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TUESDAY, AUGUST 6, 2024
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DR DUANE SANDS
FRED MITCHELL
‘Rebalance’ onerous VAT dispute payment demand By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
Opposition seizes on PLP chair’s admission of ‘cash flow crunch’
• Ex-minister: Bahamas business ease ‘a joke’ A FORMER Cabinet minister yesterday called for the law dealing with • ‘All advantages’ to DIR VAT disputes to be “rebalfrom paying upfront anced” as he branded the ease of doing business in The Bahamas “a joke”. • Firms ‘almost guilty’ Dionisio D’Aguilar, Superwash’s principal, before proven innocent told Tribune Business that mandating businesses come up with 100 percent of the disputed tax sum before they can challenge the Department of Inland Revenue’s (DIR) assessment is “too onerous” on the private sector and “crafted to give all the advantages to the tax collection authority”. Speaking after it was revealed that Sandals is challenging the tax authority’s demand for it to pay the disputed $30.844m upfront in cash, rather than via bank guarantee or other security, he argued
that the appeals process “has to be fair and has to be seen to be fair” to both the Government and businesses. Rather than paying the disputed sum in full, Mr D’Aguilar told this newspaper a more “balanced” method would be for companies to pay a percentage of the disputed VAT and Business Licence fees. This, he argued, would ensure those contesting the Department of Inland of Revenue’s demands have a stake in the outcome
BPL admits its Briland power woe ‘untenable’ By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net HARBOUR Island’s latest electricity woes are “cruel” to residents and “insulting” to wealthy investors who have sunk millions of dollars into acquiring high-end homes in a destination with inadequate infrastructure. James Malcolm, a former Ministry of Tourism executive who is a realtor, and now runs a vacation rental/property management business on Briland, told Tribune Business it was “ludicrous” that one “of the most coveted tourism destinations” in The Bahamas faces at least a four-hour load shedding rotation until this coming weekend. Speaking out after Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) itself admitted that Briland likely faces “an untenable situation” for the whole week, he confirmed that diesel supplies on the island were exhausted by Friday to raise the prospect that many homes and businesses might run out of fuel for their generators before an anticipated fresh shipment arrived yesterday. Mr Malcolm, estimating that Harbour Island real estate activity has generated around $40m in combined VAT and real property tax revenues post-COVID for the Public Treasury, told this newspaper that home purchasers are getting little to no return on this investment as few if any of these tax
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without crippling their operations and cash flow through having to come up with huge sums. And, while not impeding the authorities’ ability to pursue and collect from genuine tax delinquents, he suggested that the law be further revised to mandate that the losing party - whether taxpayer or DIR - pay the other side’s legal and other appeal costs. This, the former minster of tourism and Immigration argued, would deter
Opposition to Gov’t: ‘Which Sandals is it?’ By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Opposition’s chairman yesterday argued that the Government is sending mixed messages over whether it views the Sandals resort chain as a “tax dodger” or “national hero”.
DIONISIO D’AGUILAR both sides from bringing “weak” and frivolous appeal cases. However, Mr D’Aguilar said the VAT Act as presently written is almost tantamount to making corporate taxpayers “guilty before they have a chance to prove themselves innocent” by mandating that the full sum in dispute be paid before a challenge to
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Dr Duane Sands told Tribune Business that the contrasting signals sent out by the Ministry of Finance and Department of Inland Revenue on one side, and the Ministry of Tourism, Investments and Aviation on the other, “make no sense” as he asserted: “I suspect there is far more to the Sandals / Beaches story than the immediate spin being put on it.” Speaking out after a week in which it was revealed that the tax authorities are pursuing Sandals Emerald Bay for a combined $30.844m in unpaid VAT and Business Licence fees, only for the resort chain to reveal two days
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Opposition finance chief blasts ‘indefensible’ bank fee increase By FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business Reporter jsimmons@tribunemedia.net THE Opposition’s finance spokesman yesterday demanded that Bahamians be given greater protection against “inexplicable and indefensible” bank fee hikes as CIBC became the latest to unveil increases. The BISX-listed bank has revealed that personal, business and corporate banking clients will all experience fee increases as of September 1. The greatest
increases are in the monthly service fees, which will rise by 40 percent for personal banking clients, and 25 percent and 20 percent for business and corporate clients, respectively. This prompted Kwasi Thompson, the east Grand Bahama MP, in a column published on Page 2B today, to call for “real financial consumer protection in The Bahamas”. He accused the commercial banks of continuing to “pile on” fee increases at the same time as they are cutting back services to
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• Sands: Gov’t ‘taxing private sector into oblivion’ • Fred Mitchell admits to ‘tight economic squeeze’ • Gov’t has to target ‘big players avoiding taxes’ By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Opposition yesterday seized on remarks by the Progressive Liberal Party’s (PLP) chairman as confirmation the Government is facing “a cash flow crunch” and “taxing the private sector into oblivion”. Dr Duane Sands, the Free National Movement’s (FNM) chairman, told Tribune Business that the message issued by his counterpart, Fred Mitchell, on Friday to supporters of
the governing party both explained the Davis administration’s “aggressive behaviour” towards the private sector and affirmed the “poorly-kept secret” regarding the Government’s liquidity woes. Mr Mitchell, in a message seen by this newspaper, described The Bahamas as being “in a tight economic squeeze” with the Government seeking to avoid tapping the international credit markets for foreign currency financing because
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