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Tuesday, February 3, 2026
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Ex-minister: Corporate income tax ‘inevitable’ if PLP win the election BY NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A FORMER Cabinet minister yesterday asserted that the imposition of corporate income tax on all Bahamian businesses is “inevitable” if the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) wins the upcoming general election. Dionisio D’Aguilar, ex-minister of tourism and aviation in the former Minnis administration, told Tribune Business that such a move would have to be accompanied by the introduction of personal income tax - at least for company owners and top-level executives - as he argued that recent tax reporting reforms are almost certainly designed to pave the way for such changes. Many Bahamian businesses welcomed the prospect of a corporate income tax when the concept was first introduced by the Ministry of Finance’s ‘green paper, which was released in mid2023, especially if it would replace the present Business Licence fee regime. However, Mr D’Aguilar
• D’Aguilar: Recent reforms mean ‘structure in place’
• Argues that personal income tax must accompany
argued in favour of retaining the latter because of the “complexity” involved in implementing corporate income tax, including the mass of “rules and regulations” required. Companies have frequently argued that the Business Licence fee, which is calcuated based on top-line sales, is distortionary because it effectively penalises high turnover, low-margin businesses such as food stores and gas stations in the amount of tax levied. And, given that it is determined by topline sales as opposed to the profit-based corporate income tax, businesses frequently complain they are either taxed into a loss or pay more in taxes than net income earned. Mr D’Aguilar conceded that the Business Licence-related concerns
of high turnover firms were “a legitimate complaint”. However, he argued that this was best-solved by defining what are ‘high turnover, low margin’ businesses and then creating a specific rate for this category, asserting that the difficulties associated with implementing and adjusting to a corporate income tax outweighed this particular challenge. “I am of the view that we are perparing ourselves for corporate income tax,” Mr D’Aguilar told this newspaper. “I am of the view that the Government is just waiting until, and I don’t want to sound political, but if the PLP is victorious in this election they are going to go to a corporate income tax.
DIONISIO D’AGUILAR
TAX - See Page B4
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Bahamas ‘in far darker place’ in unregulated medicine sale BY NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
• Calls for Business Licence retention on ‘complexity’
THE Bahamas is in “a far darker place than a decade ago” over the sale of unapproved and ‘grey market’ medicines, an ex-health minister asserted yesterday, adding: “The pirates are still here.” Dr Duane Sands, also the Opposition’s chairman, told Tribune Business that the sale of prescription medicines without pre-approval from the purchaser’s doctor, plus the infiltration of so-called ‘grey and black market’ and counterfeit drugs, is “not an insignificant challenge” that has plagued The Bahamas for decades. Disclosing that “some phamacies are worse than others” in dispensing medicines without a prescription, he added that price-controlled mark-ups at both the retail and wholesale level acted as an incentive for some to import and/or acquire drugs not authorised for sale in The Bahamas in a bid to increase profits. Calling for regulatory oversight to be strengthened via Bahamas Customs and the Pharmacy Council,
• Ex-health minister warns: ‘The pirates are still here’ • But improved regulation is ‘marathon, not a sprint’ • Bahamians must realise ‘not a victimless crime’
DR DUANE SANDS Dr Sands told this newspaper than when in Cabinet during the Minnis administration he had moved to enhance the latter’s staffing
HEALTH - See Page B4
Governor: Tourism boost to help match 25’s 3% growth
cost of The Bahamas’ fuel “This was accelerated from an Foreign reserves up $200m the imports and associated pay- estimated boost of 2.2 percent However, Mr Rolle said in 2024. In line with increased amid muted growth in credit ments. inflation, consumer prices and demand for foreign exchange
BY FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business Reporter jsimmons@tribunemedia.net
THE Central Bank’s governor yesterday revealed that The Bahamas’ foreign currency reserves have expanded by almost $200m year-over-year to hit $2.9bn at end-February 2026 after forecast credit growth failed to occur. John Rolle, addressing the regulator’s 2025 fourth quarter and full-year economic briefing,
THE Central Bank’s governor yesterday predicted that flat-to-slightly increased tourism earnings, aided by improved US stopover visitor numbers, will enable The Bahamas to at least match lest year’s 3 percent economic growth in 2026. John Rolle, presenting the regulator’s 2025 fourth quarter and full-year economic briefing, said Bahamian gross domestic product (GDP) expanded at a slightly slower rate compared to 2024’s 3.4 percent growth despite benefiting from higher pricing in the stopover visitor market and strong cruise activity. He added that The Bahamas grew by close to 3 percent in 2025, slightly slower than 2024’s rate, but still above its medium-term potential of just under 2 percent per year. “For 2025, the economy is projected to have grown at a rate close to 3 percent after an estimated 3.4 percent rise in 2024. This remains above the medium-term potential, which is still projected at just under 2 percent per annum,” said Mr Rolle. He added that tourism faced some obstacles in 2025 due to limited hotel room capacity and weaker US travel, but higher prices, growth in vacation rentals and more non-US visitors - especially from Canada - boosted earnings. “For tourism, although stopover performance was constrained by limited hotel sector capacity and softer US travel demand, earnings were bolstered by appreciated product pricing, sustained expansion in vacation rental sales,and tourist arrival gains from non-US visitors, notably from Canada,” said Mr Rolle. “The cruise market also
ARRIVALS - See Page B5
BY NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
said the reserves - which protect the nation’s fixed exchange rate regime and one:one peg with the US dollar - grew by $170m during last year to outpace 2024’s expansion aided by the Central Bank’s “net purchase” of foreign currency from the Government or public sectors. He added that the external reserves also received an unexpected boost from the Government’s foreign currency borrowing activities plus a fall in global oil prices, which lowered
BPL unions slam grid operator ‘foolishness’ BY ANNELIA NIXON Tribune Business Reporter anixon@tribunemedia.net THE HEAD of Bahamas Power & Light’s (BPL) two trade unions yesterday slammed assertions by New Providence’s electricity grid operator that it had been barred from the control centre as “a
the cost of living likely experienced an “uptick” during the 2025 second half as the impact of Donald Trump’s tariff hikes fed through supply chains. “Foreign exchange market activities strengthened in 2025, aligned with inflows from tourism, investments and other private sector activities,” the Central Bank governor said. “In particular, commercial banks’ total purchases of foreign exchange from the private sector increased by 4.1 percent to $7.6bn in 2025.
disgrace”, and “absolute foolishness”, and demanded it apologise Kyle Wilson, president of the Bahamas Electrical Workers Union (BEWU), which represents BPL line staff, hit back at Bahamas Grid Company’s subsequently-deleted social media post by challenging why it had not contacted senior BPL executives to resolve any situation that led to it being denied access to the New Providence control centre. Bahamas Grid Company, which is itself 40 percent owned by BPL on the Government’s behalf, alleged its workers had been barred “despite it being Bahamas Grid Company’s contractual right to jointly manage in the control centre”. Mr Wilson,
ACCESS - See Page B5
for imports and other payments, commercial banks’ total sales of foreign exchange to the private sector also expanded by 5.1 percent to $7.5bn. While the residual net sale of proceeds to the Central Bank, which impacted the outcome for external reserves, was less than in 2024, external reserves grew by a larger amount, closer to $170m as compared to $115m in 2024. “This was because the Central Bank also made a modest
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