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FRIDAY, AUGUST 8, 2025
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PM’s deficit storm is ‘tempest in tea cup’ By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE controversy over the Government’s $137.5m April deficit reversal was yesterday branded “a tempest in a tea cup” amid fears it will undermine The Bahamas’ credibility with investors and rating agencies. Gowon Bowe, Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) chief executive, told Tribune Business that Wednesday’s House of Assembly row over the Prime Minster’s flawed fiscal prediction for April is akin to “agonising over something that has no relevance any more” for the likes of Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s (S&P) as well as the wider international capital markets.
BAHAMIANS were yesterday encouraged to report neighbours with undeclared short-term vacation rentals to the tax authorities who have “flagged” more than 20,000 such properties as not registered. Shunda Strachan, the Department of Inland
GOWON BOWE
LIQUOR stores will from September 1 have to register with the Department of Inland Revenue’s website as part of the Government’s crackdown on the sector’s over-saturation in inner-city Nassau. Shunda Strachan, the Department of Inland Revenue’s acting controller, said liquor stores and bars must register and pay a $100 fee prior to applying for a Business Licence
Revenue’s acting controller, said a recent study - which was not disclosed - estimated that only 20 percent of existing short-term vacation rentals have complied with the need to register their properties with the tax authority. And, in addition, only 15 percent of the properties and owners who should be paying VAT to the Government are registered.
- either a renewal or new application. Speaking at the Office of the Prime Minister’s weekly media briefing, Ms Strachan said new licence applicants must register through the portal 90 days before applying for their Business Licence. Each application will be publicised as part of a public consultation process, and meet suitability requirements before being approved. Existing licence holders must also register their business through the portal prior to renewal. Ms
ALCOHOL- See Page B5
Eleuthera resort closes eatery ‘to protect future’ By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net AN Eleuthera resort has blamed a downturn in business for the “tough decision” to close its restaurant and “furlough” impacted staff with effect from Monday, August 18. Wasipha Khan-Francis, the French Leave resort’s general manager, in an August 1, 2025, letter to employes that was obtained by Tribune Business, wrote: “Unfortunately, French Leave Resort and Shaner Bahamas must furlough you, effective August 18,
PHILIP DAVIS KC
• Investors more focused on full year, 2025-2026 forecast • Banker demands ‘accountability’ over $137m April swing • Pintard fears Bahamas’ financial credibility undermined
Liquor stores face DIR registration next month By FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business Reporter jsimmons@tribunemedia.net
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Real estate VAT reforms must be ‘win-win’ result • Realtors, attorneys still await guidance notes • BREA offers alternative 30-day ‘trigger points’ • Notes’ release ‘important’ for mortgage market By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
Report undeclared vacation rentals to tax authorities, Bahamians told By FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business Reporter jsimmons@tribuneemedia.net
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2025, because of a lack of business and the resulting closure of the 1648 restaurant. “It is a very difficult time for all of us, and we have had to make tough decisions to protect our future as a company. You may be eligible to be recalled by French Leave in the future.” While the layoffs were described as a furlough, the letter encouraged staff to apply for their National Insurance Board (NIB) unemployment benefits “based on lack of work”.
FLIGHT - See Page B6
Speaking at the Office of the Prime Minister’s weekly media briefing, Ms Strachan said these findings sparked the Department of Inland Revenue’s recent issuance of letters to property owners seeking their help to “get the arena in line” and report short-term rentals in their neighbourhoods. Many Bahamians, though, viewed the move as a “fishing expedition” and tax grab. “We noticed that there are over 20,000 short-term vacation properties throughout The Bahamas that we have flagged,” Ms Strachan said. “I know there are more, but that’s just what we have discovered. And out of that amount, we would say only about 20 percent of them are
MICHAEL PINTARD He argued that both credit rating agencies, as well as multilateral agencies such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and existing holders of The Bahamas’ sovereign debt, will have long
REVERSAL - See Page B2 really registered on the shortterm vacation portal. “It should be 100 percent. Only 20 percent registered on the short-term vacation portal right now, and only 15 percent that should be paying VAT are registered for that and that is a concern. We think it’s more, but we’re concerned to at least get the 20,000 registered on the short-term vacation portal, and those that need to be registered for that, we’re trying to get them registered for that. “And so that was the purpose of the notices being sent out. It was really to get Bahamians to help us to kind of get that whole arena in line.” The Government has long viewed the short-term vacation rental
DISCLOSE - See Page B5
The execution of real estate-related VAT reforms must create “a win-win situation” for both industry and government, it was argued yesterday, amid the ongoing wait for “important” implementation guidance. David Morley, DAVID MORLEY who chairs the Bahamas Real Estate Association’s (BREA) legislative committee, told Tribune Business that publication by the Department of Inland Revenue (DIR) of guidance notes detailing the processes and mechanisms for how the changes will work in practice is still awaited even though these took effect almost six weeks ago. Describing their release as “very important” for both attorneys and realtors, and the property market’s smooth functioning, he added that “everybody’s trying to comply” with the Government’s drive to extract increased VAT on real estate sales but the guidance notes are critical to ensure all parties know what to do and when. Shunda Strachan, the Department of Inland Revenue’s acting chief valuation officer and controller, yesterday told the Office of the Prime Minister’s weekly media briefing that the guidance notes are due to be published imminently on the tax authority’s website. However, a Tribune Business reporter was unable to locate them before this newspaper went to print. “BREA had a meeting with the Department of Inland Revenue over this,” Mr Morley, Morley Realty’s owner/broker told this newspaper over the guidance notes. “I would guess that was close to two weeks ago. At that time they indicated they were drafting guidance notes.
TRANSACTION - See Page B4