“Christie: PLP would not have raised VAT to 12%” – The Nassau Guardian
Excerpt from this article; “Former Prime Minister Perry Christie was oversaw the implementation of value-added tax (VAT) and the regularization and taxation of gaming houses in The Bahamas, said his administration had no plan to increase VAT to 12 percent, nor would it have increased taxes on gaming operators.
Christie said he would have thought the government would have engaged in a more consultative process before moving ahead with increasing VAT or gaming taxes.”
While I am at a total lost as to how and why the increased taxation of the gaming industry has gotten so contentious, so quickly; I would like to say that the only thing that I agree with the former prime minister on is that the government “should have engaged in a more consultative process”, but for him to now be saying that the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) would not have raised VAT to 12% is merely his way of saying that there was a plan to increase the rate but by how much had not been decided yet.

The Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) always seems to find a way to talk themselves into a situation from which they cannot give logical explanations; “The Compass Lexecon study suggested the introduction of a new, permanent so-called fiscal rule to enhance the sustainability of our fiscal plan and to strengthen the Government’s credibility. Under such a fiscal rule, we would set two targets: one, a maximum target for the debt-to-ratio-GDP ratio and two, a target for the minimum annual reduction in that ratio, which would be waivable under emergency circumstances such as economic downturns and natural disasters.
The key point in this recommendation is that, should we fail to meet our fiscal debt target, the VAT rate would automatically be increased by law”
Excerpt from the 2014/2015 Budget Communication, delivered by the Ho. Perry G. Christie.
So while the former prime minister is seeming to suggest that he would not have raised the rate on VAT to 12 percent if his party had won the 2017 general elections, the record clearly reflects that the rate of VAT would have automatically increased by law because he would have very hard pressed to attempt to sell the notion that his administration actually met their fiscal target; bearing in mind the four economic downgrades during his administration; so the question that comes back is what did his government actually do with the extra income generated by VAT?
If it were used to run the country i.e. pay salaries and other bills; then why were so many bills left outstanding and so many Bahamian citizens left unpaid? Was the country’s payroll really that large and if it were applied to the country’s debt then why was it [the national debt] steadily increasing?
The former prime minister and his minister of state for finance seem to now be on a mission to either clear their names or ride the present wave of discontent currently against the present administration to garner support for themselves or for the ill-fated PLP party.
I say if the people allow this then may God be with them as they allow this nonsense to unfold right before your eyes.
END