EDITOR, The Tribune.
Much needs, should and will be said about “VAT” here are a few from me.
a) Why is it that most Bahamians think that non-Bahamians know what is best for the Bahamas, i.e. IMF, WTO, USA, CMSME, CARICOM, OMG, etc. Why not ask us (all of us) we don’t just fly here we live here.
b) If everyone jumps into a lake/fire/whatever should we also jump in? It seems sol Even if something works elsewhere, that does not mean that it suits the Bahamas.
c) Name one government entity that has a great, well good, okay fair right, not too bad a record on enforcement/collection. A lot of monies are owed to: Real Property Tax, National Insurance Board, Auto Licence, Boat License, BEC, BTC, Water & Sewerage and the list goes on and on and on.
d) At the end of the day:
1) It will cost we, the people, more.
2) It will increase expenses for business.
3) Government will spend more and collect less.
4) If “they” want a “level playing field” how come not all will pay?
e) It is not about what is best/right for the people but what seems easy for those who rule us. Whatever became of “Public Servants”?
f) I know that this is a waste of time, but even so I feel better.
J A ROBERTS
Nassau,
February 22, 2013.
Comments
moncurcool 11 years, 1 month ago
You are right on Roberts. What amazes me is that the government is touting VAT. And of all the countries I have heard them name that have VAT in place, not a one of those countries economies is better than the Bahamas present economy even as bad a state as we are in. And we want to be the monkey to follow others blindly.
john33xyz 11 years, 1 month ago
The overall idea is to bring us in line with expectations so we can join the WTO. That is extremely silly. Why would a country that doesn't manufacture or produce anything (not even salt anymore - they closed) want to join a trade organization? What do we have to trade?
We trade hotel rooms and restaurant food and taxi rides for money. That's it. Those are not exported.
It is simply a ruse to allow others to import things in here without paying duty.
Some "honorable" people will get goodies in return for selling us out.
The only solution I see to the Bahamas is to change the Constitution to have elections every 3 years. Five years is waaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyy to long for anybody to goof off without consequences.
john33xyz 11 years, 1 month ago
People often reply to me saying that "you can't get anything done in 3 years". Man I wish I could tell that to my boss. "Hey boss, can I just sit around here for thee years and get paid?" How would that work out.
Of course, if things are going too they could get elected for another 3 years.
Just like me. If don't get (for example) all my boxes labelled and sorted properly in the warehouse come Friday afternoon 5pm - my boss is very likely to let me come back to work on Monday and work on the remainder. However, he probably would not if he sees I only worked on 3 boxes out of 75 and 2 of those 3 are labelled incorrectly. He would find someone else.
Because of that, I label as correctly as I can and work on as many boxes as I can.
Government, however, does not have to work on anything - and anything that they accidentally put their hands on does not have to be right or even close to right. Wasn't this Prime Minister in office 8 years ago? And we hired him back again because? And wasn't the guy who was in office 2 years ago also in office 7 years prior to that? And we hired him back in 2007 because?
Five years is just way too long people.
GilbertM 11 years, 1 month ago
Roberts shows that this issue is not about VAT. Its about birthright and manhood. It concerns our capacity to plot a path in the face of challenges owing to our actual and relative size.
Amen....for Roberts....exit stage left....lights out!
Professor Gilbert NMO Morris
Sign in to comment
Or login with:
OpenID