New Budget outlay finances 350 jobs

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A NEWLY-INTRO-

DUCED $5.8m Budget outlay is financing the temporary employment of 350 persons who have largely been jobless since Hurricane Dorian struck three-and-a-half years ago, it was asserted last night.

The Ministry of Grand Bahama, in a written response to Tribune Business inquiries, justified the extra spending that has produced a 43.6 percent increase in its 2022-2023 Budget allocation on the basis that it has provided much-needed incomes while also benefiting the wider community and “redevelopment of government assets”.

The $5.797m outlay, which was revealed for the first time in last week’s mid-year Budget but not included in the original version last May, is shown as a non-recurring item since it does not appear in the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025

Budget forecasts. The ministry last night confirmed that the year-long initiative will end when the current

John Rolle, speaking at an Organisation for Responsible Governance (ORG) panel discussion, said Bahamian policymakers must concentrate on making the “difficult decisions” and executing reforms that benefit this nation “voluntarily” as opposed to having them forced upon the country by international bodies.

“One of the things that makes the Government’s efforts so much easier is having a tax system where you can give incentives to businesses in a very targeted way if you need to stimulate investments in particular sectors and activities,” he said.

“If you have the system designed correctly, and I’m speaking, frankly, about how we approach income taxation, it also makes it easier for government to provide the very direct and targeted assistance to families, as well as to be able to exempt at certain income thresholds.”

The Bahamas has long remained resistance to any calls for the imposition of an income tax despite the likes of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) calling for a more “equitable” taxation system. Yet the consumption-driven nature of this nation’s VAT and Customs duty-reliant tax structure means those on