The Tribune

Dear Editor,

I read that new tobacco taxes and regulations are on the cards. My question is: Why is the government trying to kill off an amazing economic opportunity for The Bahamas?

Some readers will no doubt be aware that the United States is currently in the process of reversing the long-standing exemption of premium cigars from the more hefty taxes and controls applied to other tobacco products. From now on, high-end cigars will be treated in the US like any other tobacco product and attract considerable sin taxes and regulations. Cigar dealers and manufacturers in the States say it will destroy their business.

Rather than follow suit and kill off the enterprising manufacturers and sellers of these exclusive items, The Bahamas should recognise that we have a chance here to corner a very lucrative market.

Thousands of American tourists who crave Cuban cigars already purchase them in The Bahamas in great numbers, because these products are prohibited in the US. Meanwhile, millions of Americans regularly consume other premium cigars from Nicaragua, Honduras and the Dominican Republic. In 2015 alone, the US imported 315 million cigars from these three countries.

But when the tobacco restriction hammer falls in Washington, which could be any day now, those Americans and their millions of cigars will need a new home. Where better than a friendly and attractive jurisdiction 90 miles off the coast of Florida?

And that is not to even mention the large annual cigar conventions, attracting thousands from all over the world, that will have to relocate from places like Las Vegas and currently have nowhere to go. Would Atlantis and Baha Mar not like to host these mega trade shows?

We are talking about a $3bn industry here. We are talking about an influx of tens of thousands of additional wealthy visitors each year. We are talking about a whole new retail industry that could employ thousands of Bahamians. "Cigar tourism" could be an extremely significant boost for our number one industry.

I urge the government: Don't tax premium cigars to death. Make a special category for them, drop the already ridiculous 220 percent import tax significantly. Let's show some vision and open the way for a new industry in The Bahamas to flourish.

Sincerely,

Ricky Johnson