Govt Moving Forward With Vat Says Pm

By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Staff Reporter

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Perry Christie said yesterday the government is moving forward with plans to implement Value Added Tax next year.

Back from a series of international “interventions”, Mr Christie lashed out at criticisms over his European visits and trip to Sri Lanka.

Mr Christie argued that he rarely travelled because he is reluctant to leave his son Adam at home, but said he decided to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOGM) meeting in Sri Lanka to deepen relationships with other Heads of State.

While the government will continue to move towards a July 2014 implementation of VAT, Mr Christie said he was still prepared to listen to alternative solutions or considerations with respect to the timing and structure of VAT.

Speaking after he landed yesterday afternoon, he said there was a limited source of revenue currently available for the government amid major ongoing infrastructure development and maintenance.

Mr Christie said: “These things have to be paid for. We are moving forward, we’re not going to limit ourselves to just the process we’re engaged in, we’re serious. I told the IMF that while all of this is going on I’m following the model that I followed in 2002 and 2007, that’s when we created 22,000 jobs. We are going nonstop, that is the reason for all of the meetings I had.”

At the CHOGM, Mr Christie said he received the support on the proposed implementation of VAT from the New Zealand Prime Minister, who offered to send consultants to explain the benefits of the tax regime to the Bahamian business community.

Mr Christie said the business community and the government were supposed to work together, with no surprises.

Speaking at length about his trip, Mr Christie said he strengthened relationships, deepening opportunities for direct investment and job growth, with heads of governments in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Malaysia, and Singapore. Connections were also made with representatives from Dubai and the United Arab Emirates.

Mr Christie said: “I don’t want to get caught up in the foolishness of politics and the stupidity of politicians. I very rarely travel, look at my entire record.”

He added: “I have ministers who do that for me but I made a determination to go out there and let my face be seen, my voice be heard in the annals of the Commonwealth, to meet these prime ministers. The Prime Minister of Singapore was looking for me, because he had heard of me.”

Firing back at Deputy FNM leader Loretta Butler-Turner, who demanded full disclosure of the costs associated with the trip to Sri Lanka, London and the Vatican, where Mr Christie had an audience with the Pope, he said: “For me [the trip] was extraordinarily beneficial. I wasn’t in South Africa and I wasn’t travelling around to look at football, and nobody is going to ask about that anyhow that’s irrelevant. I was at the Commonwealth Heads of Government conference. I went to Rome to see the Pope.”

While he could not confirm the cost of the trip, Mr Christie said the tour was within the budget allocated for travel, and said he cut two ministers from the contingent, Minister of Tourism Obie Wilchcombe and Minister of Transport Glenys Hanna-Martin.

Mr Christie said he met up with Mrs Hanna-Martin in London to take part in an event hosted by The Bahamas Ship-owners Association, who are in talks to provide financial assistance for Bahamians to pursue maritime careers.

He also held extensive meetings with the principals of the Grand Bahama Port Authority and the Hutchison Whampoa Group, the owners of the Freeport Container Port.

While in Rome, Mr Christie said he also discussed the possibility of bringing the luxury hotel brand, Waldorf Astoria to the Bahamas.

Mr Christie said: “Yes it is expensive to stay in Rome, but the Prime Minister of the Bahamas walking into the sanctuary of the Pope and knowing the news will go worldwide on Vatican radio and television, that in itself is priceless for the Bahamas.

He added: “I was joined by the Foreign Minister, the Minister for Trade, the senior policy advisor to the Office of the Prime Minister, and the Bahamas High Commissioner to London.”

Govt Moving Forward With Vat Says Pm