business@tribunemedia.net
FRIDAY, MAY 30, 2025
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Charter crackdown places Bahamians ‘in the same boat’ t .BSJOB DIJFG TBZT SFGPSN AQVTIFE GPS ZFBST t #JMM UP DMBNQ EPXO PO PWFSTFBT TPMJDJUBUJPO t 'PSFJHO XBUFSDSBGU PXOFSTIJQ BMTP UBSHFUFE By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Association of Bahamas Marinas (ABM) president yesterday said the Government’s planned crackdown on soliciting charters locally will “put Bahamians in the same boat as everyone else”. Peter Maury told PETER MAURY Tribune Business that the industry has been “pushing” for reforms, unveiled in legislation accompanying the 20252026 Budget, that prevent foreign companies or individuals from negotiating yacht and boat charters once the vessel is in The Bahamas. Proposed changes to the Boat Registration Act will now reserve this exclusively for Bahamian individuals and companies, with the ABM chief asserting that this amendment will also ensure the Public Treasury gains its fair share in tax revenue by blocking charter transactions handled overseas and where the funds never touch this nation. “Right now you have foreign companies booking charters through some of the hotels and they are outside The Bahamas,” Mr Maury explained to this newspaper. “We’ve said this since 2014. In order to get Bahamians involved in this; it’s an $85bn industry, and when the boats sit here in The Bahamas they can get charters from wherever. “An American can book a charter for Russians on a French boat. But the problem is there are companies that operate here in The Bahamas from outside The Bahamas, not paying for a Business Licence and other taxes, and they book charters through a hotel. “If somebody approaches me in my marina, and says they want to do a charter, the money stays in The Bahamas and the Bahamian broker gets to solicit the charter. But, at the moment, it can be solicited outside the
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Realtors ‘on the hook’ over VAT crackdown t 'BDF mOF JG GBJM UP EJTDMPTF OFX CVJME TBMFT Bahamian realtors yesterday voiced fears they are t 4BZ DPNQMJBODF CVSEFO being placed “on the hook for TIPVME CF PO BUUPSOFZT something we have no control over” in the Government’s crackdown on suspected t 8BSO SFGPSN ADIBMMFOHF property sales VAT evasion. Ryan Knowles, founder JO QSBDUJDF UP FYFDVUF By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
and chief executive of Maison Bahamas, told Tribune Business that the compliance burden should instead be placed on attorneys after the Davis administration unveiled VAT Act reforms that expose realtors to a fine equal to 3 percent of the purchase price if they fail to declare a “newly-constructed dwelling’s” sale within 30 days of closing. Voicing hope that the proposed changes will be “revisited”, he argued that it was more appropriate to
impose the reporting duties on Bahamian attorneys as they are the professionals that draft the conveyancing documents, handle the purchase price exchange and ensure all real estate transactions close by executing the deeds and lodging them for recording in the Registry of Records. The VAT (Amendment) Bill 2025, which was tabled in the House of Assembly amid the legislative package accompanying the 2025-2026
Budget, seeks to impose a further compliance, reporting and regulatory burden on Bahamian realtors in a bid to ensure the Public Treasury collects all due tax on the purchase of newly-built homes or land sold for such construction purposes. It seeks to create a new section in the VAT Act, section 47C, headlined: “Requirement to notify
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RYAN KNOWLES
MARIO CAREY
Real estate deals ‘void’ until recording complete By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net ATTORNEYS yesterday warned of “multiple implications” from legislative reforms that will render “void” all real estate transactions unless they are recorded as part of the government’s VAT evasion crackdown. The Bahamian legal profession was said to be “still digesting” proposed changes
to the Conveyancing and Law of Property Act that will treat all land and property deals since July 1, 2022, as of no effect if the deeds have not been brought forward for recording in the Registry of Records. But several attorneys, speaking on condition of anonymity, argued that the reforms - if passed - could be extremely difficult to implement in practice as they potentially impact the
security and rights of sellers, purchasers and mortgage lenders such as banks and other financial institutions. The Government’s move is being seen as an attempt to drive purchasers, and their attorneys, to ensure VAT due on real estate acquisitions is paid in a timely manner and in full because they will be unable to register the conveyance - and prevent it from being treated as “void” - without proof they paid the tax.
The Act’s new section 40, which will repeal and replace the existing one, stipulates that “all conveyances of land, or of any interest therein, are void for the purpose of conveying or creating a legal estate unless made by deed and duly registered”. However, attorneys yesterday voiced scepticism that the initiative will achieve the Government’s goal of
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Cruise private islands tax crackdown ‘great first step’ By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net BAHAMIAN hotels yesterday hailed the private cruise island tax compliance crackdown as “a great first step” while urging that some of the funds generated be used to “fix tourism product shortcomings”. Kerry Fountain, the Bahama Out Islands Promotion Board’s executive director, told Tribune Business that creating a taxation ‘level playing field’ between stopover (land-based) and cruise tourism was a move “in the right direction”. However, he argued that The Bahamas needed to go further and “earmark” a portion of the revenues
KERRY FOUNTAIN generated from the private islands to upgrading its visitor attractions and amenities. Pointing to the most recent passenger survey commissioned by the Florida-Caribbean Cruise
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Liquor stores: No challenge with revised licence regime By ANNELIA NIXON Tribune Business Reporter anixon@tribunemedia.net LIQUOR stores proprietors yesterday said they saw no challenge in complying with the new licensing regime that requires new licence and renewal applications to undergo a public consultation. George Robinson Jr, owner of Base Road Wholesale Bar, said the amendments to the Business Licence Act tabled alongside Wednesday’s 2025-2026 Budget are nothing new and he questioned “why they discontinued that”.
The Business Licence (Amendment) Bill 2025, in its objects and reasons section, states: “This Bill seeks to amend the Business Licence Act 2023 to introduce a registration and fee requirement for liquor establishments, and the requirements that should be considered by the secretary prior to issuing the same. “It also seeks to amend the time limit of the Secretary when considering a notice of objection and the extension of the time limit for an applicant to object an appeal.” The reforms stipulate that the Bahamian public are to be given two
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