perpetual goodwill. That is, having a domain your customers and other stakeholders remember is an asset that typically shapes the identity of its registrant for many years. Just think of AA.com for American Airlines, Amazon.com and Whatsapp.com.
Anguilla is obviously subject to natural disasters, global shocks, and new and higher taxes that cause business closures, unemployment, and poverty – which can jeopardise what government can collect from the rest of us. By contrast, domain registrations must be renewed like driver’s licenses, and they are stabilised by a global customer base of hundreds of thousands. Notably, online activity soared during the pandemic. Therefore, unlike being dependent only on Anguilla taxpayers, or begging the British, if disasters or economic shocks might occur here – or in any other locations, the rest of the world can cushion them with continued renewals and new registrations.
Transparency – and GST
Thus, Anguilla now has a globally diversified, reliable source of revenue from tens of thousands of customers that has exceeded the GST “goal” many times over. And it could fund the entire government and replace all taxes and fees in the next ~2 years.
With all that squabbling over who started it – and getting more than their goal before forcing GST, why haven’t they already repealed it? Like the banking resolution, we may never know. Why ask? They said they would adopt alternatives to GST. So, would it matter what they say, anyway?
What we know without asking is this: Domain registrations are yet another “alternative” to GST. People are hurting. They could repeal and replace GST with this revenue, alone. It is immoral not to do so. Today.
Repeal GST – and pass a balanced budget bill. Now.
This article reflects cultural and economic issues raised on July 5, 2021, at the House Select Committee on GST Public Hearing. [1] Personal interview of Vincent Cate, founder and registration agent for www.ai (18 September 2023); [2] GOA 2023 Budget; [3] “Another Supplementary Budget Passes in the House of Assembly” (The Anguillian, 15 Sept 2023; Vol. 25, No. 40); [4] https://www.facebook.com/anguillagovernment/posts/pfbid02USVKFJww93zSoErbyn72xy SaoRqUVHPuJESiWRRx8Fv Q2kCTjUHw1PeRTNyZUEaQl /; [5]https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/domain;[6] https://colorlib.com/wp/domain-name-statistics/
