July 19, 2023
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GBPA braces for govt to launch arbitration
THE Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) is bracing for the Government to formally initiate arbitration proceedings as early as this week after talks failed to break the deadlock over the latter’s $357m demand.
Dealers: Used car sales up 30% with ‘level playing field’
AUTO dealers yesterday argued they could increase their used car sales by up to 30 percent if the authorities enforce a competitive ‘level playing field’ with roadside vendor rivals.
Bahamian aviation chief in $2m FTX settlement
A Bahamian aviation entrepreneur and his firm have secured a $2m settlement with the US Justice Department and FTX's US chief to resolve the fate of the crypto exchange's two aircraft.
Albany chief in 'devastating and self-inflicted humiliation'
Albany's principal investor has admitted that pleading guilty to securities fraud is "a devastating and self-inflicted humiliation I will have to live with for the rest of my days".
50% fear or pay bribes for building and import permits
Fifty percent of Bahamian companies seeking construction and import-related permits say they have either been asked, or expect, to pay a bribe to obtain the required approvals, it has been revealed.
GOVT SEEKS TO EASE FEARS OF 26.3% NIB: PM’s Office responds to concerns contributions ‘like income tax’ by 2044
The Prime Minister’s Office last night sought to quell fears that the total National Insurance Board (NIB) contribution rate will hit 26.3 percent in 2044 and become “equivalent to an income tax”.
Supreme Court takes over PharmaChem’s liquidation
The liquidation of PharmaChem Technologies has been placed under the Supreme Court’s supervision due to the company’s massive insolvency, Tribune Business can reveal.
ArawakX ‘to be reported’ to police amid $4m insolvency
The Bahamas’ first-ever crowd funding platform is suffering from a near-$4m insolvency, its provisional liquidators have asserted, as they prepare to report “multiple criminal infractions” to the police.
'Phenomenal': Carnival's extra $100m to drive 5.5m GB cruise tourism surge
Carnival's extra $100m investment to double the volume of ships its new port can handle will lead a cruise-driven 5.5m visitor surge to Grand Bahama in 2028, it was revealed yesterday.
EU blacklist escape blocks double-digit insurance rise
Bahamian households and businesses yesterday escaped potential double-digit increases in insurance costs after this nation secured its removal from the European Union’s (EU) tax blacklist.
‘Under siege’: Taxis see 50% income fall on crime fall-out
Bahamian taxi drivers are blaming the crime alert fall-out “for at least” a 50 percent earnings decline, with their union president yesterday blasting: “A few criminals have the country under siege.”
Crime fears collapse $18m PI home sale
An $18m home sale in Paradise Island’s Ocean Club Estates collapsed yesterday after the buyer was spooked by The Bahamas’ crime woes, with a realtor warning: “We’re going to pay for that.”
Tour providers suffer 50% crime alert drop
Bahamian tour and excursion providers yesterday revealed a 50 percent across-the-board business decline because tourists “don’t want to leave the hotel or ship” due to crime fears.
Hotel worker ‘lump sum’ as industrial deal agreed
Hotel union members will receive the “first of two lump sum payments” early next week after a new industrial deal for the sector was agreed last night following days of intense negotiations.
Tourism ‘booking pace drag’ over crime alerts
Bahamian hotels yesterday revealed recent crime alerts have sparked “a drag on the booking pace” while a former DNA leader blamed seven cancellations at his vacation rental business on the warnings.
'US laws' hit cruise line's Bahamas ticketing policy
A cruise line popular with Bahamians yesterday disclosed that US "laws and regulations" have forced it to stop selling one-way tickets for voyages out of Freeport to West Palm Beach.
'Resounding no' to Business Licence filing extension call
The Government was yesterday said to have rejected calls to extend the Business Licence filing deadline despite multiple companies complaining they were unable to access its online tax payment portal.
Taxable transactions plunged by $1.26bn at COVID's peak
Taxable goods and services transactions plummeted in value by $1.264bn during the COVID pandemic's peak due to lockdowns and other economic restrictions, it has been revealed.
GBPA praises PM for easing investor fears
The Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) yesterday praised the Prime Minister for soothing the fears of multiple licensees and investors "alarmed by recent unsettling commentary" from Fred Mitchell.
Business Licences: Up to 20% facing extra scrutiny
UP to one in five Business Licence filings are facing extra scrutiny by the tax authorities, it was revealed yesterday, with construction, landscaping and “home based” auto dealers causing particular concern.
'Very confusing' boat fees needing urgent resolution
Bahamian maritime operators yesterday warned the Government "urgently needs to resolve" the fall-out from the "very confusing" suspension of 1,000 percent and greater hikes in boat registration fees.
‘We’d have accepted 100-150%’: Government suspends boat fee hikes
Bahamian fishermen yesterday said they would “have no problem” paying 100-150 percent boat registration fee increases as they hailed the decision to suspend the “utterly devastating” four-digit hikes.
FTX Bahamas: ‘Best deal to avoid asset extinction’
FTX’s Bahamian liquidators are asserting the settlement with their US adversary “represents the best deal” possible given that lengthy legal battles would slash creditor recoveries “possibly to extinction”.
Businesses urge: Put crime ‘on the run’ as security costs triple
Businesses yesterday urged The Bahamas to put criminals “on the run” as they revealed security-related costs have “tripled” over the past year to combat the threat posed to staff and patrons.
$600m Shipyard project ‘under threat’ over airlift
Grand Bahama Shipyard’s $600m dry dock investment and related projects “are already under threat” due to the island’s airlift shortage, its chief executive has warned.
Leading civil servant claims FOIA whistleblower breach
A top civil servant is alleging the Government violated the Freedom of Information Act’s ‘whistleblower’ protections by “intimidating” and sidelining her after she sought to highlight purported “wrongdoing”.
‘Another kick in the teeth’: GB to lose 100 PharmaChem jobs
The loss of more than 100 well-paid jobs through PharmaChem Technologies’ Friday shutdown was last night branded “another kick in the teeth” for Grand Bahama’s struggling economy.
Fast-food chain aiming for $1.5m growth ‘slam dunk’
A Bahamian fast food franchise yesterday revealed it aims to create 25 jobs through a $1.5m expansion into its tenth New Providence location after all planning approvals are obtained.
Ex-BREA chief: ‘Middle class are not feeling this prosperity’
A two-time Bahamas Real Estate Association (BREA) chief is urging banks to cut the down payment demanded from all home buyers to 5 percent, as he warned: “The middle class aren’t feeling this prosperity.”
Ex-environment chief 'grasping at straws'
The Bahamas' former top environmental regulator was "grasping at straws" with his last-ditch bid to prevent the $4.85m seizure of his Shirley Street gas station by the Bank of The Bahamas' bail-out vehicle.
Flat revenues and spending increase see rise in deficit
Flat revenues and a $47m increase in total spending resulted in a near-tripling of the government’s first quarter fiscal deficit year-over-year.
Hitting Gov’t deficit target ‘increasingly complicated’
The Government will find it “increasingly complicated” to hit this year’s 75 percent deficit-slash target, a major global bank has warned, while predicting this will “shift the debate back to tax reform”.
Deficits overwhelm growth six-fold in driving debt hike
Weak economic growth has been overwhelmed by the six-fold greater impact of surging fiscal deficits and failed to keep The Bahamas’ debt ratios in check, a multilateral lender is asserting.
Gov’ts $544m undershoot on Dorian and COVID-19
The two greatest crises in modern Bahamian history resulted in the Government’s 2019-2020 revenues falling $544.1m short of their target, its leading fiscal watchdog has affirmed.
$25m air freight firm’s links to gaming boss
The company charged with the $25m transformation of the Government’s air freight terminal has links to a web shop principal, Tribune Business can reveal.
CRUISE LINE PLAN FOR GB REVEALED: Xanadu hotel acquisition part of Royal Caribbean goal to transform harbour
Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines is eyeing the potential acquisition of Freeport's long-closed Xanadu Beach Hotel as part of plans to develop a resort and water park destination, it can be revealed.
Yacht broker alarm on 'dismal' winter charters
Bahamian yacht brokers yesterday warned charter bookings for the peak winter season are "dismal" with the sector "almost at a standstill" due to VAT's imposition and lack of clarity on how it works.
Gov’ts deficit near-miss as VAT $160m off target
The Government narrowly missed its deficit target for the recently closed 2022-2023 fiscal year despite a near-$160m undershoot on its VAT forecast, it was revealed yesterday.
IMF WARNING TO GOVT ON DEFICIT: Spending expected to outpace income by three times forecast
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) last night blew a hole in the Government’s 2023-2024 Budget projections by warning the fiscal deficit will likely be almost three times’ higher than forecast.
Maritime contracts signed ‘maliciously’
A senior civil servant is alleging that two controversial multi-million dollar maritime contracts were executed “negligently, unlawfully and maliciously” in contravention of public service rules.
PI braces for new fast-food conflict
Paradise Island is bracing for a new fast-food battle with plans to establish Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) and Burger King outlets set to potentially double the number of such brands to four.
$111m ‘quantum leap’ for CLICO’s creditors
CLICO (Bahamas) liquidator has been given the authority to accept a $110.827m settlement that could fully repay all debts owed to policyholders, creditors and the Government.
Health insurance costs rise ‘across the board’
Bahamian companies and individuals are facing “across the board” increases in health insurance premiums as a result of up-to double digit increases in medical and reinsurance costs, it was revealed yesterday.
ArawakX hit by claim of ‘criminal infraction’
The Bahamas’ first-ever crowd-funding platform has a solvency deficiency of “at least $2.4m”, regulators charged yesterday, while accusing it of “governance irregularities, regulatory breaches and possible criminal infractions”.
Bahamas bank’s account seized over $58.5m ‘pig butcher’ scam
A Bahamian financial institution yesterday asserted it “has been proactively co-operating” with a US Secret Service probe that seized its bank account on the basis that $58.465m in fraud proceeds were laundered through it.
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