The Tribune

FREE National Movement deputy leader Shanendon Cartwright yesterday challenged the Davis administration to clearly say how much Bahamians will actually save when its recent VAT cut takes effect, as opposition criticism over the measure intensified in the House of Assembly.

Mr Cartwright raised the issue during debate yesterday, pressing the government to explain the real-world impact of its decision to zero-rate VAT on unprepared food and accusing it of failing to provide meaningful detail to the public.

The VAT cut quickly became a central flashpoint during the morning session, with opposition members questioning whether the relief would deliver tangible benefits for households already under financial strain.

In making his case, Mr Cartwright cited a Nassau Guardian report estimating that the measure would save the average Bahamian household about $11 per month, or roughly $127 per year. The estimate was based on dividing the government’s projected $15m revenue loss by the number of households nationwide, a calculation later dismissed by the Office of the Prime Minister.

Mr Cartwright, the MP for St Barnabas, described the projected savings as “shameful,” questioning what $11 a month would realistically mean for a family of four.

Yamacraw MP Zane Lightbourne pushed back, accusing Mr Cartwright of misrepresenting the VAT relief and rejecting claims that savings could be reduced to a single figure.

“There is never a one number that can be put to any amount of savings on any family, because everyone makes a different amount of income and also have different spending,” Mr Lightbourne said. “And so when you go to a food store, unless you can determine that my grocery cart looks exactly like your grocery cart, you cannot determine that me and you will save $11.”

Mr Cartwright maintained that the government had failed to properly communicate what the VAT reduction would deliver, calling it “incredible” that the policy was announced without a clear explanation of its expected benefits.

Despite repeated calls from the opposition, government officials did not provide a specific estimate of anticipated household savings during the debate.

Opposition members also questioned why the administration had only now acted on VAT relief, despite previously arguing for similar measures while in opposition.

Prime Minister Philip Davis defended the timing, describing his government as fiscally responsible and saying the conditions were only recently right to proceed.

“We did it when it was appropriate,” Mr Davis said.

He said governing required difficult choices and noted that international financial institutions had cautioned against premature VAT reductions.

“I told them ‘no’. Y’all want me to go that way,” he said, pointing upward, “but I going this way, down.”

East Grand Bahama MP Kwasi Thompson said the relief should go further if Bahamians are to feel meaningful change, pointing to rising demand for assistance from non-profit organisations.

“Not only has the relief come late, but it appears to come without transparency, without analysis and without accountability,” Mr Thompson said. “Time and time again, this administration announces changes through headlines rather than evidence, leaving Bahamians in the dark about both the benefits and the consequences.”