The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

This past week on many of the Talk Shows callers were promoting Income Tax as their choice to pull our revenue out of the hole it is in. I have to ask have any of these callers, respectfully, ever looked up the Gross Income per household and then calculated the impact on existing revenue of an Income Tax platform would cause... Editor, for sure if you reduce the money in the economy at source, PAYE — from your pay cheque before it goes to the bank that proportion is the decrease as to the spending you have available — if you take 5 percent of the Gross Income that’s an easy $250m out of potential consumer spending... go at 10 percent that’s $500m gone reduced from spending.

It is obvious as our economy is set up by reducing consumer spending at those rates would devastate VAT..... impact Customs (less demand for imported goods) and down the line of consumer spending tax revenue.

How many people as their take home pay reduces will be able to meet their existing mortgages...car payments... continue their private insurances? Can anyone afford a reduction of your pay by 5 percent to 10 percent or more? Don’t think too many.

More thought. Editor, as loose talk might sound good, but when you take that proverbial pencil to the issue you discover it ain’t going to work.

Our GDP is boosted by the presence of a lot of ex-pat residents who have considerably higher salaries, etc, than the ‘Joe blow average Bahamian... in the islands it is even lower possibly 50 percent New Providence level which is +- $23-26,000.00.

If you take off the table any level of consumer spending all direct consumer taxes are effectively reduced so how will you make those up?

KIM SAWYER

Nassau,

December 15, 2021.