This is a sad situation ................. it tells us that Perry doesnt have our back ........ he is just making political decisions not decisions in the best interest of the citizens or the future of the country

January is going to be an epic failure. I got my pantry stocked to the brim with shelf stable foods.

This country is F#@%ed! VAT has not been implemented and they are already talking about using it to implement NHI. We where told that we had to have VAT in order to pay off our DEBT. These idiots will waste, mismanage, and steal the money no matter how much they tax the people. Listen up you A$$holes, I AM AT THE EDGE, I HAVE NO MORE TO GIVE. The government has put us in this position yet it refuses to cut back, right size, or do ANYTHING to stop the bleeding of public funds. For the P.M. to say "this is what it is, deal with it" is a complete and utter slap in the face. The failure and corruption of GOVERNMENT is the cause of this mess and they have/will not changed in the slightest. The only thing they do is whip the taxpayers with more taxes! F#@K YOU!

This is a clue that this stupid experiment will fail .............. who will be the fall guy??????

Not Ryan Pinder...he gone!!

Not perry he was not there for the vote

The real question is will government use VAT as a sinking fund for the nation's outstanding debt and reduce spending in the public sector. Or will the government use this as a new stream of revenue to spend like drunken sailors prior to the next election?

The latter ........... more spending, more gravy train, more contracts & kickbacks to the political "friends, family and lovers"

You don't follow the news hey? They are ALREADY spending the money that they DO NOT HAVE!

Bahamian schmucks deserve Christie and those who continue to kiss his arse, like Bowe, who persist in supporting the implementation of a most unfair and highly regressive VAT. Down the road, you will see imbeciles like Christie and Bowe finding any means possible to distance themselves from the dire economic consequences that will undoubtedly flow from VAT!

Easy to be conciliatory while holding a big stick!
Power to seize assets, power to empty bank accounts, seize passports, shut down businesses,
If they conduct themselves like Immigration it will get ugly.
As for customs collecting, you're gonna need a Government issued cut sheet to keep them from introducing their own rules at every level!
Added to their own insufficient training it will be rough.
Public confusion will be a big issue also, and the merchants and stores will take the heat for Government.
Mark my words, when the inevitable inflation kicks in, Government will waste no time in blaming "greedy merchants"
Ironic but with major ramifications.
Thank Ingraham and Laing when you see them.
Perry just holding the IMF instructions.

VAT is a big rat trap with an oversize piece of cheeze that will snare the unexpected. More than half the companies that registered for VAT are living from hand to mouth or on borrowed funds. They have to scrap to pay operating expenses from day to day and many have signed payment agreements with BEC, National Insurance, property tax and even for extended or delinquent bank loans. Now the government is telling them to collect VAT and turn it in in 30, 90 or 180 days. What do you think will happen to those funds when BEC comes to shut off the power or some other bill needs to be paid? Many business will fall into the trap of not having the funds to submit to government when the time comes and will not make it through the first year of VAT!

Yeap...expect many many businesses forced to close up shop.

2015 will be the beginning of the end of our present economy ............ VAT will lead to more fiscal problems in our country ............ the Employers' Confederation should not have supported this VAT ............. now we are all screwed ............ they had their chance to stand up .......... TOO LATE

The Prime Minister has called VAT a "bad situation"? Ha!!

Is that why he didn't take the lead in Parliament on this?????? So he can have Halkitis as the fall guy????????? Why did Ryan Pinder resign for real????

With only a few weeks to go before VAT the PM has called the VAT situation BAD yet HE is responsible for this BAD situation. Remember this is the same PM who went to Las Vegas after he convinced the rest of his blind followers to rush the VAT bill through at the eleventh hour.

The owners of this big mess is the PM, the PLP and no one else.

My favourite is the light touch approach. That's specifically for Brave Davis and Co and the like, so they don't have to spend they're easily stolen money on taxes.

I trust that ALL of the VAT registrants be posted in the newspapers and Gazette prior to January 1st 2015 and every month after that. This is going to be one mess !!!!!!! You must ONLY pay VAT if you see a VAT registration certificate posted in the business!!!!!! And they can print it off the VAT website!!!!! Jokes. They dont know Bahamians hey????????

What the prime is not saying, is that although he may not agree with VAT. It is probably a stipulation that was place on the country by the IMF in order to pay down the huge debt that this country is sinking under.

Bandit it is exactly the IMF who is driving VAT, and awaiting the data that VAT reporting will provide.
Data that up to this point has ben shielded from the Ministry of finance et al.
Wonder what they need that data for?
Not much of an imagination needed to figure that out.

Sadly while this whole VAT thing has been 'earmarked' for debt reduction, it will never be used to pay down debt...just fund more politically motivated schemes and pockets.