Maybe or maybe not...but it, the app, will certainly address the issue that AlleyCat mentioned.

MadHatter...that has to be the stupidest,ignorant and xenophobic comment ever...not to mention not based on reality at all.

Alleycat...you can keep track of your account,pay utility bills and make payments to other RBC clients by using the RBC app. It actually works very well.

Jeff Birch and his late father Dick Birch have it 100% correct as far as the Family Island go. Small 25-50 room quality resorts based on the countrys’ and each islands natural assets. Andrés in particular is blessed with so many things that it really should be leading the country as a tourist destination!!!

Isn’t what you guys are calling the “Annual Residency Permit” actually the
“ Annual Homeowners Permit” that basically offers no benefits beyond doing away with the 30-90 day immigration limit and must be renewed every year? Which is a diffrent kind of animal than the various “Permanent” Residency permits.....the Annual Permit doesn’t require the same large investment in a home among other things.

Birdie...Permanent Residency is not the same as full Bahamian Citizenship.

Furthermore there are diffrent types of Permanent Residency.......there is Restricted Permanent Residency( not allowed to work at all without a valid work permit) , there is Permanent Residency with the right to work in ones own business( that’s pretty self-explanatory) and there is Open Permanent Residency( allowed to work at any job, very very rarely given) And none of them allow voting in Bahamian elections, none of them allow the holder to serve in the RBDF or RBPF, none of them allow the holder to serve in a jury.

Right..like electronic banking is so problem free and our Bahamian internet services are so reliable. SMT!

If it wasn't for the second-home vacation rental market the tourism economies of Eleuthera and SW would have collapsed years ago. There's no viable hotel properties on Eleuthera and hasn't been for years! Most of those homeowners make a small profit after expenses on their vacation rentals each year that allow them to recoup the expense of building or buying. There are a few that do make some very large profits annually but most not. Granted the rental income doesn't come directly into the country but eventually alot of it does through the homeowner paying utilities,maids,caretakers,plumbers,gardeners,electricians etc., as well as paying property tax. And don't forget the renters do spend money in the country by renting cars, groceries in local food stores,liquor in local liquor stores, going to clubs,bars,restuarants.

Have these people never heard of condoms? The pill? IUDs?

This isn't really an AirBnb issue...this whole vacation rental home thing has been brewing for at least 15 years, long before Airbnb existed. The first time I heard about the issue was from a small-hotel owner on a family island back in 2002. AirBnb is being involved now because its low-hanging fruit and AirBnb has experience dealing with this kind of tax-issue from other jurisdictions in Europe and North America. One has to assume that once the government has tthe AirBnb tax in place that they will then go after the VRBO/Homeaway crowd and then the self-promoters who just do direct bookings.

Getting away with what exactly? Your comment implies they have been doing something wrong or illegal or avoiding something. Lets be clear, the only thing that saved the tourism product on Eleuthera these past 20 years was the vacation home rental market. If it hadn't been for that the economy in Eleuthera would have crashed years ago. Should the second home owners who are renting their homes out in the vacation rental market pay some sort of VAT or a type of room-tax? Definately..they are running a business. But claiming they have been "getting away with something" is out of order, inaccurate and dis-honest.