The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

Prime Minister Perry Christie yesterday said the Government will extend the Hawksbill Creek Agreement‘s (HCA) expiring tax incentives for a further six months, with the House of Assembly called on to approve the move next week.

Mr Christie told Parliament yesterday: “The Government has requested, and will seek, approval from the House for a six-month extension on the examination of the Hawksbill Creek Agreement, and the extension of Business License and real property tax [exemptions].”

Those tax breaks had initially been set to expire on August 4, 2016. The Government, though, decided last July to extend them for six months until February 4.

This occurred because there was “a great deal for the Government to digest”, with Mr Christie stating that further consultation and negotiations with stakeholders on Grand Bahama was needed.

Mr Christie told Parliament yesterday: “The House of Assembly can anticipate that between now and the expiration that I will speak to the country, and I have the obligation, having moved for the extensions in the House of Assembly.

“I owe it to the House of Assembly to address the issue substantially, and substantively, and I will do so at next week’s sitting with respect to the Hawksbill Creek Agreement and the position of the Government moving forward.”

The Government previously commissioned international consulting firm, McKinsey & Co, to conduct a study on the expiring incentives. It then appointed a six-member committee to produce a report on both those tax breaks and Freeport’s long-term future.

As revealed by Tribune Business, the McKinsey report had warned the Christie administration that up to 1,100 jobs could be lost in Freeport if it were to ‘trade off’ employment for $80-$100 million in extra revenue generated by allowing those incentives to ‘sunset’.

Mr Christie said yesterday: “My government never shies away form the toughest decisions having to be made. That is a very important subject that affects the country, and the Government will be making a communication on the matter.”

The Government’s Hawksbill Creek Agreement Review Committee featured Dr Marcus Bethel, a former Cabinet minister; Sir Baltron Bethel, the Prime Minister’s senior policy advisor; former Central Bank governor, James Smith; Kevin Seymour, the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce’s president; former MP Maurice Moore; and Grand Bahama-based attorney, Cassietta McIntosh.