By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Senior Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMAS Christian Council president Bishop Delton Fernander wants the government to expand tax exemptions for churches that offer key community services.

“One of the yearly things is that we use churches for hurricane shelters,” he said at a press conference yesterday. “In Abaco and Grand Bahama and Exuma and those places where churches have been damaged, we can’t even get exemptions on materials coming in to repair those churches because the list is so restrictive. It’s about candles and the like and, yes, the last time it was done was under Prime Minister Ingraham and that was done in a time when we weren’t so involved with the things we are involved with today and so the exemption list of religious goods has to be modernised.”

“We’re talking about four Prime Ministers away. It is now time to look at that because the church is being asked to do much more. We’re inviting persons in not only as shelters, but now education is saying they want us to bring them in as safe spaces and (when) they come in, electricity will be burning.

“We’ve got to figure out ways through legislation… In the States, other jurisdictions, they call it faith-based grants and initiatives. If we’re gonna take on more... Monday through Sunday, stuff we didn’t budget for then there is this expectation that there is the money there and it isn’t.

 “Even a VAT reduction on something or if we’re gonna pay the power, let it be the power that the churches use but if we engaging with the state there has to be some write-off, there has to be some benefit and so the church is just simply saying we’re progressing as a country and we must progress in how we think and there are other jurisdictions who have done this already.”

 Bishop Fernander’s comments came after a courtesy call with the Free National Movement.