The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

In the midst of the heated National debate on VAT, our Minister of State for Finance, Michael Halketis is currently on an international roadshow with the hopes of floating an additional US$300,000,000.00 sovereign debt bond. The purpose of these funds is mostly to cover recurrent expenditure.

In a typical Bahamian household when the decision is made to borrow, it is done with great deliberation and conviction that the funds will be used for an investment that will bring increased opportunity and prosperity to the home. Extending this analogy then, it would be quite unreasonable for a family to undertake borrowing on an annual basis in order to keep up with ordinary expenses such as rent, utilities, or salaries for domestic helpers and it would clearly signal that this family has moved far beyond living within its means. Why then, would our government believe that this same basic, economic principle would not also apply in matters of national finance?

As The People of the Bahamas clamour for increased transparency, increased accountability and more efficient collection of existing revenue; our government, on one hand seems intent to carry on a “business as usual approach” to unsustainable expenditure while on the other hand convince the public that the increased revenue from VAT is the only option to avoid economic disaster.

In the end, without an authentic effort towards developing a comprehensive economic reform plan, VAT will do little more than buy our country a few additional years of borrowing capacity and then ultimately “kick the can” of the credit rating downgrade a bit further down the road like it has done for Barbados.

CITIZENS FOR A 
BETTER BAHAMAS

www.citizensforabetter
bahamas.org

Nassau,

December 4, 2013.