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Monday, April 27, 2026
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Yacht charters to ‘abandon Bahamas’ in fresh tax woe BY NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
Hit for ‘thousands’ in VAT arrears but already paid Port
YACHT charters are warning more boats will “abandon The Bahamas” after being hit with bills for outstanding VAT arrears, plus associated penalties and fines, despite these vessels asserting they have already paid all due taxes required under this country’s laws. The Bahamas Charter Yacht Owners & Managers Association told Tribune Business that multiple vessels are shown in the Department of Inland Revenue’s (DIR) portal as owing thousands of dollars - and, in the case of the largest mega yachts, hundreds of thousands of dollars - in past due taxes and sanctions despite having already paid 10 percent VAT on the value of the yacht charter contract. The Association, which was formed last year to represent the interests of private charter yacht operators operating in Bahamian waters, said the tax authority’s response when challenged was to suggest its members file quarterly VAT returns via
Penalties, double tax threat ‘running off’ high-end segment
Sir Franklyn: ‘Nothing untoward’ on BPL grid manager departure BY NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net FOCOL Holdings chairman has described the New Providence electricity grid manager’s exit as “nothing special” while affirming that the move will have no impact on his company’s separate but connected project to supply the island with baseload generation. Sir Franklyn Wilson, the BISX-listed firm’s principal, told Tribune Business that “things happen” and suggested that the departure of Island Grid and its head, Eric Pike, the management partner for Bahamas Grid Company, which now holds New Providence’s
SIR FRANKLYN WILSON electricity grid, had been “amplified” due to the upcoming general election and “political silly season”. He added that there was nothing “untoward” about developments surrounding
ELECTRICITY - See Page B6
Financial crime prosecutions up ten-fold on Act’s passage BY NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net MONEY laundering prosecutions and convictions surged ten-fold and nine-fold, respectively, in the immediate aftermath of the Minnis administration passing upgraded legislation that strengthened the ability of law enforcement authorities to target criminal proceeds. Ryan Pinder KC, the attorney general, writing in the report detailing The Bahamas’ efforts to combat
financial crime, terrorism and nuclear proliferation financing between 2021 and 2023, unveiled data showing how money laundering prosecutions jumped from just four in 2017 to some 46 only one year later to coincide with the passage of the enhanced Proceeds of Crime Act 2018. Brought forward to help The Bahamas successfully escape the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) so-called ‘grey’ list, which it has remained off ever
CASES - See Page B10
Contractor body in exclusivity talks on bankfunded works BY NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
PETER MAURY VAT, levied on the charter contract’s value, was to be handled and collected. The Davis administration, in the 2022-2023 Budget, more than tripled the tax rate on foreign yacht charters from 4 percent to 14 percent by adding VAT to the levies this market must pay in return for exploiting Bahamian waters for business purposes. This meant these vessels, and their owners, operators and captains, had to make two separate payments the 4 percent charter fee to the Port Department, and 10 percent VAT to the Department of Inland Revenue. Then the Government, in a bid to improve the ease of doing business
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BCA chief: We’ve run out of patience with Gov’t on regulatory Board
Port chief asserts all VAT collected on charters goes to DIR its portal. However, the filing of returns automatically triggers a demand for payment of the associated tax, and the Association and its members fear this exposes them to ‘double taxation’ as the due VAT has already been paid - to the Port Department. This newspaper was told that foreign yacht charters, widely regarded as the most lucrative segment of The Bahamas’ boating market, have had to endure a “confusing” and frustrating nine-month saga over the sector’s taxation that has yet to be resolved. The Association and others said the situation stems from changes made to the Boat Registration (Yacht) Act in the 2025-2026 Budget that altered how payment of
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and convenience for foreign charters, amended the Boat Registration Act last year to consolidate the two levies into one all-encompassing 14 percent charge (charter fee and VAT combined) that was payable solely to the Port Department. The 10 percent VAT portion was then to be passed to the Department of Inland Revenue by the Port but, according to the Association, this has created a new set of problems. It told Tribune Business that many of its members believe the bills for tax arrears, and outstanding fines and penalties, can only be the result of the Port Department failing to pass on the collected VAT and accounting records to
SAILING - See Page B8
THE Bahamian Contractors Association (BCA) is developing its own standard and certification regime that could shortly result in its members gaining “exclusivity” over bank-financed construction projects after running out of patience with the Government over the industry’s self-regulation. Leonard Sands, the BCA’s president, told Tribune Business that its advocacy efforts urging the Government to appoint the long-awaited Construction Contractors Board - the final step in licensing and regulating all Bahamian construction firms - were “just dead where’s it at” after the current administration failed to deliver on promises made in August last year
LEONARD SANDS that all its members would be in place by early September 2025. Unveiling a change in strategy, he added that the BCA will no longer wait on the Government and will instead lead itself by developing - and implementing - a certification regime for all its members along with standards they must comply with to guarantee consumers “some level of protection, service and professionalism” when fulfilling construction projects.
BUILDING - See Page B9