09292017 business

business@tribunemedia.net

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2017

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AG: Bahamas ‘in danger’ over money launder flaws

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Says weaknesses ‘entirely unacceptable’

THE Attorney General yesterday slammed deficiencies in this nation’s anti-money laundering regime as “entirely unacceptable”, warning they had put the Bahamas “in great danger”.

Carl Bethel told Tribune Business he had been so alarmed by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force’s (CFATF) draft report on the Bahamas that he instructed his staff to begin work on addressing the flaws from early June 2017.

Blasts former Govt for lack of ‘urgency’ ‘Won’t rest’ until Bahamas fully compliant Emphasising that corrective action was “absolutely critical” to protect the Bahamian financial services industry’s reputation and competitiveness, Mr Bethel blasted the

former Christie administration for failing to tackle known weaknesses with the necessary urgency.

He added that the Minnis administration was preparing new Proceeds of Crime and Financial Transaction Reporting Acts to deal with the most pressing concerns, which he described as the Bahamas’ ‘low’ effectiveness in six out of 11 anti-money laundering/ counter terrorism financing categories.

Tribune Business revealed on Monday how the CFATF’s July 2017 Mutual Evaluation Report (MER), an assessment See PG B6

THE Government is targeting a near-28 per cent increase in cruise passenger spending yields to generate an extra $90 million in annual tourism revenue, a Cabinet Minister said yesterday.

Dionisio D’Aguilar, minster of tourism, who was the keynote speaker at the Abaco Business Outlook conference, also vowed to “get tough” with cruise lines and “change the way we do business” to ensure their passengers spend more in the Bahamas with local firms.

He added that 70 per cent of the Bahamas’ six million-plus annual visitors are cruise passengers, and said: “The cruise ship visitor spends an average of $70, while the stopover visitors spend an average of $1,500.

“In the short-term we are aiming to induce our cruise ship visitors to spend $20 more within our destination. The average spend right now is about $70 per person, and we want to get it to $90. This near-28 per cent increase in cruise spend will net $90 million

Minister eyes 28% yield increase Pledges to ‘get tough’ with lines And use private islands as leverage

DIONISIO D’AGUILAR in additional revenue. In tandem with increasing cruise visitor spend, we are working to get as many cruise visitors as we can to become return stopover visitors.”

Mr D’Aguilar said the Ministry of Tourism will seek to act as a “buffer”, See PG B4

RBC: Loan activity fall drives fee rises

By NATARIO McKENZIE Tribune Business Reporter nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net A ROYAL Bank of Canada (RBC) executive yesterday said competition and demand have driven it to a digital banking platform, with 23,000 clients in the Bahamas already using its banking app.

Kevin Darling, RBC’s head of business banking for the northern Caribbean, also sought to justify the institution’s fee increases, arguing that these were intended to cover operating costs and ultimately reduce the need to close branches.

Addressing the 14th Abaco Business Outlook conference, Mr Darling said banks incur overhead and staffing costs, while also having to deliver returns to their shareholders. While many consumers continuously lament increasing bank fees, he argued that there was simply not enough lending activity to cover their costs.

Executive defends increases as preserving branches Bank says 23,000 Bahamas clients now use app RBC’s 75% FINCO stake in intragroup switch “In today’s world there is not enough lending activity out there, on which banks traditionally make money on to cover all our cost,” said Mr Darling. “When you run a business, if you don’t have enough revenue to pay expenses, you either cut costs - which in our case would result in closing branches - or increase fees for services.”

He added that RBC’s Caribbean arm was now basically at the “breakeven” point, having posted annual multi-million dollar See PG B4

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Attorney General yesterday accused the former Christie administration of “overreach” by appearing to target Save the Bays with new non-profit organisation regulations.

Carl Bethel effectively backed the position taken by the environmental activist group, also known as the Coalition to Protect Clifton, by agreeing that the Registrar General could only demand a non-profit organisation’s financial records if it was suspected of involvement in terrorism financing.

Disclosing that the lawsuit filed

by Save the Bays over the matter was now settled, Mr Bethel said “the whole kerfuffle” over nonprofit organisations had been driven by concerns the Bahamas was non-compliant with global anti-money laundering/counter terrorism financing standards.

BRAN GROUNDED BY AVIATION RED TAPE Year-long permit wait stops charter take-off DNA leader and brother lose money, contracts Describes economy as ‘dead, dead, dead’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

CARL BETHEL

GOVT TARGETS $90M CRUISE AG blasts Christie Govt for PASSENGER SPENDING BOOST Save the Bays ‘overreach’

By NATARIO McKENZIE Tribune Business Reporter nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

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Says it ‘went after’ activist group Backs its ‘terror financing’ argument Non-profit regs needed for compliance “Our predecessors seem to have been somewhat selective in the non-profits they went after and got sued for it,” the Attorney General told Tribune Business.

“The only basis on which you can demand to see the accounts for those entities is if you have genuine reasons to suspect them of money laundering or terrorism financing.

“An inability to show you have legitimate reasons to demand the accounts is what led to the Save the Bays lawsuit, which is See PG B4

THE Democratic National Alliance’s (DNA) leader yesterday revealed that his family’s aviation investment had been grounded by the year-long failure to obtain the necessary permits.

Branville McCartney told Tribune Business that the charter air service, proposed by himself and his brother, had failed to takeoff because of their inability to obtain Civil Aviation Authority approvals.

Disclosing that they had been unable to obtain answers to their languishing application, Mr McCartney said it highlighted the frustration most Bahamian businesses and entrepreneurs experienced in dealing with government BRANVILLE bureaucracy and MCCARTNEY ‘red tape’.

“My brother and I have a plane, and it’s been one year that we’ve been trying to get the necessary license for chartering; the charter license,” the DNA leader told this newspaper. “We had some contracts set up to do some flights, and we’ve lost it.

“Every time you go to Civil Aviation to do certain things, they have new inspectors coming in and put your application to one side. The application has been in, put aside and they said they’d get to it.”

Mr McCartney said he and his brother had been unable to discover their application’s fate, or get any answers from Civil Aviation.

Pointing out that the Bahamian aviation industry had numerous rogue operators, both local and foreign, who acted as ‘hackers’ in providing unlicensed charter services, the See PG B5

PAGE 2, Friday, September 29, 2017

Motivate employees by letting them grow TO succeed in business, entrepreneurs must constantly overcome factors that are sometimes beyond their control. Changes in the market, employee attrition and product issues are some of the many obstacles that can leave employers flustered. Resting on your laurels leaves a business at the mercy of encroaching competitors.

The first lesson for entrepreneurs is to gain a clearer understanding of

how much mentoring support employees will require to reach a level of competency where they can work independently. In an outcome-focused business with scarce resources, it is tempting to give only as much direction as necessary to get results. Leaders, though, must be reminded daily that it is their role to cultivate competencies in employees, who will eventually work autonomously and experience enough satisfaction to

stay with their company for years to come.

Here are five tips David Hassell provides to leaders when it comes to motivating staff towards greater success:

1) Let people fail You have to be willing to let people fail, since we learn through our mistakes more than successes. Give people a wide enough berth to explore challenges in a situation that is non-critical.

Allow employees to work on their edge at a task that is just out of their comfort zone. Let them sit in discomfort for a while, and stretch the boundaries of what they think they are capable of. There is nothing quite as rewarding as the epiphany of figuring something out for yourself.

2) Get them in the game Ask yourself: Are your employees on the court,

or are they still in the stands? Most of what people talk about in terms of learning is accumulating understanding from the stands. Every employee learns and acquires knowledge differently, but leaders must ensure there is some practical application and tactile-experiential opportunities given to them to ensure they test out their skills often.

See PG B5

THE TRIBUNE

IAN FERGUSON

Govt moves to strengthen business ties to industrials

By ANDREW COAKLEY Bahamas Information Services THE Government yesterday moved to foster greater links between Grand Bahama’s small businesses and major industrial players, as it seeks to strengthen and diversify the economy, Senator Kwasi Thompson, minister of state for Grand Bahama, said recent hurricanes had further demonstrated that the Bahamian economy cannot rely on tourism as its sole growth engine.

Opening the first Business-to-Business Expo at Pelican Bay resort, Mr Thompson said: “The Government has a focused strategy to improve our economy here in Grand Bahama.

“But we are painfully aware of our current state

of affairs here in Grand Bahama. Therefore we must ensure that local businesses and entrepreneurs are in a position to provide the ancillary services to our anchor companies within the industrial sector. And that’s what a forum like this Business-to-business Expo is all about.”

The Minister for Grand Bahama told attendees that revitalising Grand Bahama will require a multi-pronged approach, part of which will include focusing on big issues – such as the opening and redevelopment of the Lucayan Strip, and nowclosed properties such as Xanadu and Royal Oasis.

He added that it will also require improving Grand Bahama’s ‘ease of doing business’, as well as actively marketing the island as a place to do business for technology companies. Mr Thompson said the focus

will have to be placed on maritime and manufacturing, as well as tourism.

“This seminar is only one component in our overall strategy,” said Mr Thompson. “So, while we want new businesses to come to Grand Bahama, we also want to ensure that businesses are able to take advantage of every opportunity that already exists here in Grand Bahama.

“I want all of these anchor businesses and industrial companies to fulfill their duty by ensuring that they indeed use the businesses that are represented in this room. If a Grand Bahama business or entrepreneur can provide the service at a reasonable price, give them the contract.

“Today is not the end, but the beginning, as we shall be following up, fully expecting and demanding See PG B5

ASKING A QUESTION: Senator Kwasi Thompson, minister of state for Grand Bahama, questions a panel of executives from the Grand Bahama Shipyard during a ‘question and answer period’ at the Business-to-Business Expo. (BIS Photo)

CONSTRUCTION TARGETS BTVI COLLABORATION THE Bahamian Contractors Association’s (BCA president has emphasised the importance of collaboration between itself and the Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute (BTVI).

Leonard Sands, during a meeting with BTVI executives, said students must see the connection between the classroom and

their potential professional trades. As representative of the construction industry, the BCA is now aiming to make its presence felt on campus through live demonstrations in laboratories and workshops.

Mr Sands challenged BTVI to consider what is necessary to offer certifications. Noting that the construction industry’s demand for labour was

high, he urged the Institute to create a six-month carpentry course. The current carpentry course is 18 months for full-time students.

Dr Robert W. Robertson, BTVI’s president, said his team will meet to discuss the BCA’s proposals, and work quickly to meet the needs of the Bahamian construction industry.

PICTURED from L to R: BTVI’s dean of construction trades, Alexander Darville; dean of student affairs, Racquel Bethel; BTVI’s president, Dr Robert W. Robertson; BCA president, Leonard Sands; and BTVI’s associate vice-president of fund development, Alicia Thompson.

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, September 29, 2017, PAGE 3

Opposition rejects Govt urged: Focus on IMF’s income tax eco-resort incentives

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Opposition’s finance spokesman yesterday demanded “less talk and more action” from the Government, while affirming his party is against the IMF’s income tax proposal.

Chester Cooper, addressing the House of Assembly on the ‘Speech from the Throne’s contents, accused the Minnis administration of living in the past through its constant attacks on the former PLP government, and failing to produce a coherent economic growth strategy.

He argued that the Bahamas needed to “get ahead” of financial services change, and reform its existing taxation system - especially the “archaic” Business License fees - to foster more efficient revenue collection and GDP expansion.

Reiterating his belief that the Government’s 20172018 Budget speech was “the wrong speech at the wrong time, and in the wrong place”, Mr Cooper said the price paid by the Bahamas for escaping the subsequent ‘junk’ downgrade threat by Moody’s was the firing of public sector workers and Budget cuts.

While he became the latest person to reject the IMF’s call for the Bahamas to implement a ‘low-rate income tax’ in the medium-term, the Exuma MP said the Opposition did back other taxation reforms.

“We do support a consolidation, however, and maximising and enhancement of efficiency of existing taxes, and swift reforms to the archaic Business License fee,” he told the House. “It’s a regressive tax. Some progressive legislation to move our country forward would be welcome.”

Mr Cooper suggested that tax reform may also be needed to complement an adjustment to the Bahamas’ financial services model, given this nation’s commitment to implement automatic

Demands ‘less talk, more action’ from Govt

Urges it to ‘get ahead’ on financial services And reform ‘archaic’ Business License fee tax information exchange via the OECD’s Common Reporting Standard (CRS) on a multilateral basis.

He urged the Government to focus on the ‘ease of doing business’ by “streamlining and modernising even more the services of the Registrar General [and] the Immigration Department”, and shed the Bahamas’ reputation as an ‘offshore centre’ or tax haven.

With the OECD and its members now shifting their attention to eliminate ‘profit shifting’ by corporations, and tax base erosion, the Opposition’s finance spokesman said: “We must get ahead of this. We must be proactive and modernise our Business License tax perhaps, leveraging the change to create incentives for real international business to domicile in the Bahamas.

“We have a lot of work to do in financial services, and the Government must provide the appropriate support.

We do not have time to be talking about the past.”

Reiterating his belief that the Government had almost talked its way into a downgrade that it “barely escaped” via the Budget communication, Mr Cooper urged it to unveil a growth and job creation strategy that would positively impact unemployed and low income Bahamians.

“In order to get the Bahamas back on track, we must get the economy growing again,” he said. “The Government must outline and implement an aggressive economic growth plan.

“And in an economy such as this, economic growth

can be induced either by government intervention in the short-term by expenditure on meaningful projects, or, by allowing the private sector to spend on projects by providing the appropriate incentives and ensuring the availability of credit.

“Unfortunately, to date, the Government has not seen fit to pursue either path. We need less talk; we need more action. The Bahamian people are hurting all across our Bahamaland.”

Lamenting the seeming lack of “policy stimulus to jump start” tourism, financial services and construction, Mr Cooper highlighted numerous campaign promises and government initiatives that had either been delayed or abandoned.

Expressing concern that Family Islands such as his constituency could be lost in the Government’s focus on Grand Bahama, the Opposition finance spokesman pointed out that renovations and re-opening at the Grand Lucayan had yet to materialise, despite the Prime Minister stating this would occur before end-August.

“The Exuma International Airport is not only a national disgrace, but it’s an impediment to further development on the island,” Mr Cooper said. “Major international developers committed to spending hundreds of millions of dollars are said to be delaying investment in Exuma as a result of lack of action on this facility.

“I am reliably advised that the previous Government left funding in place for airports at Exuma, North Eleuthera and Bimini. We ask the Government to get on with it, as this is also an opportunity to create jobs in the construction sector.”

Mr Cooper also suggested the Government was ‘reinventing the wheel’ on import product standards and a ‘onestop shop’ for entrepreneurs, pointing out that the Standards Bureau was already in place along with plans to address other weaknesses.

THE Government was yesterday urged to offer specific incentives for eco-friendly resorts in the Family Islands, a non-profit co-founder arguing this segment would offer higher visitor value.

Shaun Ingraham, One Eleuthera Foundation’s co-founder, speaking with Tribune Business at Abaco Business Outlook conference, said: “We need to offer more incentives, which don’t have to always be financial, to organisations that want to start eco-resorts.

“It’s not a matter of saying we shouldn’t do the big resort projects, but it’s recognising that eco-tourism seems to be where the world is going, and where a

Target market will ‘pay more for less’ lot more high value tourists are going.”

Mr Ingraham said such visitors were willing to “pay more for less”. He explained: “They are willing to pay more for less and stay in an eco-lodge or something very simple.

“I think we should encourage more of that.

Incentives are given to the big hotels, the airlines and the cruise ships. It’s time now to say we should look at this, and say this is the future of the Bahamas, especially in the Family Islands.”

Mr Ingraham added: “Almost every airline is subsidised, and every cruise ship paid to bring tourists in. The type of guests that we try to include in our projects are those who can afford to come here, and they spend way more than what the average cruise passenger spends, for instance.

“I’m willing to bet that a large enough percentage of those people would like to be involved in the broader conversation of how do we tackle social challenges.”

One Eleuthera Foundation is a non-profit aiming to bring together all island residents, Bahamians and foreigners, to improve their community from an education, health and wellness, environment and economic development standpoint.

Minister promises ‘revolutionary change’ over ease of business

By NATARIO McKENZIE Tribune Business Reporter nmckenzie@tribunmedia.net A CABINET Minister yesterday promised the Minnis administration will deliver “revolutionary changes” to improve the ease of doing business, adding: “We can’t maintain the status quo.”

“This government understands that the ease of ‘doing business’ has slipped considerably. We have to make it easier for people to do business. There are some revolutionary changes that we are about to introduce because we can’t

maintain the status quo,” said Dionisio D’Aguilar, minister of tourism, at the Abaco Business Outlook conference.

Kristie Powell, a Bahamian senior technical account manager at Google, lamented bureaucracy that impacts the ‘ease of doing business’.

She added that millennials were not in government to effect change, and said: “When we approach governments, regardless of who is in power, the amount of red tape where you can’t get anything done is perplexing, whereas in the US I can start a business within five minutes without even being a US citizen.”

Mr D’Aguilar suggested that attracting college and university-educated Bahamian millennials back home could be a catalyst grow this nation’s economy.

Mr D’Aguilar said: “The Bahamas government is in kind of a dilemma because we use government to create employment. There is a desire to make that change. The problem is the political will. This government understands that we have slipped considerably in the ease of doing business. There are frustrating barriers that you constantly run up against and that has to change.”

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PAGE 4, Friday, September 29, 2017

RBC: Loan activity fall drives fee rises From pg B1 losses in recent years. However, he affirmed RBC’s commitment to maintaining its presence in the Bahamas, saying: “We plan to be here a very long time.”

Many Bahamians are likely to be unconvinced by Mr Darling’s fees defence, especially since RBC has been consolidating its branch network in both New Providence and the Family Islands, reducing staff headcount and combining locations with its FINCO mortgage arm.

Mr Darling, meanwhile, also defended the RBC’s customer identification requirements.

He said that since the bank was governed by multiple regulators in the Caribbean, it was held to a higher degree of responsibility with regard to Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements.

“I understand the inconvenience around ID’s.

However, if we want to maintain our presence here we must fulfill our obligations,” said Mr Darling.

RBC also confirmed yesterday that the 75 per cent majority equity stake in FINCO, currently held by RBC Royal Bank Holdings (Bahamas), would be transferred to a yet-to-be identified entity within the RBC group by April 2019.

In a newspaper advertisement to FINCO shareholders, RBC said the transfer was required as a result of directives from the Central Bank of Trinidad & Tobago, which regulates its regional parent.

THE TRIBUNE

Govt targets $90m cruise passenger spending boost From pg B1 and negotiate with the cruise lines on behalf of Bahamian entrepreneurs to ensure they capture more business from the cruise ships.

“Previous governments have given these cruise ships these islands, and they take the tourists to these islands and that’s not really helping Bahamians because, for instance, they are bringing food off the ship,” the Minister said.

“You may be able to sell some art or craft, but they tell their passengers not to bring any money with them and, as a result, we are not feeling anything economically. We incentivise them based on the number of passengers that they bring.”

Mr D’Aguilar added: “We need to look at what is the economic impact, and base the incentive on that and not the number. If passengers come to Nassau and never get off the boat, we still have to incentivise them.

“We need to be able to partner and see how we can get visitors to spend more. We owe these cruise ship companies tens of millions of dollars. That’s the deal we struck and we’re just so scared. Get ready when I get tough with them and they threaten to pull their ships. We have to get tough with them in order to change the way they see us and do business with us.

“We have something they need, which is those islands,” the Minister continued. “If you want to go to those islands you have

AG blasts Christie Govt for Save the Bays ‘overreach’ From pg B1 now settled,” Mr Bethel continued.

“The state may have overreached in demanding to see the accounts. The state can demand to see and get who the beneficial owners are, and their certification.”

Mr Bethel’s view matches that taken by Save the Bays, which argued in its lawsuit that the only occasion when the Registrar General could request its financial statements was to assess if it was being used to “assist terror financing”.

The Registrar General’s Department subsequently

denied that it was targeting Save the Bays, adding that it had issued similar requests to100 other Bahamas-domiciled non-profit organisations.

However, the Government’s efforts to impose tighter regulation on non-profits through the Companies (NonProfit Organisation) Regulations 2014 and other companies-related legislation continued after the May 10 general election.

A July 19 newspaper advertisement gave hundreds of non-profit organisations just two weeks to supply details of the organisation’s purpose, objective and activities; identity of persons who control or direct the activities of the organisation,

to come to Nassau, Freeport or whatever the major population centres are and get visitors to spend.

They have made substantial investments on those islands and that is something we have to leverage.”

Mr D’Aguilar’s comments hit on a strategy that many in the tour operator/ excursion provider industry have advocated for years, namely using the cruise lines’ Bahamian private islands as a method to extract more favourable terms for locals and their businesses.

Under the US Jones Act, foreign-flagged vessels such as the cruise ships have to first call at a foreign port before they can return home to the US. This made the Bahamas a natural stop on the three, four and even five-night cruises, but Cuba’s opening up has whittled away this advantage and strategy./ And this is not the first time Mr D’Aguilar has

threatened to ‘get tough’ with the cruise lines. He did similar in slamming as “reprehensible” the threat by a major cruise line to terminate Bahamian tour operators’ contracts if they direct-sell to passengers without its permission.

His pledge came after Tribune Business obtained a copy of Norwegian Cruise Line’s (NCL) August 30 warning letter demanding that Bahamian shore excursion providers “discontinue this practice immediately”.

Promising to confront the cruise lines on the issue, Mr D’Aguilar said he “completely agrees” that NCL’s letter amounts to ‘restraint of trade’ and anti-competitive practices that have left Bahamian companies earning mere “crumbs” for years.

The Minister yesterday noted that destinations such as Aruba and St Marten were generating cruise passenger spend in

the range of $180-$190 per person.

“They somehow have it in their head that they get better deals in those places, so maybe I have to speak to the Minister of Finance about removing duty on clothes and electronics, which seem to be a heavy buy for them when they get to the southern Caribbean,” Mr D’Aguilar said.

On other issues, the Minister said the Government was “in kind of a dilemma” over its fiscal position “because we use government to create employment”.

He added: “There is a desire to make that change.

The problem is the political will. This government understands that we have slipped considerably in the ease of doing business.

It’s a frustrating barrier; a whole lot of government is into job preservation and job growth.”

including senior officers, directors, and trustees; annual financial statements and records that show and explain transactions within and outside the Bahamas, and show that monies have been used in a manner consistent with its objective and activities; and the source of gross annual income of the organisation.

The resulting controversy forced the Government to enter into a ‘special arrangement’ with Bahamian churches, who branded the demand as too intrusive, and instead agreed to ‘self-regulate’ their financial affairs.

Accountants will now assess churches’ financial records, rather than these being handed over to the Government, and will only report suspicious transactions to the Registrar General’s Department.

This, though, has led other

non-profits to demand the same or equal treatment.

Mr Bethel yesterday confirmed that the enhanced non-profit organisation regulations were intended to ensure the Bahamas meets international standards for combating money laundering and terrorism financing.

“All of these steps we’ve been taking incrementally are all part of a broadbased effort to address each and every concern,” he told Tribune Business.

The Bahamas’ concerns were heightened after the latest Mutual Evaluation Report (MER) by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) (see other article on Page 1B), which found numerous deficiencies and weaknesses in this nation’s defences against financial crime.

However, Lester Mortimer QC, the Callenders & Co attorney and partner,

previously told Tribune Business that the Registrar General’s demands of non-profit organisations (NPOs) were “unlawful”.

He added that he had warned the Christie administration of regulatory deficiencies almost three years ago, arguing that the Registrar General “has no regulatory authority” over non-profits who are not licensed under the Companies Act. As for those who are registered under the Companies Act, Mr Mortimer said the regulator was basing its demand for their annual financial statements on the Act’s section 123.

However, he argued that the Companies Act’s section 124 stipulated that the legal basis being employed by the Registrar General did “not apply to private companies”, again rendering its move ‘ultra vires’.

“As we prepare for Brexit, I want to build a bold, new security partnership with the EU. A partnership that reflects our shared history, promotes our common values,” she said.

Even though Britain plans to leave the EU by March 29, 2019, May said it cherishes a strong diplomatic and security bond among European nations, as already exemplified in the NATO defense alliance.

“We will continue to work with our NATO allies, our European neighbors and the EU, to support a future partnership of unprecedented breadth and depth,” May said.

At the same time, the other EU nations are planning to build an independent future without its long-recalcitrant member.

Germany and France are in sync on what it will take to strengthen the EU and German Chancellor Angela Merkel said earlier Thursday.

“As far as the proposals are concerned, there is a high degree of agreement between Germany and France, but of course we still have to talk about the details,” Merkel said.

French President Emmanuel Macron and EU Commission President JeanClaude Juncker set out their visions for the bloc’s future in recent days with keynote

speeches on reforming the EU to bind it more closely together.

In the past, that idea often was held back by a halfhearted Britain. Brexit has provided a new impetus for the others to move ahead. A summit dinner on Thursday night was the first time EU leaders would make a joint assessment of Juncker and Macron’s visions.

The more upbeat tone after this week’s divorce negotiations between Britain and the EU was noted by representatives from other EU countries.

“Our future is now so intertwined with Brexit. To talk about Brexit cannot be dissociated from how we will build a future of 27,” said Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders during a briefing Thursday.

Macron offered a way forward on Tuesday during a speech in which he described the EU as too slow, weak and ineffective. He called for a joint budget, shared military force and harmonized taxes.

“He made clear that Germany and France want to work very closely together.

I also find the proposals for the harmonization of corporate taxes, for example, and insolvency law between Germany and France positive,” Merkel said before heading into a bilateral meeting with Macron.

BEYOND BREXIT: UK SEEKS RENEWED SECURITY COOPERATION WITH EU

By RAF CASERT Associated Press TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — British Prime Minister Theresa May is extending a hand of cooperation to the other 27 European Union leaders, proposing a “new security partnership” intended to survive the divorce proceedings preceding her country’s departure from the bloc.

May offered the prospect of a post-Brexit security partnership as EU leaders were gathered Thursday for a two-day meeting in Estonia and Brexit negotiations were gathering speed following months of inaction and barely concealed quarrels.

“With the largest defense budget in Europe, a far-reaching diplomatic network, world-class security, intelligence and law enforcement services, and our position at the heart of NATO, the U.K.’s role in Europe’s defense has never been more vital,” May said in a statement issued by her office on Thursday. .

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Employment Opportunity

Accounts & Office Assistant for Global Investment Fund Office Job Responsibilities: • Working individually as part of a small global team • Simple accounting and Quickbook data entry • Settlements / data entry for investment fund (training available) • Diary and appointment management • Coordinating travel schedules • Carrying out confidential and personal administration duties Candidate must possess the following skills/qualifications: • College degree • A minimum of 5 years work experience • Advanced skills in MS Office (Word, Excel, Outlook, Power Point) • Excellent written, spelling and verbal communication skills • Ability to multi-task and prioritise workload in a timely, professional

manner • Presentable with an excellent telephone manner • Experience with Quickbooks accounting software • Ability to work independently • Personable with a“can do”attitude • Own transport (job is located in the Southwestern district of Nassau) Salary will be based upon experience. Email resume to pa@g2t.net

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, September 29, 2017, PAGE 5

Bran grounded by aviation red tape From pg B1 DNA leader said his plight epitomised the frustrations of fellow businessmen seeking to operate “by the book”.

“You have to make sure your plane is in order; that you have the necessary manual and equipment in place,” Mr McCartney added. “We’ve spent money in that regard, and cannot benefit from it. It has been one year.”

He and his brother had planned to offer charter services “throughout the islands”, and had “set up” flights to go to Exuma, Eleuthera and the Berry Islands.

“It would have been Bahamians and tourists,” Mr McCartney said of the target passenger market.

“We had a pending agreement to do a contract with two flights, six days a week, to one of those islands, but we couldn’t close on the contract simply because we did not have the necessary approvals.

“I’m not going to fly a plane, or have my plane

flown, if we don’t have the necessary approvals.

We try to do things by the book, and make sure all the safety precautions are in there. In that industry there are people who would fly you and have no safety regulations.”

Mr McCartney said he and his brother planned to start their proposed charter business with their fiveseater Aztec plane, but had hopes of quick expansion - had the necessary approvals come through.

“The idea was that we were also going to get nine-seater, which perhaps we would wet lease for a period of time,” he told Tribune Business. “We can’t get off the ground.

We’re not going to invest in equipment if we can’t fly, and get people to charter it.

“There’s a certain requirement you need to meet, and we can’t seem to get the necessary approvals from Civil Aviation. We had four pilots on the schedule.

We had other things set up, but we needed the foundation first, and then could move forward with regard

Motivate employees by letting them grow From pg B2 As employees grow, they often need to be trained, whether by someone at your company or through an outside course. Let them get on the court quickly following training to perform what they learned, or it will be lost.

3) Don’t become trapped by perfectionism Different tasks have different levels of importance.

When a non-mission critical task arises, it is worth saying: ‘I know that I can perform this at 100 per cent, but if I delegate it out and it is performed at 80 per cent, that will be sufficient’.

Give it to someone else as a learning opportunity, and then have a conversation about performance.

Provide people with great feedback so they can improve the next time, and include the reasons why you would like it performed that way.

4) Delegate If you want something done right, do it yourself.

But who has time for that?

A lot of business owners find it difficult to delegate because they demand excellence, and have a particular way that they want things accomplished.

Someone new may get things done by using a different approach with a lower standard, or one that is equally or more effective.

Early on, you might say you cannot trust the person and just do it yourself. If you do not grant trust through delegation, you will never grow employees from subpar to high performance.

Provide feedback, let them

iterate and eventually they will outperform you.

5) Check in A guaranteed way to save time and develop trust is to ask questions on a regular basis: • Are there any obstacles you are facing, and can I help?

• Looking back on the week, is there anything that could have gone better?

• What is an action you can take next week to improve your overall performance?

• What would you like to learn that could help you in your role?

When you respond with feedback that helps employees grow, you encourage greater openness and transparency. You can see where their challenges lie, and help them help themselves to succeed.

With barely enough time to get your own tasks completed, you may be tempted to just let challenged employees figure things out for themselves. Remember that employees wither and die in overly stressful and unsupportive environments. Their performance will suffer, or they will seek employment elsewhere.

Balance the space you give them with letting them know that you are available when they get stuck.

• NB: Ian R. Ferguson is a talent management and organisational development consultant, having completed graduate studies with regional and international universities. He has served organsations, both locally and globally, providing relevant solutions to their business growth and development issues. He may be contacted at tcconsultants@coralwave.com.

Govt moves to strengthen business ties to industrials From pg B2 that wherever possible, local businesses be provided with the opportunity. This has to be a continual dialogue. This exercise must also be results driven, and the results must be that more Grand Bahamians are given opportunities in Grand Bahama.”

Mr Thompson said the Expo’s success would depend upon how many businesses benefited from it.

He set a target of at least five companies benefiting from additional opportunities it created within six months.

“The Government’s role is that we are committed to making it easier for businesses to do business,” Mr Thompson added. “The Government is also committed to making it easier to be able to partner with international persons in order to make your business successful.

“So, I encourage all of you to be innovative in your approach to doing business. The sad thing is, we in Grand Bahama can no longer expect that an

opportunity is going to drop in our laps. We live on an island that demands that opportunities sometimes have to be created. So, be creative, be innovative, take initiative, adjust yourself, find a problem to solve and, if you do that, you will find a new business, which you can open and be successful.

“We are moving towards an era of entrepreneurship, ownership, partnership and civic engagement. As we continue to work towards making Grand Bahama the center for industry and innovation, and the industrial hub it is destined to be, it is important that we embrace new ways of doing business.”

TO ADVERTISE TODAY IN THE TRIBUNE CALL @ 502-2394

to the other planes. It just shows the stress, the frustration of doing business in this country. That’s an example.”

The Minnis administration has established a private-public sector committee to address the Bahamas’ ‘ease of doing business’ deficiencies, and develop recommendations for how flaws can be improved.

The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation (BCCEC) has also

established its own committee to tackle the issue, which has seen this nation slide progressively in the World Bank’s annual ‘ease of doing business’ rankings to its current 121st spot.

These efforts, though, have seemingly yet to take effect. A despondent Mr McCartney told Tribune Business: “Things are not moving. The economy is dead, dead, dead. Something has to be done.

“I’m looking for this government to start doing things which they spoke

about when in Opposition.

Dionisio D’Aguilar [minister of tourism] and I talked about a number of things, including the ‘ease of doing business’.

“We need that in governance. Doing business is still difficult; it has not changed.

There’s a lot of ‘red tape’, and it’s a turn-off for local business persons to get into anything new.”

The DNA chief also echoed calls for Business License fee reforms, describing it as a regressive tax that - through its

imposition on gross turnover - effectively taxed many Bahamian businesses into losses.

“March is right around the corner, and many people have not recovered from paying their Business License earlier this year,” Mr McCartney said. “In addition to that, electricity bills have doubled, so keeping your doors open is a challenge.

“I just hope and pray this government starts making doing business in this country easier.”

PAGE 6, Friday, September 29, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

AG: Bahamas ‘in danger’ over money launder flaws From pg B1 of this nation’s defences against financial crime, identified numerous legal and practical deficiencies in the regime.

Mr Bethel yesterday acknowledged the potential jeopardy facing the financial services industry and wider economy if these gaps were not closed immediately, especially since the CFATF is the regional affiliate of the body that ‘blacklisted’ the Bahamas in 2000.

“I don’t need to get a negative Mutual Evaluation Report to see the danger,” the Attorney General told Tribune Business. “As soon as I saw the initial report, I and all my staff saw the great danger it could put the Bahamas in if not addressed.

“From my point of view, as I told my officials, we in the Bahamas, we don’t

slunk, we don’t drag our feet; we do what has to be done to preserve the name of the jurisdiction, preserve its integrity, and preserve its ability to compete.

Because so long as we can compete, we will win. Let’s do what has to be done to fix this mess bequeathed to us, if you will.”

Mr Bethel acknowledged that “a bit of work was ongoing before I came in”, prior to the May 10 general election, but he argued that the former Christie administration had failed to give the necessary reforms due priority and attention.

Disclosing that he had the “impression things were just plodding along”, he told Tribune Business: “I don’t want to criticise others. but I think more urgency was needed. I hope to give it that urgency. In my view, it was not being pushed as well as it should have been.

NOTICE

“My colleagues in Cabinet are concerned; we all are. We are intent on doing what needs to be done to defend the Bahamas’ status as an international financial services provider,.”

The Attorney General said that when he saw the CFATF’s initial report, he asked Attorney General’s Office staff: “What have you been doing for five years?

“It was entirely unacceptable for me for the Bahamas to be rated noncompliant in many of its international obligations.

When I read the initial report, I said it was unacceptable and is not going to be allowed to continue.

I said there’s absolutely no way I’m going to accept it.

“I started [work] before the report was published, and will not stop until we are fully compliant in all our international obligations.

We take our responsibilities very seriously.”

Mr Bethel said he and his office had begun work on legislative amendments to correct the deficiencies in the first week of June, less than a month after taking office.

IN THE ESTATE OF BONNIE DOROTHEA HAZLEWOOD, late of the Eastern Road in the Eastern District of the Island of New Providence one of the Islands of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, Deceased IT IS HEREBY NOTIFIED, for the information of those it may concern, that all persons having any claim or demand against the said Estate are required to send the same to the undersigned on or before the 16th day of October, A.D. 2017 and if so required by notice in writing from the undersigned to come in and prove such demand or claim or in default thereof be excluded from the benefit of any distribution made before such debts are proved; AND NOTICE is hereby given that all persons indebted to the said Estate are requested to settle their respective debts at the Chambers of the undersigned on or before the date hereinbefore mentioned.

Dated the 15th day of September, A.D. 2017

“We are addressing them systematically, point by point,” he said of the CFATF’s findings. The Attorney General said priority focus was being given to the six categories where the Bahamas’ antimoney laundering/counter terror financing regime was rated as having ‘low’ effectiveness.

The CFATF, in summarising its findings on the Bahamas, said: “The main deficiencies in technical compliance are in targeted financial sanctions for terrorist financing and financing of proliferation; understanding and assessing national money laundering/terror financing risks; and developing anti-money laundering/ counter terror financing national strategies, and transparency and beneficial ownership of legal persons and arrangements.

“Significant weaknesses in effectiveness are in the areas of money laundering/terror financing confiscations, investigations, prosecutions and convictions; the identification of national money laundering/terror financing

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY FOR

MARINA MANAGEMENT

A major New Providence marina is seeking a General Manager and Assistant Manager.

Qualified applicants require: -Minimum 5 years’ experience managing marinas -Experience managing fuel dock operations -Budgeting and reporting experience -Excellent leadership skills Compensation will be commensurate with experience.

CALLENDERS & CO. Chambers, One Millars Court, P.O. Box N-7117, Nassau, The Bahamas

All interested parties must email CV to marinamanager@hotmail.com

Attorneys for the Personal Representative

t. 242.323.2330 | f. 242.323.2320 | www.bisxbahamas.com

BISX ALL SHARE INDEX: CLOSE 1,865.91 | CHG 3.10 | %CHG 0.17 | YTD -72.30 | YTD% -3.73 52WK LOW 4.05 17.43 8.19 3.50 1.26 0.12 3.80 8.40 5.83 9.46 10.00 2.18 1.50 5.80 8.75 7.01 3.35 6.61 11.93 10.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

900.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

PREFERENCE SHARES

1.00 105.00 100.00 106.00 105.00 103.00 100.00 10.00 1.01

1.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 105.00 100.00 100.00 10.00 1.00

SECURITY AML Foods Limited APD Limited Bahamas Property Fund Bahamas Waste Bank of Bahamas Benchmark Cable Bahamas CIBC FirstCaribbean Bank Colina Holdings Commonwealth Bank Commonwealth Brewery Consolidated Water BDRs Doctor's Hospital Famguard Fidelity Bank Finco Focol ICD Utilities J. S. Johnson Premier Real Estate Cable Bahamas Series 6 Cable Bahamas Series 8 Cable Bahamas Series 9 Cable Bahamas Series 10 Colina Holdings Class A Commonwealth Bank Class E Commonwealth Bank Class J Commonwealth Bank Class K Commonwealth Bank Class L Commonwealth Bank Class M Commonwealth Bank Class N Fidelity Bank Class A Focol Class B

CORPORATE DEBT - (percentage pricing) 52WK HI 100.00 100.00 100.00

52WK LOW 100.00 100.00 100.00

SYMBOL AML APD BPF BWL BOB BBL CAB CIB CHL CBL CBB CWCB DHS FAM FBB FIN FCL ICD JSJ PRE CAB6 CAB8 CAB9 CAB10 CHLA CBLE CBLJ CBLK CBLL CBLM CBLN FBBA FCLB

SECURITY Fidelity Bank Note 17 (Series A) + Fidelity Bank Note 18 (Series E) + Fidelity Bank Note 22 (Series B) +

SYMBOL FBB17 FBB18 FBB22

Bahamas Note 6.95 (2029) BGS: 2014-12-3Y BGS: 2015-1-3Y BGS: 2014-12-5Y BGS: 2015-1-5Y BGS: 2014-12-7Y BGS: 2015-1-7Y BGS: 2014-12-30Y BGS: 2015-1-30Y BGS: 2015-6-3Y BGS: 2015-6-5Y BGS: 2015-6-7Y BGS: 2015-6-30Y BGS: 2015-10-3Y BGS: 2015-10-5Y BGS: 2015-10-7Y

BAH29 BG0103 BG0203 BG0105 BG0205 BG0107 BG0207 BG0130 BG0230 BG0303 BG0305 BG0307 BG0330 BG0403 BG0405 BG0407

BAHAMAS GOVERNMENT STOCK - (percentage pricing) 115.92 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

104.79 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

MUTUAL FUNDS 52WK HI 2.09 3.96 1.97 170.77 146.34 1.50 1.67 1.58 1.10 6.99 8.54 6.15 10.52 11.46 10.46

52WK LOW 1.67 3.04 1.68 164.74 116.70 1.44 1.63 1.55 1.04 6.41 7.62 5.66 8.65 10.54 9.57

LAST CLOSE 4.28 17.43 9.09 3.65 1.39 0.15 3.92 8.60 6.10 10.51 10.01 2.63 1.55 6.00 9.50 7.08 3.45 7.01 12.50 10.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 100.00 100.00 100.40 100.00 100.00 100.00 10.00 1.00 LAST SALE 100.00 100.00 100.00 109.48 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

CLOSE 4.28 17.43 9.09 3.65 1.39 0.15 3.92 8.60 6.10 10.51 10.01 2.59 1.55 6.00 9.75 7.08 3.45 7.01 12.50 10.00

CHANGE 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -0.04 0.00 0.00 0.25 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 100.00 100.00 100.40 100.00 100.00 100.00 10.00 1.00

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

CLOSE 100.00 100.00 100.00

CHANGE 0.00 0.00 0.00

108.84 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

-0.64 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

FUND CFAL Bond Fund CFAL Balanced Fund CFAL Money Market Fund CFAL Global Bond Fund CFAL Global Equity Fund FG Financial Preferred Income Fund FG Financial Growth Fund FG Financial Diversified Fund FG Financial Global USD Bond Fund Royal Fidelity Bahamas Opportunities Fund - Secured Balanced Fund Royal Fidelity Bahamas Opportunities Fund - Targeted Equity Fund Royal Fidelity Bahamas Opportunities Fund - Prime Income Fund Royal Fidelity Int'l Fund - Equities Sub Fund Royal Fidelity Int'l Fund - High Yield Fund Royal Fidelity Int'l Fund - Alternative Strategies Fund

VOLUME

660

2,050

VOLUME

NAV 2.09 3.95 1.97 174.30 146.25 1.50 1.63 1.58 1.08 6.92 8.03 6.15 10.52 11.46 10.01

EPS$ 0.467 0.932 -0.230 0.540 -0.340 0.000 -0.857 0.574 0.681 0.540 0.559 0.102 0.455 1.212 0.768 0.575 0.929 -0.602 0.697 0.000

DIV$ 0.080 1.000 0.000 0.210 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.300 0.220 0.360 0.570 0.060 0.060 0.290 0.450 0.000 0.340 0.140 0.620 0.000

0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

P/E 9.2 18.7 N/M 6.8 N/M N/M -4.6 15.0 9.0 19.5 17.9 25.4 3.4 5.0 12.7 12.3 3.7 -11.6 17.9 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

YIELD 1.87% 5.74% 0.00% 5.75% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 3.49% 3.61% 3.43% 5.69% 2.32% 3.87% 4.83% 4.62% 0.00% 9.86% 2.00% 4.96% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 6.25% 6.25% 6.25% 6.25% 6.25% 6.25% 6.25% 7.00% 6.50%

INTEREST 7.00% 6.00% Prime + 1.75%

MATURITY 19-Oct-2017 31-May-2018 19-Oct-2022

6.95% 4.00% 4.00% 4.25% 4.25% 4.50% 4.50% 6.25% 6.25% 4.00% 4.25% 4.50% 6.25% 3.50% 3.88% 4.25%

20-Nov-2029 15-Dec-2017 30-Jul-2018 16-Dec-2019 30-Jul-2020 15-Dec-2021 30-Jul-2022 15-Dec-2044 30-Jul-2045 26-Jun-2018 26-Jun-2020 26-Jun-2022 26-Jun-2045 15-Oct-2018 15-Oct-2020 15-Oct-2022

YTD% 12 MTH% 2.92% 4.43% 0.98% 1.19% 1.54% 2.45% 3.48% 4.01% 3.17% 7.00% 2.15% 4.22% -1.93% -1.89% 0.81% 2.21% 2.28% 1.30% -1.08% 1.77% -5.96% -3.05% 1.90% 4.59% 7.24% 11.96% 2.77% 3.88% 3.94% 4.69%

NAV Date 31-Aug-2017 31-Aug-2017 25-Aug-2017 30-Jun-2017 30-Jun-2017 30-Jun-2017 30-Jun-2017 30-Jun-2017 30-Jun-2017 31-May-2017 30-May-2017 30-May-2017 30-May-2017 30-May-2017 30-May-2017

MARKET TERMS BISX ALL SHARE INDEX - 19 Dec 02 = 1,000.00 52wk-Hi - Highest closing price in last 52 weeks 52wk-Low - Lowest closing price in last 52 weeks Previous Close - Previous day's weighted price for daily volume Today's Close - Current day's weighted price for daily volume Change - Change in closing price from day to day Daily Vol. - Number of total shares traded today DIV $ - Dividends per share paid in the last 12 months P/E - Closing price divided by the last 12 month earnings

CALL 502-2394 TO ADVERTISE TODAY! NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that TIMOTHY DEXTER NATHANIEL SMITH of Pine Dale, Eight Mile Rock, Grand Bahama, Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 22nd day of September, 2017 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

CARLO PAZOLINI LIMITED

BISX LISTED & TRADED SECURITIES 52WK HI 4.38 19.17 9.09 3.70 1.96 0.15 6.47 8.60 6.30 10.61 14.49 2.52 1.60 6.00 10.00 11.00 3.45 7.25 12.51 11.00

Mr Bethel said the new Financial Transactions Reporting Act’s passage through Parliament would take longer, as it had to be sent out to the financial services industry and other private sector players for consultation.

“There are changes foreshadowed that might affect portions of industries that prior to this might not have been a focus for money laundering and terrorism financing,” he explained.

Mr Bethel said a riskbased approach to dealing with money laundering, terror financing and other forms of financial crime was also being demanded from the Bahamas.

“What they wanted from the Bahamas, and are not seeing internationally, is a mandate for risk-based financial supervision,” Mr Bethel told Tribune Business.

“They want the regulators to educate licensees and providers in methods to assess accounts or transactions that may be suspicious on a risk basis.

“You look at a particular transaction: Is it a high risk money laundering situation, or does it have the potential for terrorism financing? Does it fit patterns that we’ve seen elsewhere, rather than say: ‘That’s John, someone’s given him $10 million. We know him, and can just wave it off’.

“The idea is to develop a risk-based process, so that when 2 + 2 comes across the desk, it makes 4.”

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS COMPANIES ACT 2000

MARKET REPORT THURSDAY, 28 SEPTEMBER 2017

risks; and development of appropriate anti-money laundering/counter terror financing strategies and proliferation financing financial sanctions.”

The chief corrective tool is “the whole new Proceeds of Crime Act that we’re about to table”, Mr Bethel said, suggesting that the legislation just required Cabinet approval before it moved forward.

“We met a draft at the bottom of the file, with large areas blacked out, and large areas ‘subject to policy’ that had not been addressed in eight months,” he said of what the former government had left.

“I took that, went with it and, in a matter of weeks, had finished it. The Proceeds of Crime Act is ready to go. We have to discuss it in Cabinet, go through the Bill, so we’re all aware of it. That process will take place in a week or so.”

The Government is also preparing a revised Financial Transactions Reporting Act, which Mr Bethel described as “a cutting edge Bill” that attempts to place the Bahamas ‘ahead of the curve’ by addressing the international community’s existing - and future - concerns.

With cyber crime, human trafficking and nuclear weapons proliferation all set to come within the definition of money laundering/ terror financing offences, Mr Bethel said the Bill had “set a new category” by identifying these risks and addressing them ahead of evolving global standards.

YIELD - last 12 month dividends divided by closing price Bid $ - Buying price of Colina and Fidelity Ask $ - Selling price of Colina and fidelity Last Price - Last traded over-the-counter price Weekly Vol. - Trading volume of the prior week EPS $ - A company's reported earnings per share for the last 12 mths NAV - Net Asset Value N/M - Not Meaningful

TO TRADE CALL: CFAL 242-502-7010 | ROYALFIDELITY 242-356-7764 | FG CAPITAL MARKETS 242-396-4000 | COLONIAL 242-502-7525 | LENO 242-396-3225

In Voluntary Liquidation

Notice is hereby given that in accordance with Section 138(4) of the International Business Companies Act, CARLO PAZOLINI LIMITED is in Dissolution.

The date of commencement of the dissolution was the 27th of September 2017.

Mr. Isal Moises Campo Tejeira co C.I. Camion Real, Ed. Karina, Ap. 4 FTE Al Rest Marco Polo, Panama is the Liquidator of CARLO PAZOLINI LIMITED ISAL MOISES CAMPO TEJEIRA Liquidator

NOTICE IN THE ESTATE OF VANCE MAJOR a.k.a VANCE WADSWORTH HUNT MAJOR late of Sky End Road, Eastern Estates in the Eastern District of the Island of New Providence one of the Islands of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, deceased.

NOTICE is hereby given that all persons having any claim or demand against the above Estate are required to send the same duly certified in writing to the Undersigned on or before the 27th day of October, A.D. 2017, after which date the Executrix will proceed to distribute the assets having regard only to the claims to which she shall then have had notice.

AND NOTICE is hereby given that all persons indebted to the said Estate are requested to make full settlement on or before the date hereinbefore mentioned.

MERIDIAN LAW CHAMBERS Attorneys for the Executrix Chambers, P.O. Box N-168, East Bay Shopping Center, East Bay Street, Nassau, Bahamas. www.meridianlawchambers.com

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, September 29, 2017, PAGE 7

How tax-cut plan could benefit Trump and wealthy staffers

By JOSH BOAK AND JEFF HORWITZ Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House insisted Thursday that the tax cuts President Donald Trump has proposed wouldn’t benefit the rich. But the blueprint suggests that wealthy Americans, including several in Trump’s administration, would likely enjoy a financial windfall.

Much of their income tends to come from investments and business profits, which stand to benefit from the proposed tax changes.

The president’s claim that rich Americans like him would actually pay more under his plan rests largely on how he’s keeping score of a plan still short on key specifics. Speaking in Indiana on Wednesday, Trump said he expected that wealthy taxpayers might phone him to complain but that he’d rebuff them.

“They can call me all they want — not going to help,” the president said.

“I’m doing the right thing, and it’s not good for me, believe me.”

Voters will have to take Trump as his word that his tax bill would rise under his plan, because the president has broken a decades-long tradition among presidents by refusing to release his tax returns.

Without fuller details about the Trump tax proposal, it’s difficult to say just how much the president and his advisers would gain.

Gary Cohn, a former Goldman Sachs executive who is Trump’s top economic adviser, insisted in an interview Thursday with ABC News that “the wealthy are not getting a tax cut.”

But tax experts say several provisions in the plan — including lowering the top personal tax rate to 35 percent from 39.6 percent — make it likely that the wealthiest would enjoy the biggest bounty. Those provisions include a lower corporate tax rate; favorable rates for business profits used as personal income; and the elimination of both the estate tax and the “alternative minimum tax,” which was designed to ensure that the richest Americans pay at least some income tax.

“Based on what we know, this will be an enormous tax cut for people in the top 1 percent,” said Howard Gleckman, a senior fellow at the Tax Policy Center.

Estimates by the liberal Center on Budget and Policy Priorities show that fully half the total tax cut would go to the top 1 percent of earners, saving them an average of $150,000 a year. Here are some reasons why:

how. And Democratic lawmakers see this as a major loophole for the wealthiest earners.

“This provision is a Grand Canyon-sized loophole that allows hedge funds and high fliers to convert ordinary income into low-rate pass-through income,” said Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee.

The reduction of taxes on pass-through income would be of enormous value to Trump’s family.

The president’s daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, listed stakes in more than 200 limited liability companies in a filing with the Office of Government Ethics.

One example: A cluster of LLCs involving the historic Puck Building in Manhattan, a property Kushner’s family bought when he was 5. Kushner, who helped add penthouses, received more than $5 million from the companies last year.

Pass-Throughs

Trump himself could also benefit from the lower rates on pass-through companies. He owns roughly 500 such entities, according to his lawyers, making the Trump Organization less a single entity than a grabbag of sole proprietorships and limited liability partnerships. Determining how much Trump himself would gain is hard to say, however, without knowing how much he pays in taxes.

The Trump plan would sharply reduce the taxes paid by businesses whose income is taxed at the owners’ personal rate.

These are known as “passthrough” companies. Many are wealthy partnerships, hedge funds, real estate companies or so-called limited liability companies.

Instead of paying at a top rate of 39.6 percent, they’d be taxed at 25 percent in the Trump plan.

Cohn said the administration would find ways to prevent wealthier taxpayers from abusing the lower rates and would write those restrictions into law. But the administration hasn’t said

Corporate Rates The Trump administration plans to reduce the corporate tax rate to 20 percent from 35 percent.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, worth an estimated $300 million, has

WHITE House chief economic adviser Gary Cohn speaks during the daily press briefing, Thursday, Sept. 28, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) said most of the tax savings will flow to workers in the form of pay increases and additional hiring. This is one argument — disputed by many economists — that the administration uses to claim that its plan would mainly serve the middle class.

But an analysis by Mnuchin’s own Treasury Department indicates that the vast majority of the savings would actually benefit investors, stockholders and top executives — in other words, wealthier Americans.

The richest 10 percent of Americans own nearly 94 percent of all stocks, with holdings that average $1.37 million, according to the Federal Reserve.

Lower corporate tax rates would likely swell profits and possibly the dividends paid to shareholders. The Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index has soared 17.3 percent since Trump’s election, partially reflecting the expected profits from lower corporate taxes.

Many Trump administration officials sold their stock after joining the

administration. But just the possibility of tax cuts and deregulatory changes enabled many of their stock holdings to rise beforehand.

AMT Eliminating the alternative minimum tax would also remove a significant source of Trump’s past tax bill. Tax policy experts on both sides say the AMT is flawed: Only a fifth of people with earnings above $1 million pay it. But a copy of Trump’s 2005 taxes that were made public anonymously show that the AMT accounted for most of his tax payments.

Without the AMT, Trump would have paid just $7 million in federal income and self-employment tax on $153 million in income — a rate of under 5 percent.

The AMT added $31 million to Trump’s bill, leaving him with an effective tax rate of 25 percent.

Estate Tax Education Secretary Betsy DeVos would likely

benefit of elimination of the estate tax: She’s the daughter-in-law of Richard DeVos, a co-founder of Amway with a $5.1 billion fortune, as estimated

by Forbes. Assuming the education secretary and her husband are left a sizable inheritance, anything above a $10.9 million bequest per couple would, under current tax law, be subject to a 40 percent tax.

Over the years, the ultrawealthy have used trusts and other maneuvers to avoid paying estate tax.

Cohn reportedly told Democratic lawmakers this year that “only morons pay the estate tax,” according to a New York Times report.

If that’s true, there are plenty of wealthy morons: Alex Raskolnikov, a tax professor at Columbia University’s law school, notes that the expected cost of repealing the estate tax would be around $200 billion over 10 years.

“People do figure out how to mitigate the estate tax, but it’s difficult to mitigate the tax on a billion-dollar estate down to zero,” he said.

PAGE 8, Friday, September 29, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

SENATOR: TWITTER’S ACTIONS ON RUSSIA-LINKED ACCOUNTS LACKING

By MARY CLARE JALONICK AND CHAD DAY Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Social media giant Twitter told congressional investigators Thursday it has suspended at least two dozen accounts that may have been tied to Russia, but the top Democrat on the Senate intelligence committee was anything but satisfied.

Virginia Sen. Mark Warner said Twitter’s explanations of its actions against Russia-linked accounts were “deeply disappointing,” and he suggested the company doesn’t understand the seriousness of Congress’ investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Warner made the comments after company executives met behind closed doors with staff members of both the Senate and House intelligence committees for several hours.

Warner said that the information Twitter shared “was frankly inadequate on almost every level.”

The disclosures by Twitter follow Facebook revelations that some 3,000 ads were purchased by entities with likely ties to Russia and as congressional investigators are examining the spread of false news stories and propaganda on social media during the campaign.

The committees have been investigating Russia’s election meddling and any possible coordination with associates of Republican Donald Trump in his campaign against Democratic rival Hillary Clinton. They have specifically been looking at Twitter and Facebook and their roles in the spread of misinformation and propaganda during the campaign.

The company said in a blog post that it found 22 accounts corresponding to about 450 Facebook accounts that were likely operated out of Russia

TWITTER’S CARLOS MONJE, the director of public policy and philanthropy, right, knocks on the door with Colin Crowell, head of global public policy, to enter the closed door meeting with the House Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill, yesterday in Washington.

Officials from Twitter are on Capitol Hill as part of the House and Senate investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 elections. (AP Photo/ Alex Brandon)

and pushed divisive social and political issues during the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Facebook has said those accounts were responsible for buying about 3,000 ads.

Twitter says it also found an additional 179 related accounts and took action against ones that violated its rules. The company didn’t specific how many of those accounts were suspended or the type of action taken. A person familiar with Twitter’s response to the accounts says that most of those accounts were found to have violated the platform’s rules. The person did not know if all 179 had been suspended from the service. The person spoke only on condition of anonymity because the person wasn’t authorized to discuss the information publicly.

Warner said that Twitter’s findings were merely “derivative” of Facebook’s work, and “showed an enormous lack of understanding from the Twitter team of how serious this issue is, the threat it poses to democratic institutions.”

He said the meeting underscored the need for

the company to come forward in a public hearing.

Both the House and Senate intelligence panels are inviting Twitter, Facebook and Google to testify this fall.

Thursday’s closed meetings lasted several hours.

The company’s executives included Colin Crowell,

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a vice president of public policy, government and corporate philanthropy; Carlos Monje, director of public policy and philanthropy; attorney Elizabeth Banker, and Emily Horne, global policy communications director.

THE TWITTER app on a mobile phone in Philadelphia. Social media giant Twitter will visit Capitol Hill Sept. 28, as part of the House and Senate investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 elections.

(AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

Twitter said it also provided congressional investigators with a “roundup” of ads from accounts used by Russia’s state-sponsored news network, RT. The company said in a blog post that RT spent $274,100 on ads targeted to markets in the U.S. during 2016. Twitter provided the ads, which came from three handles used

by RT, to the congressional investigators. Most tweets from the accounts promoted news stories.

In its blog post, Twitter said it has worked harder to detect and prevent spam and “malicious automation.” The company said it removed tweets that were attempting to suppress legitimate votes by telling people they could vote for Clinton by texting. The company said that its automated systems catch more than 3.2 million suspicious accounts globally per week, which is more than double the amount the company detected this time last year.

The top Democrat on the House intelligence panel, California Rep. Adam Schiff, showed less frustration after his own panel’s staff was briefed by Twitter, saying the meeting was “good but preliminary.”

“I think there are challenges to Twitter in its forensic investigation because Twitter users don’t provide the same background information that Facebook users do,” Schiff said. “At the same time I don’t think we’ve more than scratched the surface in terms of our understanding how the Russians may have used that platform.”

Unlike Facebook, which has said phony accounts on its platform attempted to stir up divisiveness in the election, Twitter has remained mostly silent.

Twitter allows users to register anonymously and has more public accounts than Facebook. Many lawmakers have expressed concerns about the proliferation of the anonymous “bots.”