The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune News Editor

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

FORMER State Finance Minister Kwasi Thompson accused the Davis administration of trying to subvert democratic processes by introducing taxes without following established parliamentary procedures.

Noting Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis said a sin tax would not be introduced anytime soon, Mr Thompson questioned why the administration tabled an amendment to the Customs Management Act that would let the finance minister regulate the payment of a “health and wellness levy” on importing specified goods and domestically manufactured goods deemed to harm health and wellness.

“His statement only adds to the confusion about the situation,” Mr Thompson said during the budget debate in the House of Assembly yesterday. “Why would you draft, submit legislation that would allow the prime minister to unilaterally create or to put in place tax measures and then the prime minister, not in this place where he should’ve said it, but in another place, say, don’t worry about that, that ain’ gon’ happen right now. Well, if it’s not going to happen right now, why don’t you withdraw the legislation today?”

Mr Thompson said the opposition opposes the amendment to the Customs Management Act, saying it “seeks to delegate taxation powers down to the minister”.

“How can we in this House,” he said, “agree to give a minister the ability to tax without knowing what the amount of tax is? How can we agree to delegate that to a minister when we don’t know who will have to pay this tax? How could we agree to delegate this over to a minister when we don’t even know what items will be taxed? The amendments would allow for the minister to unilaterally establish and set these mandatory rates and levies to be charged to taxpayers.

 “Why would we give the minister the ability to set any rate on any item in any circumstance when this is the place where you should be presenting what should be taxed, why it should be taxed, and you should be justifying those things to the public?

 “The entire premise of every democracy is that there is no taxation without representation. It is only in this House through the elected representatives of the people through Parliament who could give the right to establish and change taxes and fees to be deployed to defray the central government’s expenses.”

 Health Minister Dr Michael Darville countered that tabling the bill allows the administration to consult people throughout The Bahamas on what it eventually proposes. 

 “This,” he said, “is definitely not something that is going to happen in this budget cycle so why are you bringing it as if it is a part of this cycle?”

 In response, Mr Thompson said Dr Darville’s comments convinced the opposition even more to oppose the bill.

 “What they are attempting to do,” he said, “is to put in place a mechanism where they could put in place a tax without first coming back to this House and telling the people what the tax is, so we don’t support it.”