business@tribunemedia.net
FRIDAY, MARCH 14, 2025
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VAT food cut runs ‘counter’ to farm policy t 'FBST NPWF QMBDFT GBSNFST BU ATFSJPVT EJTBEWBOUBHF t $BMMT GPS DVU FMJNJOBUJPO PG 7"5 PO GBSN JOQVUT t &OUSFQSFOFVS MBNFOUT PO AVQIJMM mHIU XJUI UIF (PW U By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Government’s 50 percent VAT rate slash on imported unprepared foods will place Bahamian farmers at “a serious disadvantage” and is counter to its sector policy, an agricultural entrepreneur argued yesterday. CARON SHEPHERD Caron Shepherd, the Bahamas Agro Entrepreneurs Group’s president, told Tribune Business that the Davis administration’s bid to further ease the cost of living crisis for Bahamian consumers via a VAT break for the entire supply chain will make it even more challenging for local farmers and producers to compete on price with lower-cost imports. Pointing out that Bahamian agriculture is still faced with having to import raw materials, fertilizers, animal feed and equipment at the standard, higher 10 percent VAT, she urged the Government to “immediately” cut or eliminate this levy entirely to enable local farmers to be more competitive and reduce their operating costs. And, asserting that farmers always seem to face “an uphill fight” with the Government, Ms Shepherd said the imported food VAT cut again seemed to run counter to the Government’s official agricultural policy of boosting domestic production, reducing food imports by up to 25 percent, enhancing food security and retaining more of tourism’s earnings within the Bahamian economy. Speaking after she wrote a March 9, 2025, letter to Prime Minister Philip Davis KC, outlining her own and the industry’s concerns,
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US: Bahamas ‘low risk’ for fraud, corrupt actors By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
t /BUJPO AMBDLT QPMJUJDBM XJMM UP mHIU mOBODJBM DSJNF THE US government is asserting that The Bahamas “lacks... political will” to fully t %FTQJUF MFWZJOH N crack down on financial crime with this nation representing QFOBMUJFT PO JOTUJUVUJPOT a “low risk” haven for fraudsters and corrupt individuals. t 1PMJDF QSPTFDVUPST UPP The State Department, unveiling its annual interUJNJE PO TFJ[JOH BTTFUT national narcotics control strategy (INCSR) report for 2025, critcised the lack of prosecutions and convictions for money laundering and other financial-related crimes while acknowledging that Bahamian regulators had “imposed” almost $220m in so-called administrative penalties on licensed financial institutions in 2024 for legal and supervisory breaches. Suggesting that many of these penalties are in “settlement negotiations” between licensee and regulator, the report also asserted that Bahamian law enforcement
agencies and prosecutors are too timid to use all the tools available to them in pursuing complex financial crimes and seizing assets that are the proceeds of criminal activities. The State Department report’s contents will likely further raise the temperature in US-Bahamas relations following the Trump administration’s threat to revoke visas for foreign government politicians and officials involved with bringing Cuban workers - including doctors, nurses
and teachers - to work in this nation. “While The Bahamas makes efforts to improve its money laundering/terrorist financing enforcement capabilities, its investigations often do not result in prosecutions or convictions. Improved inter-institutional co-ordination and strong political will are necessary to defend its financial institutions from criminal intrusions,” the US report said. Acknowledging that The Bahamas’ 700-island
geography leaves it “vulnerable to firearms trafficking, drug trafficking and migrant smuggling,” the State Department signalled its belief that the authorities are not doing sufficient to prosecute financial crimes and seize assets, such as real estate and cash, that may have been derived from such illicit activities. “The Bahamas suffers from domestic fraud schemes and transnational criminal activities. A limited number of asset seizures and financial prosecutions have resulted in a vulnerable banking system, gaming industry, virtual currencies and luxury real estate market,” the US report argued. “The lack of convictions and asset forfeiture make The Bahamas a low-risk base of operations for many sophisticated fraudsters, including corrupt actors. Despite extensive training and improved investigative
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‘Caught in the crossfire’: GB Power hit by rate rise delay By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net GRAND Bahama Power Company is suffering a “very real impact” from the delay in reviewing and approving its proposed new rate structure after getting “caught in the crossfire”, it was disclosed yesterday. Dave McGregor, the electricity utility’s president, told Tribune Business that failing to obtain the go-ahead for its planned 6.3 percent base rate rise by the January 1, 2025, target date has “reduced our
cash position” and forced it to cut-back and hold off on the network investments that were planned. Revealing that GB Power is “not earning what we should be”, due to a combination of cost increases and the forecast rebound in revenues and customers failing to materialise, he added that it had still managed to improve generation reliability “a lot” over the last three to four months to put last summer’s frequent outages firmly in the past.
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GRAND BAHAMA POWER COMPANY HEADQUARTERS
Summit at peak strength despite ‘negative’ outlook By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A BAHAMIAN insurer yesterday said it is targeting “non-catastrophe” business lines for growth in a bid to escape continued reinsurance pricing pressures that have impacted recent profits and operating results. Timothy Ingraham, chief executive of Summit Insurance Company, through which Insurance Management Company places much of its property and casualty
business, told Tribune Business that it was impossible to predict how long “restricted capacity” in the global reinsurance market will persist and impact local premium prices. Speaking after AM Best, the global insurance rating agency, reaffirmed both Summit’s financial strength and creditworthiness, he disclosed that the property and casualty underwriter has “carefully managed the headwinds” since paying
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Anti-financial crime legal reforms ready pre-Budget By FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business Reporter jsimmons@tribunemedia.net THE Attorney General yesterday said legal reforms to assist with the next international evaluation of The Bahamas’ anti-crime defences will be tabled in Parliament before the May Budget unveiling. Ryan Pinder KC, speaking at the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) Bahamas conference, said changes to the Financial Transactions Reporting Act (FTRA) will allow the nation to prepare for the Financial Action Task Force (FATF’s) fifth
round mutual evaluation and revisions to the latter’s recommendations 24 and 25. “There are going to be new anti-money laundering (AML) requirements, new Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements and obligations of trust companies and trustees with respect to beneficial owners, with respect to settlers, with respect to protectors and anybody else who would have some sort of effective control over the trust,” said Mr Pinder. “You now will be fully brought into the FTRA with respect to these parties
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