The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) has commenced the development of a new three-year Corporate Strategic Business Plan to guide its operations from 2026 to 2029. As part of this process, the department hosted a week-long, in-house strategic planning workshop, bringing together senior IRD leadership and technical consultants from the Caribbean Regional Technical Assistance Centre (CARTAC).
The initiative forms part of a broader effort to strengthen tax administration and enhance service delivery to the public. Senior management of the IRD, with support from CARTAC consultants, participated in the workshop held from January 12 to 16, 2026.
Deputy Comptroller of the IRD, Fleur Simmons, said the strategic planning exercise is designed to establish a clear and informed direction for the department over the next three years. She noted that, ahead of the workshop, focus group discussions were conducted with key stakeholders, including the Department of Finance, local business associations, and IRD staff. “What we would have looked for in these focus groups is just anything that would inform us, anything that would assist us, so it’s like an environmental scan into determining the direction of the Inland Revenue Department.”
Technical support to the IRD was provided by Princess Scott, a Short-Term Expert with CARTAC. She explained that the development of the Corporate Strategic Business Plan is guided by a structured four-pillar strategic management framework, focusing on strategic priorities, strategy formulation, execution, and performance evaluation. “So we are starting off by looking at what we call the strategic intent, which is pillar one. What are the strategic priorities from global direction, the Ministry of Finance, the Government of Saint Lucia, that, from a tax standpoint, will impact the IRD? We’re then looking at pillar two, which looks at how you then formulate a strategy. Strategy is the roadmap that will take the IRD to realize certain key outcomes in keeping with its mandate, its vision, and its mission.”
Scott added that pillar three of the framework focuses on strategy execution, including the mobilization of key enablers such as human and technical resources to optimize results. Pillar four addresses strategic evaluation and performance monitoring. “So how does it monitor and measure its performance? How does it monitor and measure the health of key components of the tax system to move the IRD forward in supporting and funding domestic revenue mobilization? Which is revenue being collected, revenue being buoyant for the people of Saint Lucia.”
Deputy Comptroller Simmons expressed confidence that the guidance provided by CARTAC will ultimately translate into tangible improvements for taxpayers and a stronger, more responsive revenue system. “This is something that we would like to achieve. Something that has come out of the focus groups as well. More interaction with the public. More information being disseminated to the public, and just an improved taxpayer administration on the whole.”
Beyond the workshop, the Inland Revenue Department remains focused on building internal capacity to sustain the strategic planning process and ensure long-term institutional resilience after the conclusion of external technical support.
