Well there’s one true statement here: “Our job is to enforce the law..in an equitable manner”

However the proceeding figure given of the hundreds of millions in tax arrears prove that Davis&Co know they’re not doing their job and they cannot even muster plausible lies to appear thus engaged!

Shouldn’t somebody secure the keys of that plane Davis had retrofitted?
At least empty the gas tank?

Let me get this straight --

Those of us who pay our RPT on time and follow the law may get a 10% discount if we pay in full by March 31st.

But those who are in arrears and never pay their RPT get a 100% discount?

Are any of these properties being seized for Provost Marshall sale? If not, why not? These would make great options for "low cost" housing sites.

where did you read "discount"? It was a poorly worded statement "wiped away", but what I gathered was they "recovered" arrears, not forgave them.

I thought so too - but then the author of this terribly written article goes on to say that Simon didn't clarify whether wiped away meant that the arrears were paid or just forgiven.

Simon Wilson may be correct in saying that we have the lowest (cumulative) tax rates in the Caribbean. Most of the other Caribbean countries have all of our taxes PLUS income tax.

What is the major problem facing Bahamians is the HIGH cost of living. A Bahamian can go to most of the other Caribbean countries inclusive of Cuba to Suriname and be able to see a greater "bang for their buck".

It is hard to understand how a Guyanese teacher who makes about USD500 per month can live and thrive (relatively) in their country, while a Bahamian teacher who makes USD2500 per month is struggling to pay basic bills. It is the cost of food, rent, gas, power, loans and private school fees. Bahamians have to find money for some "necessities" that are almost free in other countries. Bahamians do not trust each other, so cooperatives are underutilized.

Our lack of confidence in our Bahamian public schools, public transportation and local food production has made these bills almost unbearable for the Bahamian lower/middle income class. The over-reliance on imported foods/goods, gambling, asues, and predatory banks are drowning Bahamians in debt.

That is why it amazes me how the idiot Wilson can make such a statement without providing that context.

It is a shame that the cost of living in this country is unbearably high, and this idiot named Wilson is trying to propose taxing the daylights out of Bahamians.

@ Moncurcool.You do not know what you are talking about.Taxes are levied by the parliament in their annual budget. The problem we have in this country ia both a low level of tax compliance and the tax system is regressive, The politicians which you and most Bahamians should have change this system years ago, They were advised by the IMF, There are also in this backward country quite a number of monopolies and oligo[polies. This backward country does not want to modernize, You are one of the typical idiots in the Hubert Minnis faction of the FNM.

@Sheeprunner.The perfect example of that is the island of Barbados. Barbados is smaller in area than long Island. Barbadians pay income tax, a higher rate of VAT, property tax , custom duties, garbage collection fees and other charges, Yet their cost of living is way lower than the Bahamas. A relative who visited Barbados several times said that to me.

"*A higher rate of VAT*"

The rate is meaningless without a comparison of what the rate is being charged against. We pay VAT on everything but the lowest valued food items and we pay VAT on customs duties, VAT on VAT and with JDL, we pay a further tax of 20cents per pound on every single air freight item.

Never understand why governments always think they will
Improve things by collecting more and more taxes when it’s obvious they won’t- look what’s happened since the implementation of VAT. Have we seen any measurable relief with customs duties?

Gotta love his use of the word “regime”

“I think our regime is the most competitive regime in the region,” he reiterated. It shouldn’t be your regime. Government should be only for the people.

Definition of Regime
1. a government, especially an authoritarian one.

Stop comparing the Bahamas to the tax structures and levels in the rest of the Caribbean - stop emulating the UK and Canada- Governent can get it together and focus on Tourism, FDI and reducing taxation on Bahamians and entrepreneurs.

In his ultimate stupidity, yes stupidity, Mr. Simon Wilson appears to be unable to see that we have a horrible regressive taxation structure that, according to University of Bahamas study, leaves the vast majority of Bahamian citizens in poverty or near poverty.
Wilson is part of a corrupt government that sees numbers as a political advantage that can be manipulated, with NO consideration for the Bahamian people.
I know of no legitimate business person in The Bahamas who thinks our economy is doing well, whose compliance is fair and easy to navigate, and fewer still who think it is fair and reasonable. This government seems hell-bent on destroying our economy.
Instead of tightening their very loose belts, they continue to spend like drunken sailors - on themselves.
The waste, corruption, theft and fraud at every level of government is apparent to most anyone who has a high school education.
This PLP government is all for themselves. Nothing more, nothing less.
Very little makes economic or financial sense in this small country of 400,000.
Sadly, instead of hiring bright, honest, and competent people to run our government, we choose people who are politically aligned with the purely political nepotism and, go along to get along, sycophants who are as dishonest and corrupt as those who hire them.
We do not have a well educated group of people who run this country. Which is why we have such poor outcomes in nearly every business and social metric we choose.
Mr. Wilson is a lost, poorly educated soul who has little idea of the crap that spews from his mouth.

Weren't they just all about capitalizing on all of the property tax arrears, which were mainly not paid by the rich households? Now they are backtracking and want to wipe it away? 1 step forward, 4 steps back always.

Wiped away = Wrote off

"*despite a taxation system that has “the lowest rates in the Caribbean”*

The "***rate***" is lower but do we really pay less?

Do other caribbean countries compound VAT by charging VAT on VAT and customs duties?

Do other Caribbean countries pay VAT on high valued items like fuel, education, insurance, financial services, property?

Those are the comparisons to be made, not the "*rate*". 17% of 700 and 10% of 7000 are two drastically different fees.

precisely.

Yes other countries pay vat on customs duties. Because the customs duty adds value to the product.

But other countries have zero or reduced vat on certain items . Think, does the doctor fee add value to your treatment?
The vat in Trinidad is 15% but there is no vat in food .

My point is saying the "rate" is lower gives no information. It's what the rate is applied against that's critical

-

Wait, I just really read what you said, I hope you're being sarcastic when you say "*customs duty adds value to the product*".

When a "Value Added Tax" references *value*, it is **not** talking about the dollar "*cost*" of the item.

It is saying, when this thing left your hands it left **with more intrinsic value** to the customer than when it entered your hands. *Delivering* a product or inspecting a product adds nothing to the *value* of the product. But adding a finish to a natural wood table adds value to the table.

VAT is generally targeted at manufacturing where different segments of the market take an input and transform it to make it more valuable. What the govt did here as we have no large scale manufacturing sector was basically a money grab.