BEC Chairman Leslie Miller
By SANCHESKA BROWN
Tribune Staff Reporter
sbrown@tribunemedia.net
BAHAMAS Electricity Corporation customers will not have to pay the full 7.5 per cent value added tax on their light bills, according to BEC Executive Chairman Leslie Miller.
Speaking with The Tribune, Mr Miller said BEC will absorb some of the cost and customers will pay no more than five per cent of the new tax.
“We are still working it out and still figuring out the calculations and determining what the consumer is going to pay,” Mr Miller said. “I do not think it will be more than five per cent and BEC will absorb the bill. But you won’t see VAT on your bills until February.
“I still don’t think that VAT should be applied at all because we still have thousands of persons without electricity and thousands more who can not afford to pay their bills as it is.
“The people (consultants) from New Zealand who recommended that VAT should be added to the light bill don’t have to experience the same things we experience here.”
“We can’t catch a break between the fuel costs and the faulty generators and now VAT. I advocated straight up to Friday with the government and asked them not to apply VAT but I guess they did what they had to do and so BEC will find a way to take on this cost for the people.
“We have nothing left to give, no more incentives we can add, no more programmes,” he added. “BEC has done what it can to keep the lights on and we will still continue to assist where we can.”
Mr Miller also said that people who are disconnected and seeking to be reconnected will not be charged VAT to have their power turned back on.
Originally, the government proposed to make electricity VAT exempt for both residential and business consumers.
However, acting on recommendations of New Zealand VAT experts, the government decided not to exempt electricity.
Last year, Minister of State for Finance Michael Halkitis said it did not mean electricity costs will increase by the VAT rate of 7.5 per cent, nor will the tax wreak havoc on the poor since the government will establish mechanisms to mitigate this.
“We don’t expect (electricity) to go up by the amount of the VAT. As it stands now it might increase a bit, it might stay the same; but definitely if it were exempted then BEC would not have the power to get VAT credits back, so we think bringing it into the net allows them to get their credits and reduce their cost. Our experts told us that being exempt is actually a disadvantage for a lot of services because they don’t have the opportunity to get credit back for VAT that they pay on,” Mr Halkitis said last year.
VAT was introduced on January 1.
Comments
Foxie 9 years, 11 months ago
Mr. Miller says that you will not see VAT on your bills until February. Well, I got my bill for December 2014 / January 2015 and guess what, VAT for days in January is on the billl........ JOKESSS... Also, how can BEC charge "VAT TAX" on "FUEL TAX".?????????. VAT should only be on actual useage only...
John 9 years, 11 months ago
Do you know Customs is charging VAT on customs duties and all tax collection services they supply?
ohdrap4 9 years, 11 months ago
according to the rules, they are supposed to charge vat on customs duties and on all services
proudloudandfnm 9 years, 11 months ago
Wait now... The company that has trouble paying it's fuel bill is going to absorb 2.5% of the VAT?!?!?!?
Amateurs run our government man...
John 9 years, 11 months ago
If you see who they are buying their fuel from, then you would understand why they are having a problem paying for it. What is snake oil?
duppyVAT 9 years, 11 months ago
This is a big joke. BEC charges a fuel surcharge on the cost of fuel that has been falling for the past year .......... and now they are only going to charge a partial VAT tax on the bill??? This is a conundrum .................... Miller and BEC dont seem to know what the hell to do with VAT and fuel surcharge. Bahamians should sue BEC for fraudulent misrepresentation on billing
watcher 9 years, 11 months ago
The man is a walking joke. The same man whose restaurant doesn't charge VAT, but adds a gratuity on to bills? The same man who pays hundreds of thousands in cash to settle outstanding bills, going against basic KYC rules? the same man who ducks unions, but is the Corporation's chairman? What exactly is Mr Miller qualified to do, and why is he anywhere near BEC's finances? Please help me understand what role this man plays on our national stage.
The_Oracle 9 years, 11 months ago
VAT on the fuel surcharge is basically a tax on two other taxes, giving the same problem they already have on fuel gas/diesel sales at the stations. VAT may be charged on the Kwh usage but not on the fuel. Government aught to recognize they have a problem on this.
TheMadHatter 9 years, 11 months ago
VAT is here to teach Bahamians that free schools, free health clinics, and free baby delivery rooms are not actually free.
TheMadHatter
duppyVAT 9 years, 11 months ago
Which Bahamians?????? Bahamians go to any extent to duck government hospitals and schools except they cant help it ...... but the other "Bahamians" enjoy the sweetness that we pay for
TheMadHatter 9 years, 11 months ago
Yes - but where to "those" Bahamians get their money to be able to buy food to keep living here? From the other Bahamians who pay them, and are now learning that the "cheap" labour ain't as cheap as they thought.
John 9 years, 11 months ago
THE PRINCE OF ARIBIA SAYS $100.00 PER BARREL OIL is a thing of the past and will not be seen again in the near future or at least not in the next five years. There was a plan afoot that started around 2000 to artificially inflate the price of oil and petroleum products to a point where gasoline would be selling the US for around $11.00 per gallon and in the United Kingdom and Canada for around $13.00 per gallon. That would have meant a price of between $17.00 and $20.00 per gallon in the Bahamas and some Caribbean nations. The plan of these elitist was not only to create a false shortage of oil and reap huge windfall profits as was seen with EXXON a few years ago, but they also wanted to restrict the mobility of the masses. Many persons would not have been able to put fuel in their vehicles when the gas prices hit double digits and airline travel would have been reserved for the rich and famous. The average consumer would barely be able to light his home and air conditioning for many would have been unthinkable. Fortunately the bottom fell out of that plan and a world global recession revealed that the earth is virtually swimming in oil. Not only that but alternative and renewable sources of energy have been developed and many persons who are sitting oil reserves fear they may become obsolete and so they decided to dump them. This has lead to a glut on the oil market, even with Russia, being shut out of the market by US sanctions. OPEC nations are refusing to cut back on production to allow the more expensive US and Canadian oil to get a good share of the market. No one is sure where this will end but many predict that the market will see $30 or $25 per barrel oil, before this summer. Many jobs will be lost in the oil industry as many companies will not find it feasible to drill for expensive oil or many refineries will scale down their operations or even shut down completely. The consumer can help determine how long the 'more than affordable energy market" lasts by continuing to conserve energy and restrict consumption. Of course when prices of airline tickets start to fall more people will travel, and once motorists become confident that gas prices will stay low, the 8,10 and 12 cylinder gas guzzlers may return to the highways. To the oil billionaires: old people use to say, "You can do what you like when you like, but you can't do it as long as you like." to that is say to them ' go drink oil!"
ohdrap4 9 years, 11 months ago
And there it is: Another postcard from the bubble.
John 9 years, 11 months ago
And your point?
realfreethinker 9 years, 11 months ago
Where does this man live ,why do you give him the opportunity to spew shit out his mouth. Vat is the law and i dont know that anyone can not charge vat. once you are registered you have to charge the 7.5 % no more no less.
B_I_D___ 9 years, 11 months ago
Precisely...BEC and fuel as well...when VAT was being discussed, it was laid out that companies could collect input credits from BEC and fuel bills, etc, you'd get the 7.5% back on those outlays as inputs to net out against what you collect in the sales side. So now they are not going to show you the 7.5% and water down what you can collect in credits to neutralize your outlay back to the government...well guess what...prices just increased a couple more percentage points for each of these last ditch effort rule changes to try to save face in the consumers eyes. Lower your price to 'absorb it' but still show the full 7.5% so people can do the accounting properly.
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