The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

There is much written about the sanctity of a man’s home and in particular, that it is considered to be his castle and last refuge. One such poignant reference:

“In 1763, British Prime Minister William Pitt, the first Earl of Chatham, also known as Pitt the Elder stated as follows: The poorest man may in his cottage bid defiance to all the forces of the crown. It may be frail - its roof may shake - the wind may blow through it - the storm may enter - the rain may enter - but the King of England cannot enter.”

And with that background it should be understood that one doesn’t lightly trifle with a person’s real estate. As in acquiring it, damaging it, or even taxing it. Bait and Switch is defined as a fraud and is unlawful to do in commerce. And by extension, I think that we (The Bahamas) must be extremely careful in all matters of taxation, and in particular, when we arbitrarily change the basis upon which someone, who has paid money for something, has the terms of that holding changed to any significant extent.

If we went to the grocery shop and purchased our weekly supply of food and upon exiting the shop met the tax man, collecting a new tax on the groceries that we just bought, we would find that outrageous.

And the principle is no less outrageous, when the Government, to any significant and unusual degree, makes what might be considered Draconian changes to its tax rules, such as has recently been done with the previously stated definitions of residency and tax caps being struck down, by the hand of the Minister of Finance.

One of the things that suffers, and has suffered with the Real Property Tax amendments, is the Government’s credibility, and thereby the country’s stability. What is perhaps more concerning is that the Minister of Finance is unlikely to have done this off his own bat, and will have had the concurrence of most, if not all, of the Cabinet. These are the people who will be judged by any future foreign direct investor, thinking about bringing investment capital into this country. Can I trust them will be foremost in their mind.

I fear that there is a mindset in the Cabinet that believes that The Bahamas needs the money, and therefore the end justifies the means. We must get rid of that mindset. It is dangerous beyond measure.

BRUCE G.RAINE

Nassau,

August 4, 2018.