The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Perry Christie said yesterday that he hoped to see the final Value Added Tax (VAT) legislation debated and passed before Parliament’s standard summer recess, acknowledging that there would be “an amendment or two” to the Bill tabled a few weeks ago.

“There is probably an amendment or two even with that going forward but we are ready to debate that,” Mr Christie said yesterday. He noted that the Ministry of Finance is still in consultation with various private sector stakeholders.

Mr Christie said that despite the Opposition’s objection to the tax, the government would be “resolute” in its commitment to see the passage of the VAT legislation through Parliament and the implementation of the tax  on January 1, 2015, at 7.5 per cent “with those exemptions that we are foreshadowing”. He said that he wanted to see the final VAT legislation debated and passed before Parliament’s standard summer recess.

Bahamas Chamber of Commerce & Employers Confederation (BCCEC) chairman and tax-coalition co-chair Robert Myers told Tribune Business yesterday that the Chamber was anticipating adjustments to the legislation and regulations.

“We anticipate that we will see adjustments to the legislation and regulations that are critical from a legal standpoint over the next few months. There may be additional changes to other things over the new few months including we hope some consideration to the automobile industry. Ultimately the decision is in the government’s hands.”

The auto industry is currently subject to Excise Tax rates between 65-85 per cent, but despite being one of the Public Treasury’s highest-yielding and most reliable revenue contributors, it was not included among the 100 tariff lines earmarked by the Government for pre-VAT cuts. Mr Myers told Tribune Business last month that the Tax Coalition will lobby the Government for a 5-7.5 percentage point reduction in auto industry duty rates.

He said that the Bahamas Motor Dealers Association’s (BMDA) call for a cut in the sector’s already-steep Excise Tax rates was “warranted” to ensure VAT implementation had a ‘neutral’ price impact.