The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

I think that it was Wednesday of last week that a raft of Tax Amendments were analysed by BICA (Bahamas Institute of Chartered Accountants) from the Department of Inland Revenue. Changes from Real Property Tax increased penalties, to VAT updates, and on to Business Licence changes, and I could only think to myself “Do these people even have a clue how we (The Bahamas) got to where we are today”?

Do they even know why it was, that Canadian industrialist Sir Harry Oakes came to The Bahamas in the first place? Or why the world’s super wealthy took up residence here in droves after the second World War?

This is all a repeat of the stupidity that left a significant Bahamas Tourism sector dead in the water (pun intended) earlier this year when they ganged another ten percent on direct tax costs of yacht charters.

Wealthy people have money, not by paying government taxes, but by minimising them. This government seems to have a notion I think, that people like paying taxes and the higher they are the merrier they will be.

What do they think our Financial Services Industry does for a living? We help the World’s Wealthy “preserve and even enhance their family wealth.” And one thing we all should know is that money is the easiest commodity to move.

There are two sides to every ledger and we really should try to spend less in government and reduce the need to bleed the people to death with taxes.

MONKEEDOO

Nassau,

December 26, 2023.