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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2022
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Brokers fret as Customs revenue $15m up on ‘19 By NEIL HARTNELL and YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporters BROKERS yesterday warned the cost of clearing goods into The Bahamas will likely increase in the New Year as Customs revealed its revenue collections year-to-date have increased by $15m compared to pre-COVID levels. Ralph Munroe, Customs’ acting deputy comptroller, said the revenue and border protection agency has been beating its targets by collecting an average of $100m per month since the 2022-2023 fiscal year began on July 1. “We’ve been running at $100m a month since July of this year for the fiscal year. Revenues are recovering. I think it’s safe to say that revenue is beyond expectation and we are doing remarkably well,” he said. “I believe that the message is getting through that Customs is no longer tolerating that level of dishonesty and, of course, persons have been fined. We’re imposing penalties. Mr Munroe’s comments came as Customs brokers continue to voice
• Warn goods clearance costs to rise in New Year • Still seeking clarity over Click2Clear ‘integration’ • Customs: No ‘mandate’ to use certain providers concerns over what they argue is a lack of clarity and certainty surrounding the agency’s requirement for them to be fully “integrated” with its electronic goods clearance platform, Click2Clear, by January 2, 2023. A flyer on the initiative, seen by Tribune Business, warns brokers, in-house brokers, retailers and wholesalers that all major importers
“must submit Customs declarations via integration to Click2Clear. Bahamas Customs will not accept manual declarations nor documents. Only integration submissions will be accepted. The flyer names two suitable suppliers of the necessary software “integration”, Information Systems Ltd and its SWIM product, and GAAC. However, rather than mandate that brokers and major importers use the services of either of these two entities, the Customs flyer advertising an October 6, 2022, meeting on the initiative said firms can “seek the services of an independent program developer”. Customs brokers spoken to by Tribune Business yesterday said confusion still surrounded the initiative, with little progress or clarity forthcoming since the last meeting with government on the matter. Several raised questions as to whether the Government could force them to buy a product from a private vendor, with others suggesting that the relevant Customs laws might need to be changed to facilitate the plan.
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Liquidators to go after FTX Bahamas payouts By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE joint provisional liquidators for FTX’s Bahamian subsidiary are “guaranteed” to go after any payouts to local investors if they violated the Supreme Court freeze imposed as the crypto exchange imploded, it was revealed yesterday. Well-placed sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Tribune Business that the trio overseeing FTX Digital Markets will certainly pursue the recovery of such payments after Sam Bankman-Fried, the embattled exchange’s chief executive, admitted he
SAM BANKMAN-FRIED prioritised withdrawals for Bahamas-based investors to avoid being hunted by crowds of angry locals. The confirmation came as the joint provisional liquidators, Brian Simms KC, the Lennox Paton
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CIBC’s New Year halt to in-branch payments By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net CIBC FirstCaribbean last night justified its decision to halt physical in-branch transactions from January 3 - a move that will impact thousands of Bahamians by asserting that 85 percent of clients are already using digital banking channels. The BISX-listed bank, which is more than 95 percent owned by its Canadian parent through the regional Barbados head office, disclosed its plans to cease processing virtually all forms of over-the-counter
payment transactions in the New Year via an internal staff briefing paper. The document, which has been seen by Tribune Business, reveals that “effective January 3, 2023”, CIBC will no longer facilitate cash and cheque deposits; cheque cashing; corporate and small business deposits; withdrawals under the daily $3,000 automated banking machine (ABM) limit; credit card payments; bill payments; domestic and international transfers; transfers between CIBC accounts and with other CIBC clients; and third
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‘Slap in the face’ on Dorian’s tax breaks • SERZ expiry rationale branded ‘outrageous’ By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE GOVERNMENT was yesterday accused of delivering “a slap in the face” to Abaco and Grand Bahama by confirming that both islands’ present Dorian-related tax breaks expire today as scheduled. Daphne DegregoryMiaoulis, the Abaco Chamber of Commerce’s president, told Tribune Business that the move will only “stagnate” the island’s efforts to recover from the Category Five storm and further delay “getting back to being the second largest revenue generating island in the country for the Public Treasury. Branding the decision as “short-sighted”, she argued that the Davis administration was focused solely on
DAPHNE DEGREGORY-MIAOULIS the tax revenues foregone by the past three years-plus concessions while ignoring the multiple benefits generated by the Special Economic Recovery Zone (SERZ). These included incentivising a faster economic rebound than Abaco would otherwise have enjoyed if it did not have
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