By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A foreign-based dive operator is blaming his decision not to renew his Bahamas Diving Association (BDA) membership on “inflammatory and insulting” statements by its leadership, adding that his business pays the Government more than $50,000 annually.

Captain W. Scott Smith, of the Dolphin Dream vessel, in a March 13 letter to the Ministry of Tourism said he would not renew his BDA membership because of remarks made about ‘foreign dive operators’ by its president, Stuart Cove, and vice-president, Neal Watson.

In the letter, copied to Tribune Business, Captain Smith denied that his boat exploited a ‘loophole’ in the 1991 charter boat legislation to escape paying due taxes to the Government.

Both Mr Cove and Mr Watson have expressed concern about tax evasion/avoidance by foreign ‘liveaboard’ dive operators in the past, who enter and exit Bahamian waters without paying their due taxes, but Captain Smith said such a description did not apply to him and the Dolphin Dream.

“We do not operate with in a ‘loophole in the Charter Boat Legislation passed in 1991’; it is exactly what the legislation was for, to permit and collect money from non-Bahamian /foreign charter boats,” Captain Smith wrote.

“The fees and taxes we pay are mandatory and paid upon entrance to the Bahamas, with accurate records of our passenger count and dates in the Bahamas, unlike the vast majority of foreign charter boats in the Bahamas that fly people in and out of the Bahamas and enter the Bahamas as private vessels with no accurate accounting of their trips or number of people.

“We pay Custom clearance fees, $20 departure tax, 4 per cent gross sale tax, $50 per head scuba tax and our annual $1875 permit fee, all adding up to over 8 per cent of our gross sales. The Dolphin Dream pays over $50,000 a year to the Bahamas government, and I’m sure our gross sales are much less then Stuart Cove’s.”

Captain Smith then added: “I will not be renewing my membership with the Bahamas Diving Association. After many years of membership I find the inflammatory remarks from the vice-president, Mr Watson, and president Stuart Cove about ‘foreign dive operations’ to be incorrect and insulting.

“It just seems wrong that officers of any association should talk bad about anybody in the same industry. Whether they’re a member, non-member or want to be member, it makes the whole industry look bad.”

He conceded that his boat, which is registered in the US, had tragically lost a crew member to a diving accident in December 2014 off Grand Bahama - an incident he alleged had attracted criticism from Mr Watson.

As a US boat, Captain Smith said the Dolphin Dream was “under more scrutiny” because it was also subject to US law and oversight.

He added: “Twenty to 30 years ago there were 14 US live aboard dive boats bringing in 10 to 30 divers from the US to the Bahamas. They were a big part of Bimini’s financial income.

“Now there are three or four boats bringing 12 people a week from the US; most boats shut down or moved due to too many US laws. Two of these four boats were BDA members, and all four clear into the Bahamas just like the cruise ships, and we are self-contained like the cruise ships.

“We don’t bring very many people into the Bahamas, but we pay relatively more than the cruise ships or the other non-Bahamian live aboard and dive boats that base in the Bahamas.”

Captain Smith then continued: “There may be some illegal dive boats operating but they would be small and part-time. Both the Port Department and Bahamas Customs try hard to ensure all foreign boats are legal and paying their fees and taxes.

“There are also foreign charter boats that operate day dive trips out of the Bahamas, foreign charter fishing boats, foreign day snorkeling boats, foreign charter yachts and foreign sailing charter boats.

“This vast majority of foreign charter boats operating in the Bahamas enter into the country as private vessels with no passengers onboard - they are all under a voluntary reporting and payment system for the 4 per cent tax, and none have to pay the extra $50 per head scuba fee.

“I would hope the Bahamas legislation would not want to restrict or terminate the only boats that have to pay upon entrance and that have to pay more, because of the [comments] from the BDA officers. Why are they singling out only US-based foreign charter boats?”