professionalbahamian

3 Vote

tribanon 3 years, 5 months ago on FACTS ON DEBT: Sands warns painful tax reforms can no longer be avoided

FACTS ON DEBT: Sands warns painful tax reforms can no longer be avoided

Sands is so full of it.

Without significant and effective government reform to stamp out the waste, fraud, corruption and outright theft that has been so pervasive throughout our government and government controlled enterprises for decades now, tax reform and more taxes will do absolutely nothing to help resolve our country's very dismal financial condition. As we have seen all too often in the past, especially since the introduction of VAT, more taxes just feeds and helps mask more waste, more fraud, more corruption and more outright theft at the more senior levels of government and government controlled enterprises.

Cleaning house would require parliament to create an independent government reform commission made up of not more than six non-Bahamian commissioners from at least three different commonwealth countries. These commissioners should not have had or currently have any close significant ties or dealings of any kind involving our country or any of its residents.

The commissioners would have to be highly qualified and reputable proven leaders in governmental affairs and/or the business world who enjoy statesman like stature and standing in their home countries. They would have to be given broad sweeping powers to indentify, investigate and root out existing waste, fraud, corruption and outright theft, while at the same time introducing significant reforms that would make all of our government agencies and departments, and government controlled entities, much more streamlined, productive and resilient to waste, fraud, corruption and outright theft.

A mechanism will need to be put in place to ensure the independent government reform commission is adequately funded and not beholding to government for its funding. The commission should be expected to prioritize and complete the bulk of its work within three years by targeting those areas known or found to be the most vulnerable to the greatest amount of systemic waste, fraud, corruption and outright theft.

Only after the commission has finished its work and produced for the Bahamian people an executive summary of its major findings, main accomplishments and most important recommendations, should major tax reform of any kind be considered.