by Edward Hutcheson

The Government is batting 0-2 in attempts to bring change or structure to important national concerns, and if history shows us anything, we can be certain that if the same lack of preparation and not informing those affected, continues, the VAT initiative will suffer the same fate as the Gambling Referendum and recent Constitutional adjustment exercise.

Maybe someone one was looking around for something to tax and VAT seemed like a good idea at the time, but “they” failed to “consider”. They should have investigated the term “value added tax”. In the majority of cases where VAT is implemented, it is applied to what is being produced and except the government has some plans for rapid economic expansion with a focus on the creation of opportunities and not just jobs they are going to have a problem; the business community, local and foreign, will be adverse to paying additional taxes on what is being taxed already. It is possible that “value added taxation” will cause a decrease in value for many; especially those who have to pay the bill anytime government does anything that is ill-advised and not thought through.

We have no news on how the present Customs regime will be changed on impacted. Does the government plan to have both of them in place 10 months from now? Or are they going to create new  agencies, and or jobs?

This Government has been prone to some very fundamental mistakes because of a political philosophy that blends political patronage and closet socialism. They forget that when they first came to power in 1967 there was a very educated populace in place and the opportunities were readily embraced by all Bahamians. Because of the presence of “opportunity” the amount of jobs created in the decade  1967 is still unparalleled in the Nation’s history. What they forgot was that preparation and education is an on going exercise for all Nations that want to provide the best for it’s citizens. However, the retreat into social promotion after a decade of prosperity, combined with a drug epidemic that did not leave any family in this nation untouched; has left us  a pernicious legacy that we are still struggling to shake off. And, the present uphill battle against crime was birthed in the missteps of our elected leaders just over three decades ago is not helping us at all.

We would have been well-prepared and ready to take on the VAT exercise if we had done our work in the past.  VAT will be a devastating experience for those who just getting their businesses off the ground and who are in effect trying to create a business culture that balances the consumption oriented mentality that pervades the present political mind set, and,  any consumer based society that does not have the ability to feed itself. If I were in charge, a significant portion of the last budget would have gone toward initiatives that encouraged the development of opportunities that resulted in job creation for “citizens”. I would have put the peoples money where my mouth was and did a “Stafford Sands”; something extreme like making the cruise ships “close down” in the harbour. I know we cannot do that now but this is the mind set the government should be taking; not allowing “foreign investors” into virgin economic territories where they bring in enough money to wash away local competition or initiatives.

I can  give the Government a warning and they can take it if they want to. Those who are adversely affected by VAT will pass their expenses on to the client or the Public Treasury, or,  price themselves and us out of “the market”,  and this is going to be the wake up call for the issues in the next election. Those who are not constrained because there is no legislation to control their “spending” do not have enough money to deal with what I see will be the nasty downside of this ill-timed, ill-informed exercise. If they can pay and have others pay them, there will not be a problem, but no one is going to pay twice.  Even the members of the “status quo”, one of whom probably came up with this bright idea are going to feel this one if it goes through; especially those older “upper class civil servants” whose cannot afford to retire even though they are well past retirement age.

Maybe VAT will be good for us, especially, if it is not done properly and for the right reasons. We will get the wakeup call that we have long needed and those who govern may learn that getting up on a soapbox in this time or any other requires preparation and common sense.

September 11, 2013