Would it even be legal to impose a tax just on Airbnb customers and not all online vacationers? What about long term rentals? This just seems like it will get messy in a hurry. Was not the reason VAT was put into place was to capture areas of the economy like this that were not being taxed? Before VAT tourists in a vacation rentals paid relatively no tax. Now they pay VAT on restaurants, electricity, water, phones, car rentals, property managers etc. So it is a fallacy that these rentals are escaping taxes as they were pre VAT. So now these rental homes will pay VAT on everything except the final rental price and might have to pay a special tax? This is on the verge of double taxation VAT on all your costs plus a extra tax where VAT is not chargeable. I thought The Bahamas needed to improve its ease of doing business. Not make it worse. I agree with Required if anything new is to be taxed maybe it should be a 7.5% Vat payed on Airbnb's rental fee.

Lower cost for consumers usually by importing but, who are consumers? People need jobs to make money in order to be consumers. They are same person. The Bahamas is losing jobs left, right, and center. There needs to be a balance between protecting jobs (consumers) and their spending power. No job, no spending power. If the Bahamas thinks it can continue with the trade deficits that we currently have then devaluation is a certainty. It is a cycle and there needs to be balance. Over protection allows manufacturers/farmers to become lazy but, with the multifaceted problems in the Bahamas economy some government interference is needed to create a level playing field.

Well give us an efficient, competitive, low corruption, government, reasonable energy prices, access to credit on the international level, not just domestic, reliable basic infrastructure (phone, electricity, water, internet, roads etc.), educated workforce, among many many other things. Then we can maybe just maybe talk about being big boys and competing on an international stage. Pie in the sky without major changes in the Bahamas economy.

Exactly we are focusing on property owners and the tourist/consumer. What is Airbnb as a company itself paying out of its pockets?

These type rentals can be/are something more unique to the Bahamas than other places. They are missing the entire point of a site like Airbnb and why it suits what tourism product we should be going after and not anchor hotels and cruise ships. You can rent just a room or even a couch in your house if you want to on Airbnb. Airbnb is self regulating with their host and guest review system. No need for the Ministry to get mixed up in it with government interference. It has great potential to allow Bahamians to participate in their number one industry. Yes some foreign home owners are making money off it as well but, they are paying property tax, stamp tax, duty, and VAT on every repair, upgrade, property manager, water, electricity etc that they consume and their guests are renting cars, eating out, and spending money. Allot of things like VAT, Duty, and Property tax are exempted from the hotels who have heads of agreements. So to suggest a free ride/ in even playing field is ridiculous. Many airbnb renters would never come to the Bahamas to stay in a hotel. They are a different type of tourist. Why just airbnb not vacation rental by owner and many other sites? The more well todo use those sites more than airbnb because, airbnb people are looking for experiences not big mansions and mega resorts. Do not kill a unique tourism product that allows our people one of the best opportunities ever to participate in our #1 industry that we have been shut out of for so long.

Learn about democracy. It is not just about the majority rule! The majority cannot do whatever they want if it is going to violate an individuals freedom.

"tyranny of the majority" (or "tyranny of the masses"), used in discussing systems of democracy and majority rule, involves the scenario in which decisions made by a majority place its interests above those of an individual or minority group, constituting active oppression comparable to that of tyrants and despots.[1] In many cases a disliked ethnic, religious or racial group is deliberately penalized by the majority element acting through the democratic process.

I think the fact of the matter is Abaco and Freeport for example also have lots of land, water, much better infrastructure and larger local populations for example. The government cant force an investor to invest where they do not want too. There is a reason more faming is occurring on these two islands versus Andros despite all the efforts to turn Andros into a farm hub.

I have some experience doing this same thing in the Bahamas and for 5000 trees this is what I estimate to get them to maturity and I have been very generous with these figures.

Trees 5000 $25.00 a tree $125,000.00
Land Prep $6,000.00 per 1000 $30,000.00
Irrigation $4,000.00 per 1000 $20,000.00
Ongoing Maintenance for $262,500.00
for 3-4 years to get trees mature

$437,500.00

I don't use marijuana and don't really care too but it does have some medical benefits. Drugs like marinol are THC based medications controlled by prescriptions just like other drugs. Can he please explain the difference between medical marijuana (THC) based medical treatments and drugs versus the opioid based ones which are far more addictive and dangerous drugs that are used for pain among other things. Morphine, oxycodone, vicodin, codein etc which are all commonly abused by the way? If a substance can be used/dosed and controlled correctly with regulations for medical treatments it should be made available.

Better to start doing this now very very slowly and in controlled fashion balanced with taxes and economic growth because it will happen one day with or without VAT. Look at Barbados even with VAT they wouldn't stop spending and have borrowed so much foreign money no one will lend them any anymore they are laying off so many people and facing a currency devaluation. The market will correct itself and the longer you push it off and the bigger bubble you make the more painful it will be. VAT will make the bubble only bigger unless there is a major shift in the Bahamas economy like finding oil for example.