By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

AFTER protest from local manufacturers and criticism from the Official Opposition, the Minnis administration has decided to reverse its planned duty reductions on paint and fruit drinks.

The customs duty on paint will be 45 per cent while the duty rate on fruit drinks will be not be eliminated but reduced from 60 per cent to 30 per cent.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance K Peter Turnquest said representations were made to him by manufacturers of those products, prompting the reversal.

“Our first priority is to Bahamian manufacturers and we don’t want to take action harmful to their benefit,” he said as bills related to the duty changes were passed in Parliament Tuesday evening.

Nonetheless, Mr Turnquest said as the country pushes ahead to become members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), a shift away from protectionist policies will be required at some point.

“As we move forward to improve cross border trade we will have to address these protectionist policies and again the whole idea of value added tax (VAT) initially was to introduce that and be able to reduce border taxes so there is free and open trade,” he said. “As a developing country, it is important that we have that.”

Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) parliamentarians had suggested that some of the tax reductions proposed by the new administration harmed Bahamian manufactures but benefited families of members of the governing side.

In particular, they suggested that the proposed reduction on duty for paint benefited the family of St Anne’s MP Brent Symonette.

Mr Symonette, during his contribution to the budget debate Tuesday, disclosed that he has an interest in Bahamian Paint of which he said his children’s trust is a 25 per cent owner.

Mr Symonette also revealed that he had an interest relating to a number of other items affected by the budget, including fruit drinks.

Bahamian juice drink manufacturers had warned that they faced “irreparable harm” if the government eliminated the 60 per cent duty on rival imports. Up to 20 jobs were at stake, they said.

Mervin Knowles, the chief executive of Switcha Bahamas, told Tribune Business that the previously proposed tariff cuts were a “slap in the face” for local manufacturers competing against foreign rivals who enjoyed significant cost and “economies of scale” advantages.