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Volume: 123 No. 90, Wednesday, April 1, 2026
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CLOCK IS TICKING ON VAT SOLUTION Super Value’s president ‘very hopeful’ balance can be struck to benefit businesses and consumers on tax relief By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net SUPER Value’s president yesterday voiced optimism that the Government will strike a “mutually beneficial solution” over the food distribution industry’s VAT ‘exempt’ fears but warned that time is running out with the first relevant tax returns due in just six weeks. Debra Symonette, speaking ahead of VAT’s elimination on uncooked foods which takes effect today, told Tribune
Business she is “very hopeful” that a balance can be struck where Bahamians enjoy the benefits from the tax relief without “significantly increasing” merchants’ expenses and eating into their profits. Any “additional burden”, she reiterated, will force retailers to increase prices on other products “to stay in business” - potentially negating the benefits shoppers will receive from slashing the VAT rate on all uncooked foods from 5 percent to zero with effect from April 1.
A MAN shops for eggs in Super Value early last year. Photo: Dante Carrer
SEE BUSINESS FOR STORY
Davis questions how FNM plan to fund $200 childcare stipend By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune News Editor rrolle@tribunemedia.net PRIME Minister Philip Davis yesterday questioned how the Free National Movement plans to fund its proposed $200 monthly stipend for new parents, warning that such promises must be backed by clear
PM: Gas price relief must be balanced against revenue loss
revenue sources. “Wherever you make these promises, you have to be able to show how you're going to fund it,” he told reporters. “So the promises we're going to make, we'll be able to identify the source of revenue to be able to fund it. FUNDS - SEE PAGE FOUR
By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune News Editor rrolle@tribunemedia.net
PRIME MINISTER PHILIP ‘BRAVE’ DAVIS
PRIME Minister Philip Davis said the government is still weighing intervention to ease rising gas prices, while looking to competition legislation in a new term as a longer-term solution.
His comments came as major retailers increased fuel prices, with officials pointing to global oil market pressures driven by conflict in the Middle East and supply chain disruptions. “We are going to look again to see how we can FUEL - SEE PAGE THREE
Haitian man denied bail PARENTS OPPOSE TEEN BOY’S over fake passport, NIB ‘SURE’ PROGRAMME PLACEMENT By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net A HAITIAN man was denied bail yesterday after being accused of using a fraudulent passport and National Insurance Board card. The matter comes amid heightened scrutiny of
passport and identification fraud in The Bahamas, an issue that the Free National Movement has pushed into the political arena as the general election approaches. Prosecutors allege John Doe, also known as “John Markervens Louis”, 36, FAKE - SEE PAGE FIVE
By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Chief Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net TWO Doris Johnson Senior High School students charged in connection with a viral campus brawl have been recommended for placement in Programme SURE, a decision their parents are opposing.
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Sixteen-year-olds Kenaj Bain and Durell Farrington, both eleventh graders, were charged with fighting last month. Video of the incident showed a chaotic scene as a group of boys exchanged blows. After pleading guilty, both were ordered to PARENTS - SEE PAGE THREE