Another brick comes out from under the foundation. With an air freight boycott to an island that imports EVERYTHING, well it won't be long before shortages and ... anarchy !

This is only one of numerous aggressive tax moves by the PLP. There are two others changes moving under the radar which will cripple the financial industry. (1) a 1.5% stamp tax on all incoming and out going wires buried in Section 4(38) of the Stamp (Amendment) Act, 2016. This does not only apply to FX transactions or Bahamians but every last wire in and out of the Bahamas by a Bahamian bank (or trust company) regardless of if it is for non residents or residents and (2) extension of VAT on inward informational services to financial entities. In cases where the management, administration, custodianship is outside the Bahamas it will push mutual funds only registered in the Bahamas to the BVI or Cayman.

Well done PLP! Keep it up! Looks like the web boys are the only ones making a decent profit. But at what a cost to our working class who are struggling to put food on the table. Forget the light and water and education, these are already off for most people over the hill.

People are now desperate and most votes are now for on sale at a very low price.

Please Please go on strike - this country needs a general strike and a new gov't not PLP, FNM or DNA something else better

So what idiot is advising Customs. When was the meeting with all the freight carriers? PLP communism .

Any bureaucracy that becomes incompetent or cannot administer the existing laws and rules derived thereon will create more rules and regulations under which they will penalize, victimize and boost revenues.
This road is well worn globally and historically, and never ever ends well.
Unfortunately the general population suffers and will pay the price while the despots political families and "inner circle glitterati" walk away with the stolen revenues and national assets.

i heading to the beach to make my own salt.

Retarded - ridiculously retarded. Overthrow this government, pay them NO taxes, bring in mercenaries and run them out of the country.

No imports should be headline news.

"Air cargo operators will also be subjected to a $5,000 per item fine for every “prohibited or restricted good” found on board. A fine equivalent to 25 per cent of the value will also be incurred for every item not declared prior to landing in Nassau."

This equivalent to requiring a webhost provider to manage all violating uploads to their clients sites. Like SOPA. You're expecting the courier to open everyones package. Why not fine the fool that ordered serious contraband? Just require the courier provide the list of what's illegal on their site where the customer checks the box that's they've read the terms and conditions on checkout.

If such is an issue , that should be more jobs creation within the country at customs duh, as opposed to reducing the market or causing the big players to hire mail checkers outside the country.

With rules like this thrown out, we're obviously not ready to host a regional fulfillment center with product inspection for the likes of Amazon.

People already mainly use their family members that are coming over. And the next article says we're aiming for spot 50 in ease of doing business..

One solution would be to offer the option a product inspection fee from courtier companies based on their annual traffic instead of violations, and use that money for gov to hire more inspectors.

which is another ridiculous solution.

so they reduce the duty with one hand and take money back with another.

this would also affect your price at the food store and at retailers, so it does nothing to protect buying at home.

it is no improvement over the existing law.

More customers due to less duty would make up for it. A customs officer salary is less than the near $1M for 100+ prohibited items.

Any deal is always just putting the cost elsewhere.

With islands still heavily importing for repairs from Joaquin and hurricane and back to school season coming , this could be bad. Summer is already a slow time for biz.

Majority rule. While the world progress's we regress.

Could also charge a competition fee if the foreign ones undercut the Bahamaian providers.

A inspectors fee plus competition fee with a no duty on food and supplies for businesses would be a trade off that increases their clientele.

$12,000 for gov to hire a customs officer is better that $720,00.

Use warnings for minor violations. Repeated serious contraband found with a courier would be loss of license instead of fines.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/customs-sei…

If the list of items is complied as the customer buys forwarding, I don't see how requesting sending the list an hour in advance is so inconvenient that it changes the ship within 24 hr service to the next day. Amazon gives you a cut of time to purchase if you want to receive your order the next day. 24hrs vs same day before sundown isn't a big difference except for medical items but understandably it hindered a feature of their service so they claim.

Who's this company that does rounds every half hr? Wasn't aware we had same day shipping.

Expensive couriers should get on the consumers side and push for duty reductions.

Seems weird to put the charge on the carrier and not the person who packed the container. It's almost as if customer wants to transfer their inspection duties onto the carrier

looks like the person who ordered the stuff might not be held responsible either.

http://www.tribune242.com/news/2014/sep…

I wondered if that's why they did it, i.e. to protect their crooked friends in high places. They know these guns are being brought in by "respectable" people. If it was the "usual suspect", they would have been in jail long time. That's why I simply don't believe John Bostwick.

Drugs, guns and human smuggling are being sponsored by rich, well established, "respected" (money=respect in this crazy town) businessmen. Some whose industry was recently regulated too, they've now gone on a massive marketing campaign to clean up their dutty image.

I'm certain after marijuana is legalized, or I should say they force the legalization, they'll be the first to pop in front of the camera to show us the sophistication of their operation. Then the minister of agriculture will tell us how professionally they've been operating illegally for years. Then they'll tell us how wonderful this will be for the economy and all the drug programmes they'll sponsor. In real life, the only concrete thing the country will get is more addicts,and lots of shiny media appearances.

Others have sham money laundering (or anything laundering) business fronts. There's one particular store in Palmdale that has been open for decades, I have never seen more than 5 people in that store, yet somehow they've managed to weather roadworks and tough economic times while other businesses around them crumble. And they always have a big container to unload, meanwhile the stuff in the store look likes it's been on display from 1920.