The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

I write you to provide your readers with a clearer understanding of the problems of running a small business in these Bahama Islands.

To this end I outline the essentials of the accounts for the year ended 2015 which was the first year of VAT and the first year when any business with a turnover of more than $100,00.00 is now required to have a certified accountant provide a support letter to the accounts.

My company essentially supplies services to private households in the form of supervised labour. This is a very competitive business and prices charged remain around the same in real dollars as they were ten years ago.

I opted and was granted the opportunity to forgo detailing my VAT outlay and to deliver 4.5% of the sales to the Revenue Office essentially allowing me to retain 3% of the sales having collected 7.5% VAT from my clients. This option is available upon request to businesses with a gross under $400,000.00.

My gross was $315 thousand with wages and salaries of $259 thousand and National Insurance of $9 thousand. Vehicle maintenance, fuel, and license used up $31 thousand and materials and supplies amounted to $7 thousand. Total outlay was therefore $306 thousand leaving an operating profit of $9 thousand. To this operating profit I was able to add the retained VAT of $9 thousand to increase my profit to $18 thousand.

Now here is the real bottom line. I had to pay an additional tax of $1.5 thousand to the taxman for the business license and the accountant got a hefty $2 thousand for looking over my figures and deciding I had been fair to the taxman in my representation. This left me with a profit of $15.5 thousand or $300 a week for my efforts over and above my weekly salary of $1,500. The taxman received $455 per week on average and I had to do his work collecting his money.

I need to retire and get out of this idiocy. I feel sorry for the guys who work for me because they will have to find another boss and I know I am a good one.

DISILLUSIONED

Nassau,

November 9, 2016.