Nassau Bahamas — FNM STATEMENT: The politically delusional mind of Bradley Roberts is at it again. He ignores the fact that the Ingraham administration gave the largest tax relief in the last 30 years when it removed or substantially reduced customs duty on many food items; increased the ceiling on stamp tax exemption for first time homeowners to $500,000, allowing them to claim tax relief for a single homeowner of up to $50,000; provided tax relief for Bahamians building restaurants or entertainment facilities in designated tourist areas under the amended Hotel Encouragement Act; and provided tax relief for new businesses or renovated businesses in the City of Nassau under the Nassau Redevelopment Act.
Already, almost 1,000 Bahamians have been approved under the first time home-owners programme, receiving millions of dollars in relief; some seven businesses have already been approved under the Nassau Redevelopment Act; and businesses are taking advantage of the provisions under the amended Hotel Encouragement Act.
Mr. Roberts would do well to explain how it was that his party’s 15 Members of Parliament in the House of Assembly voted for the Budget which he says contained the largest tax increase in the recent history of the country and how were they deceived in the process.
If this is so, then they would be a most incompetent group of parliamentarians and one would wonder how they could be trusted to lead the country. It is the duty of all parliamentarians to study all matters that come before the Parliament.
It would be lost on someone like Bradley Roberts that when his party was kicked out of office in 2007 it left the Government’s bank account in worse shape at negative $97 million, just $3 million below the limit, in what they said were the best times ever than they are today with an overdraft of $63 million, more than $20 million below the limit, in what every Bahamian knows is the worse economic times throughout the world since the Great Depression.
Bradley Roberts told a direct lie when he told the Bahamian public that there are 9,000 households without electricity supply. What he will not say is that his party never lifted a finger to help those in distress at BEC, even when an average of 18,300 people were out of work from 2003 to 2006. It was the FNM that brought relief to some 5,000 households when it provided some $4.5 million to BEC and the Grand Bahama Power Company to ensure that households had their lights turned on. We did it before and we will do it again.
Mr. Roberts should have bitten his tongue to speak of delay in payment on contracts. His party’s record on this score is so bad that any number of contractors had to walk away from contracts for non-payment.
Of course, leading up to the general election of 2007, the PLP was all too eager to open the public purse to pay selected contractors, ignoring many of the rules of transparency and fiscal prudence in order to do so. Such behaviour has been called into question by any number of audit reports on hand.
Bradley Roberts should hang his head in shame to speak of telling the truth; he is a stranger to truth telling. That is why each time he spouts his lies and misinformation, he will be met with a response from the Free National Movement. We will not be distracted by him and we will continue on our Trust Agenda for better but we will also crush the lies of the politically delusional.
@Farm Road
Besides Christe was the one who said he did not know the people in constituency had it so bad.
Excellent observation but persons must go about empowering themselves as no politician has the money to be giving handouts.Urban renewal was created to look after these problems that you are experiencing in the farm Rd constituency and other over the hill areas.Being a produc of an over the hill area i iknow of the difficulties but must hasten to add that social decay can only be slowed and eventually turned around if all the persons living there ensure that they clean,and Police themselves.Christie is not the panacea for Farm Road as all residents must shoulder responsibility for whatever takes place there.Start the ball rolling by cleaning up the garbage and again removing derelict vehicles.The Ministry of Environment has had many cleanup campaigns in this and other areas but after a few weeks the garbage returns.Lack of pride,and duty to the area by the residents are to blame.
All this talk about Lording Christie and nobody looking at or talking about the constituency he represent Farm Road. If ya really want to know how good he is talk to the people in Farm Road and just drive through on a good day or bad day and tell the Bahamas the difference. Besides Christe was the one who said he did not know the people in constituency had it so bad. Hmmmmm! now who is sooo good or really soooo bad
@Bahamasyouth
lolo llolo Stop breathing fire you might have a heart attack.
@Russell Johnson
Pookie statements was harsh but in a way ANY OPEN MINDED INDIVIDUAL COULD UNDERSTAND THEIR POINT OF VIEW. Facts is that The PLP has been under the microscope nationally and internationally for criminal behavior Guilty or Not Guilty. Now pookie might be FNM or Independent. If they are a die-hard fnm then they on the same sinking ship as you Russell.
But for you to come on this board to praise Christe like he’s God is a different thing. “thanking God for and that is the steady hand of Christie who placed the Bahamas in such a good position despite the economic downturn.” Russell Johnson.
Now that’s delusional…. so why you soo obsessed with Christie?????? Boy you’re losing your mind. It’s confusin yo, you’re confused you know
Why you wasting your time? Got you all fired up with your Napoleon complex. See right through you like you’re bathin’ in windex.
NOW DONT GET ME WRONG NAH…. CUZ THE FNM gat some “crooks” too but if you look at the record the plp gat more crooks who does be In and out of courts…. But dont be PRAISING CHRISTIE like hes some God when he did NOTHING but made promises in his first term in office…… AND THATS WHY THE PEOPLE VOTED HIMSELF O-U-T! But people like you cant accept it PRAISING CHRISTIE LIKE HES THE BEST THING THIS ISLAND HAD PSSSSSSSss PLZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Making history as the LONGEST OPPOSITION leader and the first PM to get kick out in his first term. LOL PLZZZZZZZZZZZZZz
@Bahamasyouth
Pookie says “It is sooo sad that you PLP’s follow and believe in such criminals”.Since am not going to discuss anything with you until Monday 02/11 I put this here for all to see who is making everything FNM vs PLP.I rest my case as am able to read and comprehend.Hardhead gal and naomi now upi see why I point out shortcomings to you know who.Despite provocation I made a promise that I shall keep.
@Russell Johnson
You and Christie again….. So if Christie Himself could MAN UP and admit his mistakes….. WHY CANT YOU?…… WHY CANT YOU MAN UP and ADMIT THAT CHRISTIE MADE MISTAKES IN HIS TERM IN OFFICE WHICH LED TO HIS DEFEAT IN 2007???????
You want try to demise and disfranchise ANY PERSON who is OPEN MINDED and want to express their OPINIONS on this board……. WHEN YOU HAVE YET to say nah look here Christie is my leader and yes hes a good person and yes he also made mistakes but im going to still support him because I believe in him.
But whenever someone have SOMETHING NEGATIVE TO SAY ABOUT PLP’s they are FNM…… SMALL MINDED INDIVIDUALS LIKE YOURSELF NEEDS TO STOP BRINGING DOWN PEOPLE AND LOOK AT YOUR OWN-SELF IN THE MIRROR. TAKE In criticism and try fix it!
I could careless if you support Christie but STOP trying to make EVERYTHING PLP vs FNM.
@Pookie
You are ridiculous in your assertion which is clearly political rhetoric.no matter your colour you are an Uncle Tom who has failed to realise what most right thinking Bahamians are thanking God for and that is the steady hand of Christie who placed the Bahamas in such a good position despite the economic downturn.No Bahamian is holier than thou so stop your nonsensical diatribe and read and learn.Political oppression is a Crime so if you want to find the criminals dont look to far,your party is in power and torching everything just like the Nazis.
It is sooo sad that you PLP’s follow and believe in such criminals. A delusion is also to think for a second that the majority of the Bahamas would allow them back in the walls of parliament again, HELL TO THE NOOOOO!!! They had their 15 minutes of fame and BLEW IT!!! That door ain opening again so go bite on dat. Carry on!!!!
Has the FNM morphed into the GOP?……….That statement is right out of the GOP play book……. ALL the republican buzz words in play.
If we are now parroting American politics does this mean that we will FINALLY see a media environment which allows pundits, analysts, and daily interviews from the politicians WITHOUT the fear of victimization?
There can be no 1/2 pregnant scenario if American politics is going to permeate this society …… We will have to go all the way …. Political commentary, pundits and all.
Excellent analysis Forrester. It would have been good if BP had published the press release by Bradley Roberts. This would have given the readers a clearer sense of what the FNM is responding to. BP was included in the press release from the PLP but has not published it yet.
@Forrester J Carroll J.P
Mr Carroll, most of us are smarter than most of them. They only think Bahamians are stupid. I tell you if Bahamians were made aware of what really goes on in this adminstration they would have FNM heads rolling.
@ TRINITY
Oh Yea….right NOW !!!! And scatter the ashes….
Like I said before, there are “Lions waiting in the bushes”…
I CANNOT WAIT….They so sure of themselves…arrogant and disgusting. They should call elections right now!!! I listened to HAI giving a presentation in the house yesterday. He is so pompous. He needs a lesson in humility. If it weren’t for the people of this country..he’d still be the mediocre lawyer he once was. My how people forget from whence they came. To turn around and carry on in the way that he does is a slap in the face to every hard-working Bahamian out there. Oh and that Zhivargo Laing… sickens me. These people take their jobs for granted…let’s FIRE them!!!
And they (FNM) talk about “trust”….and “defending” their policies at the convention!!!!!! They better start learning how to apologize – to the Bahamian people ! They (FNM) need to STOP!!!! Stop, the utter arrogance..and lies!!!! Please SSSSSSSSTOP !
BP THEY DID NOT GIVE A TAX RELIEF; THEY INCREASED, OVERALL, THE CUSTOMS IMPORT DUTY RATES ON IMPORTS. I AM PROBABLY AS CLOSE TO AN EXPERT YOU’LL GET ON THESE MATTERS, OUTSIDE OF A SMALL GROUP OF SENIOR CUSTOMS OFFICERS. LAING AND INGRAHAM ATTEMPTED TO FOOL THE BAHAMIAN PEOPLE ABOUT THIS, QUOTE UNQUOTE, LOWERING OF CUSTOMS DUTIES AND WHEN THE PLP IN GRAND BAHAMA HELD A PRESS CONFERENCE TO EXPLAIN HOW THEY WERE LYING TO US, MR KNOW-IT-ALL; MONA “VIE” LAING DECLARED THAT WE WERE ONLY MAKING POLITICAL MISCHIEF. THE FACTS ARE AS FOLLOWS THOUGH:
THE FNM( LAING AND INGRAHAM)WERE TOUTING THAT THEY TOOK THE DUTY OFF 160 ITEMS; WELL WE GAVE THEM THAT, BUT WE COUNTERED WITH THE FACT AND EXPLAINED THAT WHILE THEY MAY HAVE TAKEN THE 2% STAMP DUTY OFF 160 BREAD BASKET ITEMS, SIMULTEANOUSLY, THEY INCREASED THE DUTY ON 160,000 ITEMS BY BETWEEN 3% AND 18%. LET ME EXPLAIN; THE NEW CUSTOMS TARIFF REGIME THE FNM CREATED, ELIMINATED WHAT WE KNEW AS THE 7% STAMP TAX, BUT THEY DID NOT ABOLISHED IT BUT SIMPLY TOOK IT AND INCREASED IT FROM THE 7% TO 10% AND MERGED IT ON TO THE DUTY RATE. IN OTHER WORDS, IF AN ITEM ATTRACTED THE DUTY RATE OF 35% PLUS THE STAMP TAX OF 7% PRIOR TO JUNE 30th 2008. ON JULY 1st THAT SAME ITEM WOULD ATTRACT THE RATE OF 45% DUTY WHICH IS, IN ESSENCE, THE 35% PLUS THE 7% WHICH USED TO BE THE STAMP TAX, PLUS THE 3% WHICH THEY INCREASED ALL ITEM ACCROSS THE BOARD; EXCEPT, OF COURSE FOR THE 160 BREAD BASKET ITEMS THEY BRAGGED ABOUT. YOU WOULD AGREE WITH ME WHEN I SAY THAT MOST BAHAMIANS LOVE AND DO GO TO FLORIDA TO DO THEIR SHOPPING AND BRING THEIR PURCHASES ON THE PLANE OR ON THE BOAT WITH THEM, DON’T YOU? BAHAMIANS HARDLY EVER SHIP THEIR GOODS AS CARGO, DON’T YOU AGREE? WELL WHAT INGRAHAM AND LAING DID BY ELIMINATING THE STAMP TAX ACT WAS TO CAUSE BAHAMIANS, WHO BRING THEIR PURCHASES WITH THEM AS ACCOMPANIED BAGGAGE, TO PAY, NOT 3% INCREASE IN DUTY, BUT 10% MORE IN THE RATE OF DUTY; WHY DO YOU ASK? BECAUSE UNDER THE OLD STAMP TAX ACT ONLY GOODS SHIPPED INTO THE COUNTRY AS CARGO, PAID THE 7%; NOT ITEMS COMING WITH PASSENGERS’ LUGGAGE. IN OTHER WORDS UP TO JUNE 30th 2008, IF YOU PURCHASED CLOTHING AT A VALUE OF $1000.00 AND BROUGHT IT WITH YOU ON THE PLANE, YOU WOULD HAVE PAID THE DUTY AT THE RATE OF 25% WHEREAS IF YOU HAD SHIPPED THAT SAME $1000.00 WORTH OF CLOTHING AS CARGO, YOU WOULD HAVE HAD TO PAY DUTY AT THE RATE OF 25% PLUS STAMP TAX OF 7% FOR A TOTAL OF 32%. AFTER JUNE 30th 2008, WITH INGRAHAM’S INCREASED RATES YOU HAVE TO, NOW, PAY DUTY ON THAT $1000.00 OF CLOTHING, AT THE RATE OF 35% WHETHER YOU SHIP IT IN, AS CARGO OR IF YOU BRING IT WITH YOU AS PART OF YOUR BAGGAGE.
THE FNM LIED TO YOU AND I MAINTAIN THAT THEY MAY HAVE TAKEN THE 2% STAMP TAX OFF FROM THE 160 BREAD BASKET ITEMS, BUT THEY INCREASED THE DUTY RATES, AT THE SAME TIME, ON 160,000 OTHER ITEMS AND THAT BY 3%-18% OVERALL; BELIEVE ME; TAKE MY WORD FOR IT; I AM TELLING YOU THE TRUTH AND ANY CUSTOMS OFFICER WHO KNOWS ANYTHING ABOUT HIS/HER JOB WILL TELL YOU THAT WHAT I LAID OUT IS THE TRUTH. THE MONA VIE INCIDENT WAS ANOTHER MATTER WHERE THEY LIED AND TRIED TO DECEIVE US, BUT SOME OF US ARE SMARTER THAN MOST OF THEM.
When the NEXT general Elections are over…..they (FNM)will find out just who are the “delusional” ! Bunch of “CLEVER LITTLE DEVILS”! The stage is now set! WE the people, will lay in the grasslands like lions, just waiting (on Election morning) to pounce on them (FNM). People’s lives have been destroyed as families are struggling to make ends meet (food, mortgages, College fees). At least they (FNM) should show some sort of humility ! But, their leader don’t know it, so the rest of the lackies, follow like manner ! We will show them – delusional!! How disgraceful can one be – to break something and then brag about they put it all back together again! We (people) must be “nitwits”..
I think the FNM is delusional and is practicing “informational asymmetry.” They have all the information, but are releasing it selectively.
Greatest tax relief in 30 years? That’s subjective, but the government did lower taxes on 162 breadbasket items, but the reductions were minimal. That was widely reported on Bahamaspress. The FNM must answer how is it that the pricing index places the inflation on food items at 8.1%? How is it that the inflation rate in the Bahamas overall is in excess of 4% compared to 1.7% on May 2nd 2007 IF THE FNM IS CLAIMING TO HAVE GIVEN THE SINGLE LARGEST TAX RELIEF IN 30 YEARS???. THE FNM MUST ANSWER THIS BECAUSE THE EMPIRICAL DATA ARE NOT CONSISTENT WITH THESE OUTLANDISH CLAIMS.
On the issue of stamp tax relief for first time home owners, the government allowed that governing act to expire in December 2007 even though the law provided for an extension; this was a willful policy decision. The government came under heavy criticism from the PLP and Bahamians in general because it was a really good piece of legislation and helped many young Bahamians. The government back-tracked and reintroduced the stamp tax relief for first time home owners at its 2008/2009 budget communications. I credit the opposition for shaming the government and foring them to retreat on their initial policy position.
As for the Nassau Redevelopment Act, that was narrowed down to businesses on Bay Street as the FNM amended the definition of “the city of Nassau” to exclude any business south of Dilette Street or “over the hill” as we like to call it.
But the pressing question the FNM has dodged since May 3rd 2007 is this. If the economic growth projections were downgraded from 4.5% to 2% in the 2008 fiscal year, then how is it that the FNM government predicted an INCREMENTAL revenue increase of 10% or $145 million over the previous year. HOW WAS THIS POSSIBLE??? This was possible through wide ranging and precipitous tax increases on a wide range of goods and services. There is nowhere in the budget communication where this single largest tax increase in the history of the Bahamas is mentioned. I challenge the FNM to review the PM’s budget communication; it is simply not mentioned. They did mention (many times) the tax reductions on 162 breadbasket items, but hid the huge tax increase that I believe was not favorable PR.
The FNM’s press release said that the PLP parliamentarians should have read the budget document before coming to parliament, but read what? It was not in the document. The Bahamian people found out when the new fiscal year began and the customs department were charging importers the new rates that they were unaware of. Again the government came under heavy criticism for this.
So the argument that the FNM was deceptive and misled parliament about the huge tax increase is an argument with merit. The empirical data bears this out to be true. Bradley Roberts is not delusional, all of his claims can be substaniated.
It is because of this deception that BJ Nottage, upon hearing the budget communication, refered to the FNM as “CLEVER LITTLE DEVILS.”
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