All Governments need revenue to pay for Services and infrastructures, yes, but why spend tens of thousands of dollars on purchasing technology, human manpower, etc. when the Government can just charge an across the board income tax, say 5% from persons making more than 50,000 per year. Just how the Employer pays NIB contributions before the employee gets their check, same for income tax, all can be paid directly to National Insurance under "Income Tax" before employees get their checks. End of story. The VAT perception will destroy this country and send us deeper into poverty. That means persons who ate out, can just stay home and avoid Restaurants, spin-off, Restaurants will begin to see a decline in diners, and jobs will be lost, mark my words. Why should I go out and eat, and then end up causing me like 25% more in taxes {i.e, 15% Vat and Gratuity probably at 10 - 15%!). This Government needs to stop bending and save our sovereignty. All Tax Free Havens need to meet and take a stand on this. We can manage our Economy just fine by a mere reasonable income tax, otherwise we will not be the destination we once were, and that is exactly what they [UN and Allies] want. they want the bahamas to fall, because as a foreign investor, i will no longer have an interest in the bahamas, because the cost of living is already to high here, and that means goodbye second home owners, goodbye financial institutions, etc. wake up plp....wake up! like lop said "if you do not fight for your country then you might as well not be here":
efficiency Teather addressed the efficiency of the proposed new model, pointing out that it is not that a VAT cannot be implemented in a small island economy, but whether or not it would be efficient.
He said, "The main reason for the adoption of VAT by small island nations is external pressure to reduce import duties, rather than because VAT has advantages in itself for such islands.
"The growing trend in international trade is for compulsory reduction in import duties, whether via global trading groups such as the World Trade Organisation or regional bodies such as the European Union.
"In the case of small island countries, many have adopted or are considering adopting VAT because of regional international trade agreements such as the Pacific Islands Countries Trade Agreement (PICTA) and the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations (PACER).
"In other cases, the small island’s proximity to an international trading bloc has forced it to adopt their import duty reduction programmes.”
However, the report noted too that even though some international agencies, like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are wholly supportive of VAT, it is not necessarily in favour of VAT for small island nations.
Teather quoted the Deputy Director of the Fiscal Affairs Department of the IMF, Michael Keen, as saying, "The suitability of the VAT for small countries, and for small islands in particular, is an issue that arises with increasing frequency.”
The tax expert pointed out that whilst some Caribbean jurisdictions have indeed adopted a VAT, notably Grenada and Belize, have tried a VAT only to later abandon it.
Teather said, "Overall the expectation is that a VAT is likely to increase administrative costs for both government and business, because a few simple taxes will be replaced by a more complex one. On the revenue side, the analysis of the TCI economy suggests that additional revenues will be small.”
He made it clear that the existing taxes are few and simple.
The tax expert’s final report is expected to be made public soon.
About Richard Teather BA(Oxon) aca richard Teather is Senior Lecturer in Taxation in the Bournemouth University Business School, UK.
In addition he is a Fellow of the Adam Smith Institute in London, and a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the journal Economic Affairs.
He writes and speaks regularly on international taxation, particularly as it affects low-tax jurisdictions and international finance centres, and has been published and cited in five continents.
His book The Benefits of Tax Competition is the leading work on the subject.
**small island dynamic** by richard teether According to Teather, no small island country had VAT until 1989, and it was long thought that they were unsuited to it.
He stated that this is because of a combination of two reasons.
Firstly in a small country, the costs of implementing a VAT system can be disproportionately high.
And in a small island economy, a high proportion of the economy is based on imports, which can be taxed by means of much simpler import duties, and with proportionately very little domestic value-added business that needs to be taxed by way of a VAT.
The tax expert said, "The natural and logical way to tax consumption in such economies would therefore be by way of import duties; they are easy to operate and relatively cheap to collect, and in a typical small island economy with relatively little domestic production a well-designed import duty combined with a few specific taxes will tax almost all consumption.”
The report noted that the biggest effect on consumers will be felt in the retail sector, as prices are increased by VAT.
It said, "It has been said that the effect will be minimal, because import duties will be reduced by a similar amount to the VAT rate.
"However this misses the crucial distinction between import duties and VAT; import duties are charged on the import value, whereas VAT is charged on the resale value. It is that difference that will make the cost to the consumer of VAT much higher than import duties.
"Retailers need to add an uplift to cover the costs of distribution and the various costs of operating, heating, lighting and staffing their stores, and so retail costs are typically a multiple of the raw cost of goods.
"There will also be VAT on locally produced goods, and on services. Although the overall effect on the economy and VAT revenues from these will not be great (see below), the impact on individual businesses and consumers will be greater.
"However the impact on locally produced goods and services will depend on which producers are large enough to be over the VAT threshold and so liable to charge VAT.
"Without that information, modelling the effect of VAT on different groups of consumers will be impossible.”
Well written "The_Oracle" I agree 100%. Please send NB12 and the News Medias to the home of Perry G. Christie.....he now at this moment has his entire home solar powered!!! Bahamians should not have to get approval to pay for what they could afford! If anyone wants to power their home using Solar, they should not need approval. BEC has a monopoly and it should not be so! god does not approve of this! This government needs to take a stand and not follow other countries "stop taxing your citizens to poverty!! That is what happened to America, live life simply forget all the glitz and concentrate on living in harmony with nature and what God has given us, only then will we be happier people!
Not shocking, it finally happened! Take the camera's to his wife and ask her why, if she is the good Christian she will tell the Truth and nothing but the Whole Truth! God is watching and he is in control!
Why boast here on this Forum about your Private Business. Its all good and well, but remember, we are being forced by International influences to change our tax system, so that it does exactly the opposite, deter foreigners from investing here, because the Foreigners will say, why should I go to the Bahamas, they are now taxing their poor citizens, and levying higher taxes overall, even to second home buyers. I say to this Gov't do not let or allow them to change our so called 'tax free" Status to "taxed jurisdiction". We are playing right into their hands. And do not forget what kind of corrupt Gov't we have in power in now....whose to say the new taxes they are trying to levy on poor Bahamians will ever make it to the wider society, but rather in their pockets. Just look around you, we are all paying all kinds of taxes now..but yet we drive on pot holed roads, still today, the Gov't buildings are a disgrace and embarrassment, so too are the schools, etc. total waste of tax payers dollars, do not think for one moment that this Gov't will use the new tax monies they are expecting to make this country any better. Today, folks still cannot get running water 24 hours a day! The Ministry of Tourism run the People to People program, and yet we Bahamians have to be embarrassed when the water is cut off right in the middle of entertaining their Guests'!! This is what is happening in this country. You have to hold your head down in shame when electricity is cut off and the water supply is cut off at 10pm at night.....thank God for those who have rain water tanks, but yet again once the electricity is cut you are up the S*$% creek!
Tal check PLP. Freeport should cut themselves off from this corrupt Nassau, so too should Abaco, they would do better on their own. Opportunist abounds in the PLP. More Bahamians need to join QC in bring this worthless Government down. they do not deserve to be there. Wonder how the PGC new Lexus is working out, all they all do is show off and grand stand, spending yours and all the pubics money. Ask them when will Poncianna drive and the rest of the countries roads are going to be paved, when will the damage done by hurrican sandy be cleaned up, all the beaches along west bay street are eroding, the roads by caves point has still not yet been completed, and did you see the disgusting barrier they are putting up by peanuts taylor old home...shanty indeed, cutting corners. Then they paid RANMAR construction close to 8M to renovate the JL building on blake road, building all sorts of new Govt. buildings and wasting money on non priorties. The Roads needs fixing before a new building, first fix the ones they own now....all or most of them delapidated and nasty!
calling nb12 and all news media in this country! Take your cameras to the Office of PGC, put that microphone right to his lying mouth, and then ask him "How much have you saved since you installed Solar Panels to your home! He was around the Island during elections, looking so sorry and sad that Bahamians were out of work, as though he was Jesus and could wave a magic wand and employ everybody! when he knew full well that the Entire World was under recession! Many Bahamians are still unemployed, and then he had a slogan "Bahamas for Bahamians" and what is he doing now...."Begging and hunting down Foreign Investors like Lions hunting their prey! Ignorant voters who vote on emotions and lies and deception by this party, got what they voted for, and now this country is the laughing stock of the world..pathetic and embarrassing, corrupt and dishonest, are the many words left to describe that country. If I was a Clean and decent Foreigner, I would never invest there, the former Gov't had a cleaner record of performance and good governance, why you people voted them out is beyond many. But ungratefulness best describes our people! All the voters wanted was a handout, they never looked at the 90 out of 100pct good the former Govt. did. I still think the former Govt under HAI deserved far more praise! especially under the recession circumstances.
This country is sickening, and loves to worship dishonesty and corruption and any type of illegalities. This numbers man was actually named "Man of the Year"! for stealing poor people's money! Stylezine Magazine should be boycotted, because they are sending a message to our Young People, that it is okay to disobey the Law. What the numbers people have done is robbed our poor people, while they enriched their own pockets!
FACTSPOLICE says...
All Governments need revenue to pay for Services and infrastructures, yes, but why spend tens of thousands of dollars on purchasing technology, human manpower, etc. when the Government can just charge an across the board income tax, say 5% from persons making more than 50,000 per year. Just how the Employer pays NIB contributions before the employee gets their check, same for income tax, all can be paid directly to National Insurance under "Income Tax" before employees get their checks. End of story. The VAT perception will destroy this country and send us deeper into poverty. That means persons who ate out, can just stay home and avoid Restaurants, spin-off, Restaurants will begin to see a decline in diners, and jobs will be lost, mark my words. Why should I go out and eat, and then end up causing me like 25% more in taxes {i.e, 15% Vat and Gratuity probably at 10 - 15%!). This Government needs to stop bending and save our sovereignty. All Tax Free Havens need to meet and take a stand on this. We can manage our Economy just fine by a mere reasonable income tax, otherwise we will not be the destination we once were, and that is exactly what they [UN and Allies] want. they want the bahamas to fall, because as a foreign investor, i will no longer have an interest in the bahamas, because the cost of living is already to high here, and that means goodbye second home owners, goodbye financial institutions, etc. wake up plp....wake up! like lop said "if you do not fight for your country then you might as well not be here":
On VAT: Govt aims to finalise regulations by end of month
Posted 23 August 2013, 9:31 p.m. Suggest removal
FACTSPOLICE says...
Con/td....
efficiency
Teather addressed the efficiency of the proposed new model, pointing out that it is not that a VAT cannot be implemented in a small island economy, but whether or not it would be efficient.
He said, "The main reason for the adoption of VAT by small island nations is external pressure to reduce import duties, rather than because VAT has advantages in itself for such islands.
"The growing trend in international trade is for compulsory reduction in import duties, whether via global trading groups such as the World Trade Organisation or regional bodies such as the European Union.
"In the case of small island countries, many have adopted or are considering adopting VAT because of regional international trade agreements such as the Pacific Islands Countries Trade Agreement (PICTA) and the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations (PACER).
"In other cases, the small island’s proximity to an international trading bloc has forced it
to adopt their import duty reduction programmes.”
However, the report noted too that even though some international agencies, like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are wholly supportive of VAT, it is not necessarily in favour of VAT for small island nations.
Teather quoted the Deputy Director of the Fiscal Affairs Department of the IMF, Michael Keen, as saying, "The suitability of the VAT for small countries, and for small islands in particular, is an issue that arises with increasing frequency.”
The tax expert pointed out that whilst some Caribbean jurisdictions have indeed adopted a VAT, notably Grenada and Belize, have tried a VAT only to later abandon it.
Teather said, "Overall the expectation is that a VAT is likely to increase administrative costs for both government and business, because a few simple taxes will be replaced by a more complex one. On the revenue side, the analysis of the TCI economy suggests that additional revenues will be small.”
He made it clear that the existing taxes are few and simple.
The tax expert’s final report is expected to be made public soon.
About Richard Teather BA(Oxon) aca
richard Teather is Senior Lecturer in Taxation in the Bournemouth University Business School, UK.
In addition he is a Fellow of the Adam Smith Institute in London, and a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the journal Economic Affairs.
He writes and speaks regularly on international taxation, particularly as it affects low-tax jurisdictions and international finance centres, and has been published and cited in five continents.
His book The Benefits of Tax Competition is the leading work on the subject.
On VAT: Govt aims to finalise regulations by end of month
Posted 23 August 2013, 9:18 p.m. Suggest removal
FACTSPOLICE says...
Everything we buy/use/eat/drink has vat on.
**small island dynamic** by richard teether
According to Teather, no small island country had VAT until 1989, and it was long thought that they were unsuited to it.
He stated that this is because of a combination of two reasons.
Firstly in a small country, the costs of implementing a VAT system can be disproportionately high.
And in a small island economy, a high proportion of the economy is based on imports, which can be taxed by means of much simpler import duties, and with proportionately very little domestic value-added business that needs to be taxed by way of a VAT.
The tax expert said, "The natural and logical way to tax consumption in such economies would therefore be by way of import duties; they are easy to operate and relatively cheap to collect, and in a typical small island economy with relatively little domestic production a well-designed import duty combined with a few specific taxes will tax almost all consumption.”
The report noted that the biggest effect on consumers will be felt in the retail sector, as prices are increased by VAT.
It said, "It has been said that the effect will be minimal, because import duties will be reduced by a similar amount to the VAT rate.
"However this misses the crucial distinction between import duties and VAT; import duties are charged on the import value, whereas VAT is charged on the resale value. It is that difference that will make the cost to the consumer of VAT much higher than import duties.
"Retailers need to add an uplift to cover the costs of distribution and the various costs of operating, heating, lighting and staffing their stores, and so retail costs are typically a multiple of the raw cost of goods.
"There will also be VAT on locally produced goods, and on services. Although the overall effect on the economy and VAT revenues from these will not be great (see below), the impact on individual businesses and consumers will be greater.
"However the impact on locally produced goods and services will depend on which producers are large enough to be over the VAT threshold and so liable to charge VAT.
"Without that information, modelling the effect of VAT on different groups of consumers will be impossible.”
On VAT: Govt aims to finalise regulations by end of month
Posted 23 August 2013, 9:17 p.m. Suggest removal
FACTSPOLICE says...
Well written "The_Oracle" I agree 100%. Please send NB12 and the News Medias to the home of Perry G. Christie.....he now at this moment has his entire home solar powered!!! Bahamians should not have to get approval to pay for what they could afford! If anyone wants to power their home using Solar, they should not need approval. BEC has a monopoly and it should not be so! god does not approve of this! This government needs to take a stand and not follow other countries "stop taxing your citizens to poverty!! That is what happened to America, live life simply forget all the glitz and concentrate on living in harmony with nature and what God has given us, only then will we be happier people!
On 'No reason to delay' renewable energy until 2014
Posted 21 August 2013, 3:53 p.m. Suggest removal
FACTSPOLICE says...
Not shocking, it finally happened! Take the camera's to his wife and ask her why, if she is the good Christian she will tell the Truth and nothing but the Whole Truth! God is watching and he is in control!
On Shock as Bishop Ellis resigns from Full Gospel community
Posted 21 August 2013, 3:44 p.m. Suggest removal
FACTSPOLICE says...
Why boast here on this Forum about your Private Business. Its all good and well, but remember, we are being forced by International influences to change our tax system, so that it does exactly the opposite, deter foreigners from investing here, because the Foreigners will say, why should I go to the Bahamas, they are now taxing their poor citizens, and levying higher taxes overall, even to second home buyers. I say to this Gov't do not let or allow them to change our so called 'tax free" Status to "taxed jurisdiction". We are playing right into their hands. And do not forget what kind of corrupt Gov't we have in power in now....whose to say the new taxes they are trying to levy on poor Bahamians will ever make it to the wider society, but rather in their pockets. Just look around you, we are all paying all kinds of taxes now..but yet we drive on pot holed roads, still today, the Gov't buildings are a disgrace and embarrassment, so too are the schools, etc. total waste of tax payers dollars, do not think for one moment that this Gov't will use the new tax monies they are expecting to make this country any better. Today, folks still cannot get running water 24 hours a day! The Ministry of Tourism run the People to People program, and yet we Bahamians have to be embarrassed when the water is cut off right in the middle of entertaining their Guests'!! This is what is happening in this country. You have to hold your head down in shame when electricity is cut off and the water supply is cut off at 10pm at night.....thank God for those who have rain water tanks, but yet again once the electricity is cut you are up the S*$% creek!
On 'Changing landscape' doubles realtor's foreign web share
Posted 21 August 2013, 3:42 p.m. Suggest removal
FACTSPOLICE says...
Bradly Roberts daughter; did'nt he rape a women and paid her off? She should write about that!
On Bahamian author returns home for book launch
Posted 16 August 2013, 6:30 p.m. Suggest removal
FACTSPOLICE says...
Tal check PLP. Freeport should cut themselves off from this corrupt Nassau, so too should Abaco, they would do better on their own. Opportunist abounds in the PLP. More Bahamians need to join QC in bring this worthless Government down. they do not deserve to be there. Wonder how the PGC new Lexus is working out, all they all do is show off and grand stand, spending yours and all the pubics money. Ask them when will Poncianna drive and the rest of the countries roads are going to be paved, when will the damage done by hurrican sandy be cleaned up, all the beaches along west bay street are eroding, the roads by caves point has still not yet been completed, and did you see the disgusting barrier they are putting up by peanuts taylor old home...shanty indeed, cutting corners. Then they paid RANMAR construction close to 8M to renovate the JL building on blake road, building all sorts of new Govt. buildings and wasting money on non priorties. The Roads needs fixing before a new building, first fix the ones they own now....all or most of them delapidated and nasty!
On QC ready to mount lawsuit against the govt
Posted 16 August 2013, 6:23 p.m. Suggest removal
FACTSPOLICE says...
calling nb12 and all news media in this country! Take your cameras to the Office of PGC, put that microphone right to his lying mouth, and then ask him "How much have you saved since you installed Solar Panels to your home! He was around the Island during elections, looking so sorry and sad that Bahamians were out of work, as though he was Jesus and could wave a magic wand and employ everybody! when he knew full well that the Entire World was under recession! Many Bahamians are still unemployed, and then he had a slogan "Bahamas for Bahamians" and what is he doing now...."Begging and hunting down Foreign Investors like Lions hunting their prey! Ignorant voters who vote on emotions and lies and deception by this party, got what they voted for, and now this country is the laughing stock of the world..pathetic and embarrassing, corrupt and dishonest, are the many words left to describe that country. If I was a Clean and decent Foreigner, I would never invest there, the former Gov't had a cleaner record of performance and good governance, why you people voted them out is beyond many. But ungratefulness best describes our people! All the voters wanted was a handout, they never looked at the 90 out of 100pct good the former Govt. did. I still think the former Govt under HAI deserved far more praise! especially under the recession circumstances.
On Christie: No deal done yet over BEC
Posted 16 August 2013, 6:17 p.m. Suggest removal
FACTSPOLICE says...
http://static.squarespace.com/static/50…
This country is sickening, and loves to worship dishonesty and corruption and any type of illegalities. This numbers man was actually named "Man of the Year"! for stealing poor people's money! Stylezine Magazine should be boycotted, because they are sending a message to our Young People, that it is okay to disobey the Law. What the numbers people have done is robbed our poor people, while they enriched their own pockets!
On Balmoral looking to 'break ground' on commercial office space soon
Posted 15 August 2013, 12:58 p.m. Suggest removal