What Dr.Sands said in this budget presentation is not ground-breaking to me. People have said this before.

Dr. Sands forgets when the cabinet in which he was a part of ,terminated those programs started by financial secretary Wilson. Those programs include: the Revenue Enhancement Unit, the Click to Clear Customs and the Tyler Techologies Program., Those programs were designed to crack down on tax evasion and also modernize the current ax system. Like some one said to me in the winter of 2018, the REU will be restarted. The person said that the FNM government needs that program. True to form ,they restarted it.

The government in which he is currently part of, has made a serious fiscal policy mistakes. As for the review of the tax system, there have been two that have been done already. One of was done under the Ingraham government in the nineties and one done under the last Christie government.

Dr .Sands simply speaks from both sides of his mouth. The journalists don't ask any questions. They simply want sensational headlines. When you speak to people who understand government policies, they will explain to you why certain policies or programs were implemented.

That is your opinion. Quite a number of these graduates may end up migrating. Mainly to the US, Canada or the UK .That is something many university graduates have done or doing in the English speaking caribbean. Bahamians don't know much about the world beyond New Providence. That is however is changing with this generation. Read a comment on social media by a young lady about that. She said life on Nassau, don't make much sense.

Mr.Moutrie does not have the temperament to fill the position of speaker. He is a next one of Dr.Minnis's mistakes.

The acting financial secretary Johnson is a next one of Dr.Minnis's mistakes. He is simply incompetent.

She should never have received a nomination much less be appointed a cabinet minister. Her performance was horrible, vindictive and arrogant. Her nomination was the result of an arrangement between Dr. Minnis and Carl Bethel.

A next one of Dr.Minnis's many poor decisions and mistakes. He does not listen to sound advice.

The motorcade was prohibited .The organizers should be cited, fined and face prosecution. The law has to be applied in an even-handed way. That is one of the many problems this country faces, the law not being applied even-handed.

@ Emoiricist. Fritzgerald Hinds ,a minister in the PNM government in Trinidad and Tobago has locks. Alando Terrolonge and Damian Crawford, politicians in Jamaica sport the dreadlocks hair-style. The Bahamas is way behind socially than other countries in the English speaking Caribbean. This despite being so call wealthier than them.

This is simply a way to funnel or privatize some of the central government's revenue collection. What is needed is improve internal controls, computerization and effective prosecution of wrong-doers. The media simply transcribes what is said. They don't question anything. They won't dare ask who are the owners and who will be the ultimate beneficiaries of these decisions.

Cooper is not a PLP or FNM philosophically. He approached and had discussions with Dr.
Minnis first. After that went nowhere, he approach the PLP. He did the same thing as Peter Turnquest.

Juan McCartney on his talk show has done some discussions and analysis on this budget. There are quite a number of things that don't add up. The vat tax credit for the employment scheme really is not going to generate increase employment. Zhivago Laing, the former minister of state for finance said the revenue projection figures are ' overly optimistic.' The thing is few in the media here question anything. They merely transcribe what is said or what they are told.

An engineer told me that to alleviate the flooding in Pinewood Gardens requires pumps and pumping station. The water would have be pumped into the South Beach canal..

He told me the initial cost of that project would be over 12 million dollars. Bear in mind this conversation was in 2013 or 2014. That was before the vat tax was implemented. This cost and recommendation came from both American and Bahamian engineers.

@ Bogart. Why do you think Tyler Technologies were contracted for? They were not hired to twiddle their thumbs. They were engaged in updating the Real Property department. Their contract was terminated by the Minnis government. The Minnis government had to re-engage them at a higher price when they realized how important what were doing.

What you have no clue what you are talking about .Tax reform has been on governments agenda since the Ingraham's administration in the nineties.