What a bunch of poppy cock! For too many good reasons to elaborate on here, the Bahamas doesn't stand a chance of ever competing in any meaningful financial way with the developed countries when it come to an aircraft registry. Just look at the schedule below for private jets. The same applies for heavy commercial passenger jets, small private aircraft, etc. There are many, many reasons why we, as a small less developed nation, will never be able to meaningfully compete in this particular arena and Turnquest knows it. The exemption of aircraft from VAT will only ever really benefit in a big financial way the likes of Turnquest as regards his ownership interest in Sky Bahamas, as that airline seeks to update/upgrade its aged fleet of aircraft.

Most popular private jet registries

**Position Registered Country No. of Aircraft
1 United States 12,051**
2 Brazil 764
3 Mexico 704
4 Canada 483
5 Germany 387
6 Isle of Man 264
7 Austria 244
8 United Kingdom 241
9 China 203
10 Venezuela 168
11 South Africa 160
12 Australia 154
13 Argentina 142
14 India 140
15 Portugal 138
16 France 132
17 Switzerland 123
18 Bermuda 117
19 Cayman Islands 114
20 Turkey 110
21 Spain 100
22 Italy 99
23 Denmark 62
24 United Arab Emirates 61
25 Saudi Arabia 56
26 Russian Federation 53
27 Luxembourg 48
28 Belgium 45
29 Aruba 45
30 Nigeria 41
31 Japan 36
32 Sweden 36
33 Malta 35
34 Czech Republic 34
35 Hong Kong 32
36 Philippines 32
37 Indonesia 27
38 Netherlands 27
39 Finland 26
40 Morocco 26
41 Thailand 25
42 Ukraine 24
43 Egypt 23
44 Chile 20
45 Serbia 17
46 Bulgaria 16
47 Kazakhstan 16
48 Colombia 16
49 Greece 15
50 Pakistan 15

You don't know what you're talking about, bud. Stop posting hastily googled numbers as support for your baseless opinions... you are aware of the Bahamas shipping registry, are you not? Start there for research and come back actually prepared. So sick of these shallow, useless political tools cluttering what could be a stimulating comment space.

Unlike shipping that has evolved over many centuries, national and international laws and regulations pertaining to aviation, especially commercial passenger travel, are less than a century old, very tightly codified and rigorously enforced for safety and other good reasons. A select few of the developed countries are considered the pioneers in all aspects of aviation for many obvious reasons and that's just too tough a nut for smaller less developed nations like the Bahamas to ever crack. There has never been a Liberia in aviation and there never will be one. We have limited resources and need to be realistic.

But... are the Imperial Red Shirts in talks with Air China to buy BahamalandAIR. Who will own the many dozens government owned airports stretching far and out island wide after the Comrade Chinese airliner steps in and are there plans enter into the local airline ownership? Is the red government's Imperial minister aviation still withholding the granting of license to Comrade Bran McCartney to operate local airline... if so, why so?

http://tribune242.com/users/photos/2018…

I must say the candor and frankness that exudes from the minister's words are quite refreshing. He is absolutely right when he says that people must cultivate more of a love for reading. Not only Bahamians, but people don't like to read, period. And then their rhetoric gets reduced to feelings, superstitions, and conspiracy theories. Someone once said that if you ever want to hide something from Americans, put it in a book in the library. They will never find it, because Americans don't like to read. Again, this is true of people in general. Europeans and Middle Easterners, it seems, are much more avid readers than the rest of the world.

Now, not only is it important for Bahamians to read more, it is also important for us to remember--develop long term memory. By reading more and putting things in our long term memory we can better hold the politicians accountable.

I don't understand us as a people. How long have we said " the Bahamas need to look at more than just banking and tourism", " governments need to find new way to generate income". Finally we have new ideas, and because the ideas are new there is still grumbling. I don't own a plane, I have no desire to own a helicopter so therefore the VAT exemption on aircraft will not benefit me. However, it will benefit, Western Air, Flamingo Air, Sky Bahamas, Pineapple Air, LeAir and others that service the Family Islands. All of which I have had to travel on with the exception of Pineapple Air. So what if Sky Bahamas will be one of the companies that will benefit, what about the many other Bahamian owed airline companies that will also benefit. Isn't this about benefiting Bahamians? I'm certain that no one in the Bahamian Aviation industry is complaining, and if by some chance we are able to really develop and aircraft registry from the exemption wouldn't that be a added bonus? it would result in new jobs and new careers. Which would accommodate those yearly graduates that we complain don't have jobs, it would also allow opportunities for the bloated public service workers to go when they are eventually let go, which has to be done in order for those payroll costs to go down. So pick your poison, either which way, if there are no real solutions...shut up, please.

C'mon birdiestrachan.
We are all very aware of the Oban issue. Like many others I would like to hear a final word on what will happen with that proposed idea. Not gossipmonger but an official statement from the governing party. But let us not forget that there have been other PMs that would have misspoken as well albeit not with a signing. Most recently the "I have no horse in the race" coupled with the "We will hold a referendum on the gaming issue" which later turned into a non-binding referendum.

The Airline Registry is a great idea, just like the Shipping Registry has been very successful. It was a prideful feeling, to observe a large vessel on the Mediterranean Sea, a couple years ago, with the Bahamian flag flapping in the wind. As the DPM stated, many of our neighbors will choose the Bahamas because of proximity and convenience. Only the bird-brain and prophets of doom among us can see the ulterior motive in this move,

agreed, we're long overdue in this space.

We stand a better chance of establishing an economically viable registry for unmanned space craft designed to explore the outer reaches of our universe.

So, Sky Bahamas belongs to who. Mr. Butler. Mr, Turnquest is a shareholder. No matter all of the Bull Crap he is spewing, he will benefit from this. Hence a conflict of interest. How many other bahamians give a sh-t about airplane, helicopter; new or used, parts or otherwise. We will have problems to pay our bills to survive. To even publish this exemption is assinine.

So, what about the creation of an airline registry, that you are not hearing? Are you even familiar with the ship registration success? And if Sky Bahamas, and the other Bahamian airline companies, benefits from this exemption, what is so wrong about that? We have to get away from the crab in the barrel syndrome.

This exemption and the washing machine exemption are just TERRIBLE timing on their part. I don't mind the exemptions personally but it just stinks that they did it now. They should have waited a year before doing it.