The Tribune

As he outlined key budget measures, Mr Davis underscored the 2024/2025 Budget has no new taxes, with some adjustments made to fees on government services where the cost of providing that service has increased. Mr Davis says this administration’s revenue philosophy has always been to lower the overall tax burden for ordinary Bahamians, and to focus on tax efficiency and enforcement.

Mr Davis says the revenue to GDP ratio has shown consistent growth, rising from 18.7 percent at the beginning of our first term to 20.4 percent in the most recent complete fiscal year, which was 2022/23. Mr Davis noted the govt’s medium-term revenue target of at least 25.0 percent of GDP. He said key measures can be categorized as falling within four main priorities, which are: enhancing the well-being of Bahamians and creating opportunities; increasing revenue from foreign direct investment; addressing the revenue underperformance of VAT on real estate transactions; and developing an equitable and competitive business environment.

Enhancing the Well-Being of Bahamians and Creating Opportunities 


Mr Davis announced an expanded list of duty concessions in the fishing industry, including: Push Poles, Poling Towers, Trolling Motors, Refrigerated Trucks; Fiberglass tanks, troughs, raceways and aquaria; Aquariums, aquaculture heaters, and Chillers; Sumps; Fractionators and protein skimmers; Water Chemistry probes and meters; Water quality supplies, Powerheads Aquarium and Aquaculture lighting, and Ultraviolet lamps.

Mr Davis says the govt believes Bahamians should be given every opportunity to participate in a more modern fishing industry in The Bahamas. He says his govt wants to create greater opportunities in manufacturing, and reduce barriers to entry. 


Mr Davis added the govt is removing the bond requirement for authorised manufacturers under the Industries Encouragement Act, and removing customs duty on parts for machinery for businesses under the same act. 


Mr Davis says the govt is also working to expand Bahamian ownership in our tourism industry.

He says the budget includes a provision that only Bahamians may be issued a license for the commercial operation of all motorized watercraft, including jet skis. The recreational watercraft industry in The Bahamas must be owned and operated by Bahamians.

This includes ownership and operation of jet skis for hire and other commercial leisure boating activity. Bahamians should get the maximum benefit from our successful tourism industry.

Mr Davis also announced a number of additional custom duty reductions in this budget. Duty free items include: fire extinguishers; drones; laundry detergents in the form of paper sheets; sea moss for health benefits; and digital camera parts. Duty will be reduced on the following: cotton sheets, bed linen, and cotton bed linen; composite rebar of plastic; duty on compostable bags will be reduced; and duty on paper bags. Mr Davis says the environmental levy on kayaks will also be reduced.

Mr Davis says ATM skimmer machines will be added to the prohibited list of imported items after investigations revealed that the machines are being imported for illegal transactions, particularly by foreign nationals.

Mr Davis says provisions were made to the Consular Fee Schedule, so that the Passport Office will now be able to courier Bahamian passports to residences aboard, including in the USA, Canada, and UK.

Mr Davis also announced the Ministry of Finance will create a web interface to make it easier for Bahamian artists to import supplies and equipment on a duty free basis. He added that the govt will bring forward new intellectual property legislation that will benefit Bahamian creatives “enormously”. He says the legislation will incentivize Bahamian creatives to create locally, where they will have new intellectual property protections, and empowering them to negotiate from a stronger position with content platforms abroad.

Increasing Revenue from Foreign Direct Investment

Mr Davis says Foreign investment has long been one of the primary drivers of our economy. He says the budget aims to enhance the income generated from foreign direct investment, and to streamline the processes for better collection efficiency.

The Department of Immigration’s expedited fee will now be 10% of the actual cost of the work permit, with no change in the minimum fee of $400.

The Immigration Department will also implement a Visitors Stay extension application Fee of $200. This will cover the costs of issuing a visitors' card.

Mr Davis says the Trusted Traveller programme will begin this new fiscal year, and is designed to speed up immigration processing at the Border for frequent visitors for a fee of $200.

Mr Davis announced a $500 reinstatement fee for Permanent Resident Applications that have been successfully concluded but not finalized after 90 days.

Mr Davis says the requirements for application for economic permanent residency have been updated and will take effect January 1, 2025. The minimum investment requirements to qualify for economic Permanent Residency status will be increased to $1 million in real estate investments and or the purchase of Zero Coupon Bonds from the Central Bank of The Bahamas. In both cases, Mr Davis says the asset must be held for a minimum of 10 years.

Mr Davis says the legislation is clear that the proceeds from these bonds can only be used for investment in Education, Health, Culture and Family Island Infrastructure, and not to fund ordinary expenses of the Government.

Mr Davis also announced amendments to the Immigration Act to clarify that Deed of Gift cannot be used by foreigners to make application or qualify for permanent residency.

Further changes to applications for economic permanent residency based on the purchase of real estate, include the enforcement of rules that applicants are required to provide the Real Property Tax assessment number of the property being purchased. Mr Davis says this will allow Real Property Tax numbers to be carried through in the process for greater transparency and tax efficiency. 
Mr Davis says this enforcement will include an appraisal report that is no more than 12 months old, and applicants will need to provide a stamped conveyance. Mr Davis says that by requiring the report to be at the standard of commercial banks on the evaluation of financing, it will ensure ensure that real estate meets the minimum threshold for consideration for economic permanent residency.


Mr Davis says it is not right to sign away acres of seabed to commercial ventures for minimal amounts, adding he was sorry to say it has occurred in the past.

“No more,” he said, “the government is currently undergoing a comprehensive evaluation of all seabed leases in order to guarantee that we are receiving fair compensation for the use of our resources.”

Addressing the revenue underperformance of VAT on real estate transactions

Mr Davis says that information provided by the local real estate sector about the buoyancy of the high-end real estate market is not reflected in the government’s receipts. He says the govt has witnessed a sizable drop in revenue this year for this category.

Mr Davis says one measure is the requirement that the Real Property Tax Assessment Number provided by Department of Inland Revenue must be affixed on the Certificate of Registration and all certificates, before forwarding to the Department of Immigration.

He furthered the Department of Immigration must ensure that the Real Property Tax Assessment Number is captured on its approval documents for economic permanent residence and homeowners.

Mr Davis says another area of concern is, the government is aware that there are a number of unstamped documents held by people, who are then unable to prove land ownership to the Department of Inland Revenue and otherwise. Mr Davis says the government will grant amnesty to allow documents to be stamped at the value of the time in which the transaction took place rather than at the current market value. This regime is temporary and effective immediately with an expiration date of December 1, 2024.

Mr Davis says this is a significant concession given that presently all documents are stamped at their current market value, regardless of when they were purchased.

Mr Davis says another measure to address the issue of revenue underperformance for VAT on real estate will be the elimination of Inter-vivos transfers to non-natural persons. All inter-vivos transfers after July 1st would have to be to a natural person.

Developing an Equitable and Competitive Business Environment

Mr Davis says another goal for the government is to reduce barriers and encourage wider participation in all aspects of the economy.

Mr Davis announced a VAT exemption for individuals investing in a real estate trust, where the individual investment totals less than 10% of the ownership. Mr Davis says the Real Estate Trust is responsible for paying VAT when initially acquiring property, but individuals buying or selling shares in the trust are eligible for VAT exemption. It is required that a minimum of 10 individual investors participate in the purchase of the property, and these investors must be separate entities, not related entities with beneficial ownership.

Mr Davis says for individual customs entries which total more than $750,000, the maximum Customs processing fee will increase from $750 to $1000. Mr Davis says this will only impact individual customs entries over $750,000 in value.

Mr Davis announced an amendment to the VAT Act seeking to exempt credit unions from paying the business license fee if they pay their Central Bank regulatory fees. Credit unions are currently taxed as other financial services entities, by paying a business license fee.

Mr Davis says the proposed legislation for the implementation of an International Business Income Tax for large multinational corporations will come into effect this year. Mr Davis says the legislation will be tabled today to initiate the process of public consultation and will have an expected effective date of January 1, 2024.

Mr Davis says the govt must also ensure there are no opportunities for tax arbitrage, and as result amendments will also be made to the Business Licence Act, focusing on the largest companies, with revenues of five million dollars or more, per annum.

Mr Davis says these businesses represent approximately 1% of the business licence registrants. Mr Davis says, in the current fiscal year, 91% of registrants pay no business licence fees, with declared revenue of less than $100,000 per annum. Mr Davis says an additional 4% have declared revenues of less than $500,000, and an additional 4% have declared revenues of less than $5 million. Mr Davis says the proposed reform would impact only the largest companies, adding the govt plans to consult closely with the business community on these measures prior to presenting new legislation.

Mr Davis says the Business License Act will also be amended to clarify that the rate for businesses with a turnover of $100,000 and below, that are exempted from Business Licence Tax, does not apply to financial services entities, international business companies, proprietary trading entities, and family offices.