S&P downgrade a ‘wake-up call’
The Central Bank’s governor yesterday said Standard & Poor’s (S&P’s) August downgrade of the Bahamas’ sovereign credit rating to one notch above ‘junk’ status was “a wake up call”, not a “seismic event”.
Redundancy pay cap ‘totally inequitable’
The Trade Union Congress’s (TUC) leader yesterday backed Government proposals to lift the redundancy ‘ceiling’, arguing it was “ totally inequitable” for workers who had given decades of service to receive the same pay-off as colleagues with the same firm for 12 years or less.
Minister’s ‘trepidation’ over financial service
A Cabinet Minister yesterday admitted to “trepidation” over whether the Bahamas’ service levels could match the promises and content of a recent financial services promotional tour.
How to sweat less over AC
We find ourselves in the same situation every year. Winter is nearly here, but it still feels like 90 degrees outside.
Worker fraud: So simple, yet so easily preventable
As a forensic accountant who has analysed a considerable number of employee fraud matters, I have found among them a shared theme: All could have easily been prevented.
Financial sector labelled ‘parody of contradiction’
The Minister of Financial Services yesterday described the industry as a “parody of contradictions”, given that many of the G-20 countries pushing for automatic tax information exchange are the main perpetrators of bank secrecy.
Gov’t eyes $100m duty-free shopping
Businesses participating in the Government’s duty-free shopping scheme are generating close to $10 million a month in tax-exempt sales to tourists, the Financial Secretary said yesterday.
VAT rate rise unlikely soon
A senior Ministry of Finance official yesterday said an increase to the 7.5 per cent Value-Added Tax (VAT) rate was unlikely in the near term, suggesting that even more revenue can be extracted from the existing tax base with further administrative “tightening”.
Hutchison’s new GBPA interest ‘jeopardised’
A “massively improved” offer for the Hayward estate’s Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) stake, with $60 million guaranteed “upfront”, plus interest from Hutchison Whampoa and other buyers has allegedly been jeopardised after the Supreme Court was asked to intervene.
Removers owned last guardian for Hayward trust
The sole remaining guardian for the late Sir Jack Hayward’s trust, which holds his family’s 50 per cent Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) stake, is owned and controlled by the same individuals who engineered the removal of all other trustees.
Liberty’s ‘future plans’ for BTC key to Gov’t
Liberty Global’s “future plans” for the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) will weigh heavily on the Government’s decision over whether to approve its arrival in this nation, a Cabinet Minister said yesterday.
Gov’t seeking to eliminate cheques
The Government is seeking to ultimately eliminate all cheque payments in a bid to reduce fraud and end cumbersome manual processes, it was revealed yesterday.
Accountants urged to protect ‘privilege’ of self-regulation
The Bahamas Institute of Chartered Accountants’ (BICA) president yesterday said accountants must strive to protect the profession’s “privilege” of self-regulation, adding that it was dealing “internally” with challenges surrounding its June annual general meeting (AGM).
Bahamas needs ‘more marked’ deficit decline
Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has warned the Bahamas needs a “more marked” decline in its fiscal deficits to halt the rising national debt, which it forecasts will grow to 53 per cent of GDP on a net basis by 2018.
Health system ‘not ready’ for NHI start
The Bahamian healthcare system is “not ready” for National Health Insurance (NHI), and will face a major challenge in coping with “an initial surge in demand” for services.
