Turnquest: My company won't benefit from budget

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

DEPUTY Prime Minister Peter Turnquest said it is "ridiculous" to believe removing customs duty on aeroplanes and helicopters will prompt him to now buy aircraft for his business.

The government is removing customs duty on aeroplanes and helicopters in an effort to build an aeroplane registry in the country.

Some Bahamians have seized on this to disparage Mr Turnquest, who has an interest in Sky Bahamas, but the finance minister laid out a detailed rationale for the duty exemptions during the budget debate in the House of Assembly yesterday.

"Most people by now know I have an interest in an airline," he said. "I would love to say that I can run out tomorrow and buy an aircraft. I really wish I could because the airline needs to improve its fleet. Truth of the matter is, this is a very difficult business, very capital intensive and very difficult operating in an environment where the playing field is not even. The whole idea now that I'm somehow going to go rush out because I've given myself a duty-free exemption and buy a new aircraft is ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous and it's petty.

"The whole idea behind duty-free exemptions on aircraft, and the member for Englerston knows this because she was involved in this, is to try to finally establish this long sought after aircraft registry. Nobody is going to put their aircraft on the Bahamas registry if they got to pay ten per cent duty on a $20m aircraft or $30m aircraft. Why? Because nine out of ten they're not gonna be here. They just want their aircraft on the registry. The idea is to make it easy for foreign companies, particularly airline leasing companies and corporate entities, to register their aircraft in The Bahamas and put them on the registry. This is just like the ship registry. This gives us $50m."

Mr Turnquest said foreign aircraft owners have good reasons for wanting to register their crafts here. The potential for the industry, he said, is "exponential," as it would create opportunities for a variety of well-paying jobs for Bahamians.

"An Israeli made aircraft wants to go to an Arab country with a US registry, can't go," he said. "A US registered aircraft wants to go to Cuba, can't go. Countries in South America and individuals and companies who may own aircraft, fear for their lives. They don't want people to know that they own an aircraft and so they seek another register. So this is a business. The benefit of this industry is that while you make it easier for them to go on the register you can charge them every year, paying four, five thousand dollars, just for registering them."

He said: "I want to disabuse those that may be easily misled by the rhetoric because I see the little cartoons on WhatsApp and whatever and I think they're funny, they don't offend me, I think they are absolutely creative. It shows the talent and creativity of the Bahamian people. But I don't want the message to get lost about what we're trying to accomplish. I always say Bahamians need to read, they need to take every opportunity to understand and to learn what it is that we are trying to do because not everything is someone trying to get you, not everyone is trying to take advantage of you. Sometimes we're actually trying to be genuine in what we're trying to do."