Key tax arrears jump 31% to hit $1.325bn
Total tax arrears due to the Government from three key revenue streams increased by 31 percent to $1.325bn during the nine months to end-March 2024, it was revealed yesterday.
Permanent residency reform labelled ‘huge’
Realtors and attorneys yesterday praised the Government’s “huge” move in raising the economic permanent residence threshold to $1m and diversifying how wealthy foreign investors can qualify.
Manufacturers hail Customs bond end
Manufacturers yesterday hailed the Government’s decision to eliminate the Customs bond and 45 percent machine parts duty as “a huge benefit” that will help them compete on a more “level playing field”.
Scepticism greets Govt’s 1-1.5% deficit projection
Fiscal analysts and the Opposition yesterday voiced scepticism that the Government will hit its revised deficit target range of $146m-$219m for the current fiscal 2023-2024 fiscal year.
Port: Inflation’s worst over as profits 8% above target
Nassau’s main commercial shipping port yesterday said “the worst of the disruption” from COVID inflation and supply chain shocks is over with its $8.5m profit at end-March almost 8 percent ahead of target.
Revenues ‘must do most of the work’ to hit deficit target
The Government’s “revenues will have to do most of the work” for it to hit an “ambitious” $131m full-year deficit target, with a major financial institution warning: “It all depends on the second half.”
Insurer ‘very, very close’ on 55% Bahamas dependence
A Bahamian insurer says it is “very, very close” to hitting its goal of reducing its reliance on this nation to 55 percent of its property and casualty underwriting aggregates.
Implement Out Island tax retention, Gov’t is urged
Abaco’s Chamber of Commerce president yesterday urged that Business Licence rates for small farmers be slashed in today’s Budget and that Family Islands be allowed to retain a portion of their tax revenues.
GB Shipyard apprentices in three-month UK training
Sixteen Grand Bahama Shipyard apprentices have travelled to Liverpool in the UK to take part in three months of hands-on training as part of their education.
Gov’ts ‘ducks lined up’ on Black Point airport
The Deputy Prime Minister is urging Bahamians to exploit the $30m that will become available for farming, fisheries and other ventures post-June via the Bahamas Development Bank’s recapitalisation.
Police move to enforce licences for commercial vehicle drivers
A Bahamian commercial driver’s school teamed with the police to reinforce the importance of heavy vehicle operators obtaining the necessary licence.
FTX Bahamas chief gets over seven years jail
The former head of FTX Bahamas did not receive “any brownie points for being a whistleblower” to local regulators as a New York judge yesterday sentenced him to seven-and-a-half years in prison.
Ryan Salame, part of the 'inner circle' at collapsed crypto exchange FTX, sentenced to prison
A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced former FTX executive Ryan Salame to more than seven years in prison, the first of the lieutenants of failed cryptocurrency mogul Sam Bankman-Fried to receive jail time for their roles in the 2022 collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange.
Long-term Gov’t paper recovery two years out - but no bad thing
Demand for long-term Bahamas government debt is unlikely to recover until after a 2026 general election but that is not necessarily a bad outcome, a senior banker predicted yesterday.
Don’t ‘tax your way to success’, Gov’t urged
Businesses yesterday urged the Government not to “tax their way to success” in tomorrow’s 2024-2025 Budget, arguing: “There’s only so much you can wring out of a stone.”
