This is all such a total joke that I cannot believe that responsible people are issuing such statements. We live in a country where the most direct and easily attributable tax obligations are nearly uniformly ignored by a large percentage of the highly educated and economic elites including the heads of government.

In that context purportedly intelligent and serious minded persons are suggesting that the average Bahamian is going to engage in the nearly endless record keeping required and further will "self impose" a very significant tax on himself and his business?

Seriously folks, can't we at least be a tiny bit honest. VAT will be collected and remitted by the same small percentage of large institutions that currently carry the burden for all the foolishness imposed on this country by the corrupt political class.

That means essentially the resort industry. That will make our resort industry less competitive and mean the loss of thousands of jobs. The enforcement of VAT through the rest of the society will be haphazard at best and largely serendipitous. Another "law" that will be honored by being completely ignored. Web shops anyone!

I have received a covert copy of the report, and provide it here in complete detail for Tribune readers:

"Move on. Nothing to see here."

"Honest servants in the best interests of the nation". Good luck on that Tal!

Reason? Bought and paid for.

Because this is the tried and true tactic of this government. Have some crony hack, totally without legal responsibility over the issue at hand, take an action or publically opine and then see if it slips past the public reaction smell test. Repeatedly, it has not, but the fall back is for the P.M. to announce the need for an exhaustive review or consultation before he comments, and then you never hear from him again.

If you want a listing, I will be happy to supply it.

Unfortunately this is a parliamentary system. The party does matter. The members vote party line 99.9999% of the time.

I read screeds about how Mr. Ingraham and Mr. Christie are essentially the same guy in different suits in these pages all the time.

Excuse me but nothing could be further from accurate.

I am sure Mr. Ingraham made some mistakes, but he ran an essentially honest government. Mr. Ingraham saw the airport reconstruction to completion; he did modernize the road system; he did privatize the mobile phone company; and he did tell Mr. Nygard to take his money and stuff it.

Please enlighten me on one single thing the Christie Administration has accomplished or better yet, really even tried to accomplish?

New Zealand maintains a large export economy and for that reason a VAT regime actually makes some sense.

The Bahamas exports practically nothing.

VAT is an expensive, highly complex, accountancy demanding, round about way to impose a consumption tax, that makes no sense in our tourism based economy.

VAT will prove ham fisted and highly regressive. It will be a disaster for the working poor, and a haven for cheating among the sophisticated pirates as our government has demonstrated repeatedly it cannot administer fairly even the most direct and easily collected taxes.

Implementation of a VAT regime in the Bahamas will prove a serial disaster. A perfect PLP program.

Poor Renward. They showed him the view from the exclusive "executive floor" and then pushed him out the window.

Right on!!!

Please don't expect the leadership in this government to speak plain English. The use of this phony slang is not only a transparent attempt to sound like they are "of the people", equally importantly, it is a way to avoid answering serious questions. Far easier to move into some kind of phony "jive" double speak, than to provide a serious response to serious accusations.