business@tribunemedia.net
FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2025
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Don’t ‘bottleneck’ a property market at 95% of sale price By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A PROMINENT Bahamian realtor yesterday warned tax administration reforms must not create “bottlenecks” that slow a “strong” property market where sellers are getting up to 95 percent of the asking price. David Morley, Morley Realty’s owner/broker, told Tribune Business that while he backed the Government’s ambitions to collect all due VAT on property sales it must not allow the changes to “further delay the time it takes to complete” a transaction to nine months or more. He added that such an outcome would frustrate both buyer and seller, eager to close on their new asset and receive the due sales proceeds respectively, and potentially threaten their desire to participate in Bahamian real estate market activity that
• Realtor warns against tax reforms slowing ‘strong’ sales • Changes cannot ‘further delay time to close transaction’ • New Providence up near-40% on contracted home sales “continues to strengthen” following a 2025 second quarter in which New Providence home sales increased almost 40 percent year-over-year. Mr Morley forecast that, while the overall market will likely remain “consistent” with such trends during the 2025 second half, it will be critical for all participants the Department of Inland Revenue, attorneys and realtors - to speedily work out the “growing pains” and “wrinkles” associated with the new VAT transfer tax regime that is now just 18 days old.
“My concern for the real estate business in the country is, with the changes that they did, the procedural changes they implemented with regard to conveyances, my concern is it may delay further the time it takes to complete sales,” Mr Morley told this newspaper. Setting out the basis for his concern, he explained that it was vital the Department of Inland Revenue provide guidance notes to both attorneys and realtors on how the new regime for reporting and administering property sales - and collecting the VAT due on the transaction - is to
YACHT owners and managers are warning that The Bahamas is increasingly viewed as “an unpredictable and difficult destination for charter operations” due to consistent tax and fee hikes and other reforms. The newly-formed Bahamas Charter Yacht Owners and Managers Association,
responding to Tribune Business inquiries, said the new and increased fees imposed in the 2025-2026 Budget - following closely behind the 14 percent all-in rate imposed on foreign yacht charter contracts - has created “a deepening sense of uncertainty” in the industry about The Bahamas’ future prospects. It added that members are reporting that “higher taxes, unclear anchoring fees, the unpredictability of plans for
mooring implementation, and rising fishing license costs make it nearly impossible for operators to plan or price their trips effectively”, with many questioning if they will continue to operate in The Bahamas as “regulatory burdens and costs mount with no clear path to compliance”. The Association told this newspaper: “The primary concern across our membership is a deepening sense of uncertainty - among owners, managers and especially
DAVID MORLEY work and be implemented in practice. “I know that the Bahamas Real Estate Association has written to the Department of Inland Revenue to seek guidance for real estate agents and our involvement,” Mr Morley said. “We’re only 17 days into the new procedures. We have sales contracted from before June 30, and are now subject
DELAY - See Page B7
charter brokers - stemming from abrupt regulatory changes imposed without industry consultation or clear guidance. “This pattern began with sudden tax rule changes in 2022, for which the Government provided no pathway for enrollment or compliance. These changes positioned The Bahamas as the highest-taxed
CHARTERS - See Page B7
Judge rejects injunction bid in Exuma family land battle By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Supreme Court has refused to grant an injunction barring a nephew from “forcibly evicting” his relatives and family members from an Exuma property used for a water sports and tourism business. The seven-strong McKenzie family - Leslie McKenzie, Freeman McKenzie, Marvin McKenzie, John Olson McKenzie, Bessie Curtis, Jennifer McKenzie and Patrece McKenzie-Darling - are alleging that they were “wrongly dispossessed” by their nephew, Dwayne Gardiner, from the location where Barraterre
Bone Fishing Lodge was established. However, Mr Gardiner is countering that the property was conveyed to his now-deceased mother by two of his uncles after they were unable to raise the financing to complete the project. He is asserting that documentary title, and ownership, have passed to himself and his sister, with his mother having been advised on the transactions by former Exuma MP, Elliott Lockhart KC. Justice Carla CardStubbs, in a July 17, 2025, verdict said the bitter family dispute concerns a property located 0.3 miles from Barraterre. The
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Land reform ‘legal and economic milestone’ By ANNELIA NIXON Tribune Business Reporter anixon@tribunemedia.net A BAHAMIAN realtor yesterday asserted that the Government’s land reforms “will be remembered as one of the most important legal and economic milestones in Bahamian history” if implemented correctly. Kyle Barnett, a real estate agent with Condo Vikings and Jolie Luxury Homes, added that the changes envisioned by the Land Registry Bill and Land Adjudication Bill were long overdue and “a step in the right direction”. He voiced hope that implementation of a registered
land system will continue regardless of which administration is in office. “But again,” Mr Barnett added, “the Government must ensure systems are in place. Even if their party loses the next election the work must continue. If done right, this reform will be remembered as one of the most important legal and economic milestones in Bahamian history. But success depends on more than just passing law.” Christopher Adderley, an agent with Maison Bahamas Real Estate, said of the Government’s plans for a phased approached with
CHANGE - See Page B6
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$600m Carnival port contract at legal fight heart • GB shipping agent accuses ex-general manager • Claims used its confidential info to launch rival • Bar on Carnival payments removed by judge
Yacht owners: ‘Growing sense of uncertainty about Bahamas’ By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
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By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE port services contract for Carnival’s $600m Celebration Key project is at the heart of a bitter legal dispute between a Freeportbased shipping agent and its former general manager. BMLS Ltd, known as Bahamas Maritime and Logistics Services, initiated legal action against Philip Pinder, a now-former senior executive, in late October 2024 alleging he had breached his “duty of fidelity” and “fiduciary duty” by using the company’s confidential financial and proprietary information to launch his own shipping agency and compete directly with it for contracts. One of those contracts is the provision of port services for Celebration Key, Carnival’s new Grand Bahama-based cruise port, which is set to officially open to thousands of visiting cruise passengers tomorrow. The Supreme Court, on November 14 last year, granted BMLS Ltd an injunction that effectively blocked Mr Pinder and his firm from receiving payment for services provided under the contract. The injunction, issued by Justice Andrew Forbes, as an alternative stipulated that the former BMLS general manager pay his former employer “any profits” received from the Celebration Key deal with the cruise giant. This was on the basis that Mr Pinder had allegedly used BMLS Ltd’s “confidential information” to help win the Carnival contract. Frederick Smith KC, the Callenders & Company attorney and partner, who is Carnival’s legal adviser, is then understood to have informed Mr Pinder that the injunction prevented his client from paying him for services rendered under the Celebration Cay contract. The cruise line had itself been served with the
CONFIDENTIAL - See Page B6