The Tribune

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

TOURISM Minister Chester Cooper said the implementation of new passenger tax increases would be delayed to January 1, 2024.

 A bill the Davis administration tabled in the House of Assembly last month said the increases would take effect on July 1, 2023. It said another fee –– a tourism enhancement levy of $2 for passengers arriving or leaving the country –– would take effect on January 1.

 The Tribune understands cruise lines lobbied Mr Cooper to delay the implementation of the passenger tax increases when they met him last Friday in Florida.

 In an interview with Travel Weekly, Carnival Cruise Line president Christine Duffy said she hoped for a delay in the tax increase.

 “They’ve made certain representations,” Mr Cooper told reporters yesterday. “We’ve taken those into consideration. The prime minister and I have spoken. We will speak at our cabinet level. One of the issues were that they wanted to be able to recapture all of the taxes from their customers, etc. I won’t go into all of the details in terms of what their representations were. Suffice to say, we’ve already given a seven-month delay in the implementation of the tax.  

 “The tax does not go into force until January 2024, and that’s been a seven-month notice period. So I don’t have anything else to say at this point except that they are important partners as are all of our stakeholders in the cruise business, but our taxes are essential to build roads and schools and docks and to revitalise Bay Street.”

 The government aims to nearly triple revenues earned from departing cruise passengers, projecting $145m in revenue in the 2023-2024 budget, up from $50m in the current fiscal year. 

 Asked if delaying the tax increases could affect the government’s revenue projections, Mr Cooper insisted the government’s anticipated date for implementation was always January 1, 2024, despite what was in the bill tabled in the House of Assembly.  

 “The intended date of the tax is and always was January 1, 2024,” he said. “It’s always been that. That’s factored into the revenues, and as it stands, that’s the date for implementation.” 

 During his contribution to the Budget debate on Wednesday, opposition leader Michael Pintard criticised the July 1, 2023, implementation date for the passenger tax increases.

 “While everyone believes that the passengers who take cruises through The Bahamas should contribute more to our economy, the government must be careful not to raise too much too fast with the effect that the cruise companies are minded to take their passengers to less expensive destinations,” he said.

 “In addition, cruise companies typically pass government taxes and port fees straight through to their customers. By making the effective date of almost all of these new taxes July 1, 2023, one month after being proposed, the cruise companies will not be able to pass these increased taxes through to cruise passengers who have already booked and paid for their cruises.”