The Sales Tax Department was burglarized last night. This morning employees at the Sales Tax returned to work to find the offices completely ransacked. Gone were a number of computers and other office equipment and today Commissioner of Sales Tax Beverly Castillo told Alfonso Noble that the break in will interrupt their operations significantly.
Alfonso NobleReporting,
Despite round the clock security and an active alarm system burglars managed to break into the Complex Building on Mahogany Street. They cut into this window at the rear of the building and gained access into the offices of the Sales Tax Unit. Beverly Castillo is the Commissioner of Sales Tax and says the thieves made off with quite a number of computers and other equipment.
Beverly Castillo,
"We were here working until about 9:45. I am certain that we locked up properly, the supervisor and I left together and I got a call at 7:55 that the office appeared to have been broken into and that some of our computers were missing. We can't ascertain what the total loss is but the police are investigating right now, they are doing their doing scanning and gathering evidence. There is a glass broken in the rear, it appears that they made entrance through there and ransacked the entire office, from the back all the way up to the front."
As the burglars managed to take a lot of equipment that includes 4 computers, a laptop and a printer among other things, Castillo says their work at the GST Unit will continue but not without interruption.
Beverly Castillo,
"There is the issue of the GST development and setting up a system. The work is ongoing right now so that's going to set us back a little but hopefully we could regroup and come back and start over. Hopefully we will recover those losses and can go smoothly into GST implementation."
Alfonso Noble,
So its not anything that will seriously affect the implementation?
Beverly Castillo,
"It will hinder some but not completely. We will make up for those losses and we will get on with GST development."
But while the Sales Tax unit is turning into the GST unit and the implementation of the tax is imminent come July 1, investigators will now have to figure out who it was that broke into the offices.
The Sales Tax Department and the Police Department are now looking for 5 Dell computers with flat screens along with an HP laser jet printer 3 radios, a television, a VCR, a microwave along with other office equipment. Anyone with information can call the police.
