Nobody should be surprised by the opinions expressed by
the Honourable Member for Marco City on the proposed Value Added Tax regime in
Parliament on Thursday, 21st February 2014. The Progressive Liberal
Party has a culture of tolerance for dissenting opinions.
Also, this is not unusual for members of Parliament on
our side as the party has had quite a few outspoken members on any number of
national issues. Some of the younger or new generation PLP leaders are trying
to find their way through the world of politics in an attempt to establish a
brand and some independence. They cannot be faulted for doing so - as a matter
of fact, the Prime Minister is so secure in who he is as a political leader
that he encourages dissenting opinions and independent thought. That’s the PLP way.
I have said this before, but it is worth repeating that
the government will eliminate some $300 million in customs duties and a large
number of breadbasket items will be VAT free so shoppers will see an increase in
cost on some consumer goods but will also experience a reduction in cost in
other consumer items. Also the government is expanding the social safety net
program to the tune of $30 million to assist the poor and the vulnerable in our
society.
I will go further, the CEO of Commonwealth Bank was in
the media recently explaining that the bank had to pay higher fees to the
government totaling millions of dollars but are not allowed to pass those costs
onto their customers. Petroleum companies, for example, will have to pay VAT
but since the price of fuel is controlled by the government they are prohibited
by law from passing these costs onto the consumers.
The fact of the matter is that with VAT –
EVERYBODY WILL HAVE TO PAY VAT AND THERE
HAS TO BE SHARED RESPONSIBILITY AND SHARED SACRIFICE IF THE GOVERNMENT IS GOING
TO PUT ITS FISCAL HOUSE IN ORDER TO CONTINUE TO MEET ITS OPERATIONAL
OBLIGATIONS. This idea being peddled in the public domain by the purveyors
of doom and gloom that VAT will be placed exclusively on the shoulders of the
poor and the middle class is simply not true.
As for the outcome of the 2017 general elections as it
relates to VAT implementation, critics inside and outside of the PLP have
pronounced gloom and doom on the PLP from its inception and the party is a record
seventh term in office. The PLP government has navigated this country through several
economic storms and each time The Bahamas has weathered the storm, emerging
stronger each time.
There is an incontrovertible record and legacy that this
PLP government has defied the naysayers and critics throughout more than thirty
years of governance. The critics were wrong when they opposed on the
implementation of National Insurance as the economy did not crash and burn as they
predicted. The critics were wrong again in their opposition on the
establishment of the College of the Bahamas and the Royal Bahamas Defense Force
and yes once again the critics and naysayers were wrong in their opposition to
Independence.
HOW MANY TIMES THE PLP GOVERNMENT HAS TO PROVE THESE CRITICS WRONG
BEFORE BAHAMIANS GET IT THAT THESE SAME CRITICS ARE ALWAYS WRONG?
The PLP was hired to clean up the mess left
behind by the FNM and a part of cleaning up that mess is implementing tax
reform. This government will take the necessary policy actions to protect the
economy and the welfare of the people of The Bahamas.