US firm wins J$1.87 billion sole-source contract to upgrade Jamaica's tax system. Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ) has awarded a $1.87-billion single-source contract to a United States technology company to upgrade the revenue administration information system that underpins the collection of taxes across the island, recent contract filings show. "Upgrade of Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ) Revenue Administration Information System (RAiS)," the contract award notice states, identifying Fast Enterprises LLC as the sole contractor for information technology services and software maintenance under a government-funded engagement. Fast Enterprises is a Colorado-based technology company that specialises in revenue administration software for government tax agencies. Its GenTax platform has been deployed by tax authorities in multiple US states and several international jurisdictions. The RAiS system it is contracted to upgrade is the primary technology backbone through which TAJ processes income tax, general consumption tax, property tax, and other revenue streams for the Government of Jamaica. TAJ did not respond to Financial Gleaner questions about the scope of the upgrade, The contract title includes the designation "(Re-Tender)", indicating that a prior procurement attempt was made and either cancelled or unsuccessful before Fast Enterprises was selected. The procurement method is listed as single-source, meaning TAJ went directly to the US firm without putting the contract to open competition. The Government expects to collect $980 billion in tax revenue for the current fiscal year ending March 2027, up from $950 billion a year earlier. Overall, the Government has projected total revenues of $1.338 trillion for fiscal year 2026-27 against a spending plan of $1.4 trillion. Against this backdrop, the upgraded system should become active in the next fiscal year. In March, TAJ told the media that it had launched the RAiS upgrade in partnership with Fast Enterprises, but did not disclose the value of the contract. The plan includes upgrading the GenTax version 10, in place since 2014, to the latest CORE 26 version, with completion scheduled for March 2027. At the time, the TAJ stated that the upgrade would improve its interactions with taxpayers. [email protected] Discover more Local News Newspaper Subscription

Belastingdienst: Dutch tax authority reclaims VAT system control from Fast Enterprises. The Dutch Belastingdienst has reclaimed its VAT system servers from US vendor Fast Enterprises. What CADA and digital sovereignty mean for CIOs running ERP on non-European infrastructure. The Dutch tax authority (Belastingdienst) announced on 11 June 2026 that it was taking back control of the IT infrastructure underpinning its VAT system - infrastructure that had until now been operated by US software vendor Fast Enterprises. Servers will henceforth be hosted in the government's own datacentres. Fast Enterprises loses production access but retains responsibility for software development and maintenance. The go-live date, originally set for 1 July 2026, has been postponed with no new date announced (Computable.nl, 11 June 2026). Context: outsourcing under geopolitical strain. The Belastingdienst had contracted Fast Enterprises to develop and operate a new VAT management system - one of the most sensitive IT projects in the Dutch public sector. Against a backdrop of rising trade tensions with the United States under the Trump administration, State Secretary for Finance Eelco Eerenberg concluded that the data confidentiality and service continuity risks had become too significant to maintain the existing arrangement. The decision reflects a broader concern: technological dependence on non-European vendors for critical fiscal systems. The partial repatriation of control also comes in the wake of a major new European regulation. On 3 June 2026, the European Commission announced the Cloud and AI Development Act (CADA), which prohibits public administrations and critical infrastructure operators from configurations that give a non-European third party control over their servers, or that force them to comply with foreign sanctions (Computable.nl, 12 June 2026). The timing is not coincidental. What this means in practice for CIOs and CFOs. For IT and finance leaders watching this case, three signals stand out. Digital sovereignty is becoming a contractual requirement, not just a strategic preference. Under CADA, public administrations and certain regulated businesses will need to demonstrate that no non-European vendor can block or intercept their systems. For CIOs running ERP on SAP, Oracle or Microsoft Azure infrastructure, this raises concrete questions about hosting clauses and production access rights. European vendors such as Unit4, AFAS and Exact gain a structural commercial advantage in public-sector and regulated-industry procurement. Separating infrastructure from software is not enough. Marcel van Kooten, expert at consultancy Highberg, put it plainly: taking back the servers is progress, but the source code still belongs to Fast Enterprises. If Fast becomes unable to operate - due to US sanctions, insolvency, or a shift in commercial policy - the Dutch government would be left holding infrastructure it cannot maintain. Source code escrow clauses and step-in rights are now non-negotiable points in any ERP contract involving a non-EU vendor (ibid.). A signal for public-sector ERP procurement across the Benelux. The Belastingdienst decision will not remain isolated. Other Dutch, Belgian and Luxembourgish administrations are watching this case closely. Upcoming tenders may explicitly incorporate infrastructure sovereignty requirements, and potentially a criterion of anticipated CADA compliance. For vendors currently in a sales cycle targeting this segment, it is a qualification parameter they can no longer ignore. What to watch next. Two issues will remain on the radar. First, the new go-live date for the Dutch VAT system: if the delay stretches further, the political and budgetary cost could push the government toward a more radical revision of its contract with Fast Enterprises - well beyond a simple infrastructure repatriation. Second, the first CADA implementation guidelines expected before end 2026: these will clarify whether "sovereign infrastructure + proprietary US software" configurations are deemed compliant, or whether a more complete contractual break will be required for EU member states' fiscal systems. Never miss its ERP guides. Get expert insights to run a successful ERP project and avoid the costly pitfalls.