The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Super Value’s owner says he “jumped for joy” over the top-rate Business Licence cut, describing it as akin to “plugging one leak” amid concerns over rising crime and living costs.

Rupert Roberts told Tribune Business he had yet to work out what the 25 basis point rate cut, from 1.75 per cent to 1.5 per cent, would give the supermarket chain in tax savings because he and other businessmen were “too busy trying to save the ship”.

“I rejoiced in that fact, but we haven’t had time to work it out,” Mr Roberts said of the Business Licence rate cut, unveiled as part of the Government’s 2015-2016 Budget measures.

“Today, everybody is fighting for their survival, and gaining one-quarter of 1 per cent on your sales, you jump for joy.

“You’re too busy trying to save the ship that you’re so glad one little leak has been fixed. It’s getting tougher every day.”

Explaining why the Bahamian business environment was becoming “tougher every day”, the Super Value chief cited crime and an increase in stealing, plus fears of an upsurge in copper theft. Value-Added Tax’s (VAT) implementation also meant that a sum equivalent to 5 per cent of the supermarket chain’s sales was now being paid to government monthly.

“Stealing has ramped up so bad,” Mr Roberts told Tribune Business, “and it’s taking so much time chasing it. You’re trying to prosecute the person, and the police have more than they can cope with, and we have more than we can cope with.

“I hear on the street that the price of copper has increased, and they’re trying to break into our motor rooms again. Break-ins have been attempted.”

Mr Roberts again urged the Government to ban all copper exports as a means to curb the thefts that continue to cost the private sector time and money.

The former Ingraham administration passed legislation to regulate the copper (scrap metal) trade and as a means to stamp out such crimes, but the business community’s continued complaints suggest the law is having little impact.

“It looks as though the Government is so helpless on crime or doesn’t want to do anything about crime. That’s the way it looks. It seems as if there’s nothing been done,” Mr Roberts told Tribune Business.

“With the copper thefts they could ban the exports and solve it like that. Crime is affecting us all.”

As for VAT’s impact, he added: “Five per cent of sales to the Government is what it amounts to. The people who have money are spending what they need to spend, but two-thirds of the people are on budgets, so that means 5 per cent has gone to the Government.

“If we hadn’t had VAT, that would add 5 per cent back on to sales. It’s only because of the lack of business and the high rate of crime and theft. That’s the difficulty.”

Mr Roberts said the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) assessment of the Bahamian economy, released last week, had done little to inspire private sector confidence that a major rebound was on the way.

“Reading the IMF remarks, it looks like it will get worse,” he told Tribune Business. “Even when Baha Mar comes on stream, it looks it will not improve. It will only level out, and GDP seems to be falling.”

Asked what he and Super Value will do to combat the situation, Mr Roberts replied: “Same as we’ve been doing for the past five years: Keep fighting.”