They are losing the money that I worked for.
Divide 30 million by 400 thousand people, then divide by 12.
The average savings will be 6.25 per person per month.
This reduction in the cost of living earned me a 5 lb bag of rice or one gallon of gasoline PER MONTH.
Yes, great reduction in the cost of living

You're absolutely right. But see my comment below for a better way of looking at the absurdity of Halkitis's remarks from a purely common sense perspective.

There are too many troubling theme of uncertainties to predict with any degree of confidence as to what's goin' be **'the true price'** in B$ Stores during the 2024-2028 US presidency. -- Yes?

How many VAT billions has the Govt wasted since 2015???

Our country has not benefited from VAT ...... All it did was increased the greed level of our politicians and their teefing sycophants

Correct. And allow fools like Halkitis to speak to the greater fools they supposedly represent.
These clowns would be in jail in a just world.

It is the right thing to do brilliant 5 perecent across the board is far better than removing VAT FROM ITEMS THAT DID NOT BENEFIT THE POOR COOKING OIL FLOUR MAYONNAISE. BENEFITS FAST Food restaurants. Hotels this is all good for Bahamians 5 perecent . Appreciated. But yet the Donkeys bray I suppose that is their best

Agreed … any tax reduction should be welcomed, particularly if non-discriminatory.

As for how remaining tax revenue is spent is a different matter and will always be the subject of much debate and disagreement.

Comrades, the "VAT" Minister, needs just another 6 decades of playing with your heads. --  In its past glory and in its current state, Bahamians are world renowned for their slow pace of not rushin' things'. --- As was exemplified by the first visitation with Freeporters' by a "Nurse" Governor-General. -- "Nurse** GG, highlighted such progress made since 1960 when its hospital just had a Xray Room to their hospital now has a Xray Department. -- Yes?

"*We introduced it, managed it*"

"*Abused it*" would be more appropriate. The first thing PM Christie with the new found money was to take the entire cabinet on an all paid luxury vacation to the family islands under the guise of a "*meeting*". Its a continuation of govt policy. Find new revenue, find ways to spend more than was made

And spent over $100 million EACH on BAMSI project and Bahamasair planes ...... and $300 million on Defence Force boats.

Today, all THREE are barely functioning....... Waste of VAT funds

Lol. To this day I still remember Perry Christie's response when asked how much BAMSI would cost, reply, "*whatever it takes*", its whispered that those are the famous last words of the dodo birds in Ice Age as they walked off the cliff with eyes wide open

Imagine the words of the radio caller Antoine who said of the PMs 70 person large delegation to Bostswana (a delegation so large a local African reporter asked ~"*why do you always travel with such large groups of men?*"), ~"*the Botswanian president*" (whose country mines diamonds btw) "*treated his people to only the best when he came to the Bahamas, he placed them in the most expensive hotels, why should the PM not do the same for his people when we travel there?*"... 200,000 dollar car, 2.5mil private plane. The PM gives himself the best. On our money. Where the VAT money gone? Maybe.

As we proudly continue to produce ignorant citizens, we will watch our living standards collapse around us.
Vote for the few dollars we get in hand, the no-bid contracts, the jobs we are promised, and this is the government we get.
A bunch of buzzard brained selfish little people who seem incapable of doing what's right, because the whole group of them has done wrong for so long.
Our behaviour in the roads, in the stores, churches and elsewhere show exactly who we are.
The papers outline the number of murders, not by foreign terrorists, but by our own hand.
The rapes, the beatings, the robberies, the police corruption, the near total government inefficiency, the failure of our judiciary, have made us a veritable laughingstock.
I suppose that we do get the government we deserve. And now, the chickens are coming home to roost. This PLP administration is among the worst this country has ever been burdened by.
The reduction of VAT on food is merely a campaign ploy used against those too stupid to see how badly they have been screwed by Davis and his crocked greedy gang from the day they took office.
Wake up people, this government presently in power has absolutely NO interest in our wellbeing whatsoever. NONE!

Typical incompetent Halkitis pulling $30 million out of a hat. The basic common sense math below proves just how foolishly absurd and incompetent this supposedly educated moron really is.

$30 million divided by 5% VAT reduction = $600 million of total retail food store sales per year attracting a VAT rate, i.e., 30,000,000 / 0.05 = 600,000,000.

$600 million divided by 400,000 people = $1,500 of total annual retail food store purchases per Bahamian/resident of The Bahamas on average, i.e., 600,000,000 / 400,000 = 1,500.

So Halkitis would have you believe your **annual** food store costs and the annual food store costs of all other citizens/residents of The Bahamas is on average about $1,500 which equates to about $125 per month.

Halkitis's lack of common sense is clearly only exceeded by his stupidity. This man should no involvement whatsoever in our country's finances. And the same goes for that other ding bat affectionately known as Always Angry Simon Wilson.

You are right on with your analysis

No normal family can reasonably budget less than $200-$300 per week for food. Either that, or they are only eating low quality fast food or noodles/crackers & canned spaghetti/tuna. It is our poor diet that is leading to obesity and so many NCDs that are killing Bahamians prematurely

Sadly, many living in The Bahamas today who have no pets are now buying the cheapest quality cat or dog food for themselves to eat just to stay alive. And to think our corrupt politicians meanwhile frequently dine at the finest restaurants, usually at great expense to the taxpayers.

I doubt that. A can of cat food goes for 3 dollars. Same 5 Oz can of tuna is 1.10, so you can get grits to go with that. No need for cat food .

Someone who knows Halkitis personally told me is not the sharpest knife in the drawer. He daily scratches his head in wonderment how he is allowed to keep his job

I dont know about the general sentiment but I remember being beyond shocked when he told a group of pharmacists in front of news reporters with recording devices that he didnt know what a SKU was. Of course nobody knows everything but I think it would be weird for someone giving advice on economic policy not to know this, really weird.

**Compounded under this and the previous premiership,** -- 42+ percent of Families 'gave up' Soda consumption and many have returned to Water Pump and Well Water. -- Unconfirmed reports of **an escalation** in Coconut Tree climbing. -- Yes?

You're not even a funny troll on this website anymore. Only a sick lost soul like you is able to poke fun of those living with hunger in abject misery each day, not knowing where their next meal may come from.

@ComradeExposed, Even the RedMovement's MP for the Centerville Constituency -- staged a photop after changing whatever gaskets and things needed changing at Water Pump Station. - As a matter of fact, the MP's 2017 campaign to represent the former premiership's constituency was his promise of fixing their Water Pump Station. -- Thus came the photop. -- Granted, sometimes humor touches on sensitive stuff. -- Yes?

" The government loses $30 Million" Clearly an indication that members of the government think that there is separation between them and the people who elected them," the Bahamian citizens", and that they are above the Bahamian citizens and giving them handouts. That speaks volumes of how they view the Bahamian citizens. The Bahamian citizens lose money when
very large groups travel to places like Dubai to promote tourism (seriously). Perhaps the good minister would like to prove how much millions of $'ss the Bahamian citizens V.A.T monies were
lost in that frivolous exercise ??

And let's not forget corrupt Davis's expensive trip to Botswana to try encourage The Bahamas be used for the money laundering of diamonds and other precious gems.

So by not collecting VAT they can continue to claim they have no money to fix the potholes in the road and the screens in the classroom windows and the fans and anything else they don't feel like doing. No money. LOL

Of course it’s going to cost! But isn’t that your mandate, your sworn duty?
To serve all Bahamians, most especially the vulnerable?

And since your gov’t has shut down funding to social service programs and those institutions that have long served Bahamians we’ll put this begrudging and churlish display down to…arrogance sounds about right.

Look on the bright side ....... the reduced VAT rate on food store sales means less money for this corrupt PLP government to waste or outright steal.