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Hotel union on gratuity ‘red alert’
The Bahamas Hotel Catering & Allied Workers Union (BHCAWU) yesterday said it had placed its members on ‘red alert’, amid fears that other New Providence hotels will attempt to follow Baha Mar’s lead and eliminate the 15 per cent gratuity enjoyed by hotel employees.
Bahamians warned: Brace for post-VAT delinquency cut-off
Bahamians must get used to companies increasingly cutting them off for non-payment due to Value-Added Tax’s (VAT) cash flow impact, a well-known businessman warned yesterday.
Drug wholesalers yet to feel PHA’s 20% spend rise
Major Bahamian pharmaceutical wholesalers last night said they were yet to feel the benefits of the Public Hospitals Authority’s (PHA) 20 per cent ‘local’ spending increase, with two reporting a decline in government sales this year.
TUC chief: Labour law reform ‘unlikely’ before next election
The Trades Union Congress’s (TUC) president yesterday said it was “highly unlikely” that the controversial labour law reforms will be enacted before the upcoming general election, with little progress in negotiations at the National Tripartite Council.
Bahamas can’t afford ‘another five years’ of secretive governance
The Bahamas cannot afford “another five-year cycle” of unaccountable government spending, a governance reformer warned yesterday, arguing that a Fiscal Responsibility Act should have “preceded” Value-Added Tax (VAT).
‘No guarantees’ for web shops
Web shop operators were yesterday said to be “very concerned” over the uncertainty and lack of any guarantees surrounding the industry’s impending legalisation.
Bahamas ‘on probation’: 17-step action plan cure
The Government has detailed a 17-step ‘action plan’ to strengthen the Bahamas’ anti-money laundering regime, with a top regulator describing this nation as “on probation” over increasing weaknesses.
Illegal netting threatens $1.5m bonefish investment
A Long Island bonefishing lodge owner says his $1.5 million investment and six jobs are being jeopardised by illegal netting, which threatens to “wipe out” the industry within the next five years.
Income-type tax ‘likely inevitable’, warns ex-minister
A FORMER financial services minister believes it is “probably inevitable” that the Bahamas will have to introduce some form of low-rate income tax, warning: “We’re not in the clear yet.”
Govt told: ‘Stop bragging’ about $852m VAT funds
The Opposition’s finance spokesman yesterday urged the Government to “stop bragging” about its $852 million VAT revenues, as this represented monies sucked away from Bahamian consumers and businesses.
GB Power seeks ‘unique’ energy storage solution
Grand Bahama Power Company is planning to launch a tender for energy storage technology that is “maybe unique to the world”, in a move that could reduce operating time for at least two generation units.
US gives Cable growth ‘4 times’ that in Bahamas
Cable Bahamas yesterday said its US expansion had generated growth that would take three-four years to achieve in this market, having enjoyed an “immediate” 26 per cent top-line boost.
Five years until Credit Bureau is ‘meaningful’
Commonwealth Bank’s president yesterday said it could take up to five years for the proposed Credit Bureau to become a “meaningful tool” for commercial banks, due to the time required to build its database.
QC demands new Port ownership
A well-known QC has called for new ownership and management at the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA), arguing that this is a major reason for Freeport’s “listlessness”.
PM: Atlantis makes granting Chinese demands impossible
The Prime Minister yesterday said Atlantis’s ‘most favoured investor’ status made it impossible for him to grant the type of incentives the Chinese were said to be demanding over Baha Mar.
Opposition leader in ‘total dreamland’ over Freeport
FREEPORT businesses yesterday blasted the Opposition’s leader as being “in total dreamland” over his defence of the former government’s incentive regime.
US gov't report 'tremendous blow' to FDI attraction
US government criticisms have dealt “a tremendous blow” to the Bahamas’ prospects of attracting increased foreign direct investment (FDI) at a time when this nation most needs it, the Democratic National Alliance’s (DNA) leader said yesterday.
Green economy gives ‘opportunities galore’
The Government would help create a “far greater” number of “meaningful” Bahamian jobs if it abandoned its current development approach in favour of the ‘green economy’, a well-known QC believes.
BEC manager-elect slams 'fraud by hindsight' claim
The Bahamas Electricity Corporation's (BEC) prospective manager has dismissed as "fraud by hindsight" claims that it artificially inflated its stock price prior to a one-day wipe-out that erased $250 million in shareholder value.
Insurers blast NHI consulting 'facade'
The Bahamas Insurance Association's (BIA) chairman yesterday said the industry remains "vehemently opposed" to the Government's 'public insurer', and slammed its National Health Insurance (NHI) consultation process as "a facade".
