The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

REAL Property Tax - IDB and Japanese provide a $765,000 grant to improve collection. Firstly the obvious is the obvious... if you ain't got the spare cash to pay Real Property Tax, that's it.. Japanese or whoever.

One of the problems the Ministry of Finance has is that for one-two-three years the exemption is at $500,000, owner-occupier then reduced to $250,000 then the valuations shoots sky-high although it is well known few Bahamians ever pay the tax anyway.

Second - surely there are some local experts who can collect receivables and know the Bahamian psyche to boot, something that will take a foreigner years to learn!

Okay, let's give this $765,000 to foreigners when there are locals who could easily do it... they do it every day in the commercial sector.

Thanks, Minister Laing: wonder how many professionals who live in Ft Charlotte could do this lucrative project who could employ a few more unemployed?

BRYAN FORBES

Nassau,

January 20, 2012.