The Tribune

By LETRE SWEETING

Tribune Staff Reporter

lsweeting@tribunemedia.net

REFERRING to cruise lines and Lyford Cay residents, Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell said it is time foreign nationals “pay their fair share or go elsewhere”.

His comment in a voice note on Friday came after reports that cruise lines want a delay in passenger tax increases.

“Non-nationals want to live here, use the resources, damage the environment and every time we tell them to pay or extract the economic rent for the use of our resources, they pitch a hissy fit, and Michael Pintard supports them with this nonsense,” he said.

“I see where Carnival is saying the new head tax on cruise ship passengers needs to be delayed. And the folks who are hunting for treasure in The Bahamas say they don’t want the law to change to give The Bahamas government a greater share, just like the folks in Lyford Cay who caused Hubert Minnis to reverse calls on the land tax on Lyford Cay land.

“When do they want to pay? It’s shameful. I say to all of them, Carnival, the treasure hunters, Lyford Cay, the Grand Bahama Port Authority, pay your fair share or look elsewhere.”

In 2018, the Minnis administration sought to increase taxes on foreign-owned undeveloped land in The Bahamas to discourage land speculation and to encourage the development of such properties. The government took steps to improve the tax yield from homes for commercial purposes by changing the definition of “owner-occupied” properties and by imposing a value-added tax on vacation home rentals.

Some Lyford Cay residents said the increased property taxes would drive wealthy second homeowners out of the country and deter new ones. The government subsequently reverted to the previous definition of owner-occupied properties.

Meanwhile, Tribune Business reported last week that David Concannon, Allen Exploration Group’s spokesperson, said provisions in the Antiquities, Monuments and Museums (Amendment) Bill which would restrict the number of exploration and recovery licences entities or individuals can hold, could “incentivise bad actors” to plunder wrecks with no economic benefits given to The Bahamas.

Mr Mitchell has repeatedly criticised the Grand Bahama Port Authority, supporting Prime Minister Philip Davis’ view that the Hawksbill Creek Agreement no longer works.