By NEIL HARTNELL
Tribune Business Editor
nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
A prominent businessman yesterday criticised the Government for “blindsiding” the private sector with new and increased fees, warning this would be counterproductive at a time when the Bahamas “needs job growth more than ever”.
Slamming the “clandestine” way in which many of the 2013-2014 Budget’s revenue-raising measures had been slipped in, Dionisio D’Aguilar, Superwash’s president, said the resulting uncertainty would cause businesses to further pull back on investment and expansion plans.
Acknowledging that the Government needed to raise money, Mr D’Aguilar said its Budget was effectively “taking money from the productive sector” and job creator - the business community - and redeploying it into the “unproductive sector”, namely the public sector.
And the former Bahamas Chamber of Commerce president also publicly called on the Christie administration to let the private sector know if any other new or increased taxes were set to show themselves in the next few weeks.
“I don’t like the clandestine nature in the way the Government is releasing this information to the business community,” Mr D’Aguilar told Tribune Business. “It’s coming as a surprise, and I don’t like the way they’re not consulting us.
“Clearly, the Government is sending a message that the business community needs to pay more taxes and more fees, and while I agree that the Government needs to raise more money, the process should be a little more collaborative.
“What business people like, and what businesspeople thrive on, is our ability to plan, and in order to plan we need knowledge and information.”
Citing Business Licence fees as an example, Mr D’Aguilar said it would “be very simple” for the Government to specify the steps businesses needed to fulfill - NIB letter; corporate registration fee payments; letter from Department of Environmental Health (in his case) and pay the fee.
Yet it had failed to do so, and Mr D’Aguilar said his business and others were “kind of stuttering” in the whole process.
Among the fee and tax changes/increases many in the private sector were unaware of, until they were implemented on Monday, the first day of the 2013-2014 fiscal year, was an ‘Environmental Levy’ now being charged on imports supposedly harmful to the environment or difficult to safely dispose.
Other fees introduced by the 2013-2014 Budget are a $50 per head, per hour fee for Customs officers to inspect something at “a place they do not normally attend”.
And, “outside the normal eight-hour shift at a seaport”, Customs is to be paid a fee of $30 per hour, per head, although Prince George Dock and cruise ships docking in Freeport are to be exempt.
As for pleasure vessels cruising in the Bahamas, boats less than 35 feet in length have to pay $250 for a cruising permit, and those with a greater length must cough up $400. And vessels carrying more than three passengers must pay a $20 per head Passenger Tax.
“My question to the Government: Is there anything else we need to know about, and if so, let us know now. Stop popping up with these new taxes. Let us know everything upfront. Is there another one coming on Monday?,” Mr D’Aguilar told Tribune Business.
“The Budget came out a month ago. Why didn’t you tell us then? It’s like a secret world at the Ministry of Finance, where you have a bunch of breakwaters who sit down and say: ‘What can we do next?’ We should have open and transparent government.”
The Superwash president added: “With this government you just don’t know what it’s going to do. With this Budget process, everybody in the business community sits on the edge of their seats come May and June, and waits with bated breath: What are they going to do now?
“Consult, let us know. We know the Government needs more money, but it also needs to create jobs. When you blindside businesses with these fees, these new taxes, and don’t let them know where they’re headed, businesspeople get disillusioned and uncertain. They’re not in the right mind to expand their business and create jobs.”
The end result, Mr D’Aguilar said, was that “growth in jobs is going to be dampened”, resulting in the Government having to pay more money to fight crime and on social security benefits.
“Government needs businesses more than ever before to create jobs,” he told Tribune Business, adding that the Christie administration - through its Budget - was signalling it was relying on Baha Mar to carry the load.
“Let the private sector create the jobs, not the Government. It’s what undermines the business community and hurts the country no end - the Government taking money from the productive sector of the economy, and putting it in the unproductive sector.”
Flagging VAT as a prime example of the uncertainty inhibiting the business community, Mr D’Aguilar said: “We’re kind of emotionally preparing for it, but there’s a lot of confusion.
“The Bahamas government is notoriously slow at making decisions on how things are going to be, but the business person needs to plan. But that’s not in the Bahamian DNA; we’re a last minute people, and boy does the Government emulate that.”
Comments
jackflash 11 years, 5 months ago
I can only think that the government will reverse some of these new taxes. They have to, especially the airline fees. The economy will collapse and unemployment with increase because companies will not hire new workers and will resort to cutbacks in staff and benefits. These new fees will make it tough for the economy to maintain any sot of upward momentum we will see in short order.
The government will rescind most of these taxes and fees before independence...
UserOne 11 years, 5 months ago
With the track record of this government, I'm afraid to say your optimism is bordering on delusional.
The_Oracle 11 years, 5 months ago
With the track records of spending, and commitments to foreign entities and Governments, they will not be rescinding anything, they have more to implement.
Unfortunately, the Bahamian private sector has decided to bury their heads in the sand rather than demand answers and accountability. The private sector will pay for their voluntary abdication/absence, The Government will pay with reduced revenue, The citizens will pay the dearest of all. The stateless OECD, WTO, EU-EPA bureaucrats run the show now. WE are in no position to turn around, and have already begged off of and missed various deadlines on commitments that we agreed to. Ask the realtors about Foreign purchasers refuting that they must pay real property tax: Per EU-EPA, they do not have to, via non discrimination clauses. Will either Government exempt them, as Bahamians are, or will they tax us all...........
banker 11 years, 5 months ago
A lot of businessmen that I know are trying to diversify their income stream from Bahamian dollars to American dollars, even to the point of setting up Florida corporations to buy their supplies so that they will have a cushion of American dollars when the Bahamian economy tanks. Many fear devaluation due to worsening economic conditions.
concernedcitizen 11 years, 5 months ago
When 1 in 4 work for the public sector and 70% of a countries budget goes to public service salaries goverment has no choice but to tax and borrow ..Bahamas air has 700 employees ,thats about 90 per plane ,,the industry average is 23 per plane ,,we have 1200 defence force officers and only 4 bigger boats ,,Now the flip side is if we didn,t put our undereducated masses leaving school on the gov dime crime would be worse ..we have come to the tipping point and w/ out a cultural shift in our sexual habits the outcome is predictable ,,ie Jamaica ,Haiti etc ,,growing poverty and growing crime ,and crying for goverment to find some "fantasy industries" to provide jobs is just day dreaming ,,,,,how about some planned parenthood ..
The_Oracle 11 years, 5 months ago
Yes, "Banker" Bahamians have been creating purchasing entities in the U.S. for years, usually for re-invoicing purposes, to reduce the value of freight for Duty avoidance. There are legitimate reasons for setting up a purchasing entity, but the perception will always be Duty avoidance. Bahamas Customs tried years ago to create an "Item cost" database, at Nassau Airport, but with Model numbers on Televisions and consumer electronics changing 3 times a year, they quickly filled a hard drive with useless data. Some Bahamians are also bypassing the Central bank by using Vonage to run U.S. CC machines, doing direct deposit to U.S. accounts. Also, what is this up-charge I've seen on CC charges? Is this not against the merchant agreement signed with the Major CC companies? How are Companies getting away with this stuff?
Still pirates at heart, just in suits these days......
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