business@tribunemedia.net
THURSDAY, APRIL 13, 2023
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ROYAL CARIBBEAN BEACH CLUB PLAN
Royal Caribbean: 60% of guests won’t visit PI By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
• Urging unity, cruise giant says: ‘We can win or lose together’ • Bahamian investor equity raise targeted for 2023 latter half • $175m investment eyes full approval go-ahead by year-end
TOP Royal Caribbean executives yesterday pledged that “more than 60 percent of our guests” will never visit its Paradise Island project, as they urged: “We can win together or we can lose together.”
Michael Bayley, the cruise giant’s president and chief executive, told Tribune Business that the Royal Beach Club represents a “win-win” for all parties on the basis that it will enhance the Nassau “brand” and visitor experience, as well as providing increased Bahamian ownership, jobs and entrepreneurial
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Royal Caribbean cut Crown Land to avoid Toby ‘conflict’ By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net ROYAL Caribbean executives yesterday said they reduced their Paradise Island Crown Land demands by 43 percent in a bid to “untangle ourselves” from any “conflict” with Bahamian entrepreneur Toby Smith. Michael Bayley, the cruise giant’s president and chief executive, told Tribune Business he wished Mr Smith well in his bid to restore Paradise Island’s lighthouse but declined to be drawn on whether the
• Local entrepreneur says he has $7m financing • 'Reaffirms' intent in 12th year after 4,000 days two projects can co-exist as neighbours or if Royal Caribbean would go back for the three acres it is relinquishing if the Bahamian’s ongoing court challenge proves unsuccessful.
His comments came as Mr Smith released a statement “reaffirming” his project in response to the Government’s request that he “reapply” for the necessary approvals. The Davis administration took that stance after the Supreme Court ruled the Paradise Island Lighthouse and Beach Club principal did not possess a valid, binding Crown Land lease for the collective five acres he was seeking on Paradise Island’s western end. Mr Smith, in a March 22, 2023, letter addressed to the
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TOBY SMITH
Ten couriers blocked amid $193m VAT arrears worry By FAY SIMMONS jsimmons@ tribunemedia.net TEN courier companies recently saw Customs temporarily halt clearance of their clients’ imports, the Government’s top tax official revealed yesterday, as part of a drive to recover $193m in total VAT arrears. Shunda Strachan, the Department of Inland Revenue’s acting comptroller, said the suspension was imposed to ensure the ten companies settled outstanding VAT payments due to the Government. Nine of the courier firms have made substantial payments on the arrears, which represent monies received from their clients to settle due import
duty and VAT liabilities, and been allowed to resume business. She said: “There’s lots going on with the couriers. It’s because we’ve noticed a trend where we know business is really heightened for the couriers. They’re collecting more revenue, but we’re not seeing that reflected in what they were remitting. So we did do an exercise where we halted shipments or, you know, we stopped the release of goods until some couriers kind of settled their accounts, especially VAT accounts. “Some businesses ran on payment plans, which is fine. We are not here to put
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PI investment to be ‘gold environmental standard’ By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net ROYAL Caribbean executives yesterday pledged their Paradise Island project will set “the gold standard” for environmental sustainability, adding that Atlantis and others should feel “comfortable” their concerns will be resolved. Michael Bayley, the cruise giant’s president and chief executive, told Tribune Business that all questions and criticisms surrounding the Royal Beach Club will be addressed but the project first has to pass
through the Department of Environmental Planning and Protection (DEPP) approvals process before details can be shared with the public. Promising that the 17-acre development will employ “a very sophisticated waste water management system”, which is one of Atlantis’ major concerns, Mr Bayley and Jay Schneider, Royal Caribbean’s chief product and innovation officer, also said there was no basis to another of the Paradise Island mega resort’s fears that tidal flow around the island and
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Tax authority chief labels $875m arrears ‘alarming’ By FAY SIMMONS jsimmons@tribunemedia.net THE Government’s top tax collector yesterday branded the $875m in combined outstanding VAT, real property tax and Business Licence arrears as “alarming” even though this sum has been slashed from the SHUNDA previous $1bn. STRACHAN Shunda Strachan, the Department of Inland Revenue’s acting controller, said the agency is determined that VAT debts will not balloon to reach the $600m in real property tax liabilities that account for the majority some 68.6 percent - of the total $875m arrears. “You’ve not seen this level of enforcement before, but it is critical now,” she added. “Because as the country moves in a particular direction, and our expenses increase, we need the revenue in order to satisfy those expenses. And so while the Department of Inland Revenue doesn’t deal with expenditure, per se, we do deal with revenue collection. So, probably a couple of months ago, we reported our arrears was over $1bn and we took that very seriously. “It’s for us to bring those arrears down. So while arrears are continuously added to the bucket, and if there’s an up-and-down kind of action going on, we will be told what those arrears are in the billions. So, bit by bit, we’re trying to get them a bit lower. We’re right now, I’d probably say, at the $875m mark; we’re not at $1bn any more, right. But it’s still alarming that we have that amount of those greater risks out there. “Real property tax is still leading the way. So we still have more than $600m in arrears for real property tax. But VAT is a new tax. And I don’t know if you remember, but when we implemented that it was said that we won’t allow that to be another real property tax. And so, for us to ensure that we keep on top of things relative to our arrears, we really have
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