Consultant: Make small business tax incentives a part of comprehensive sector plan

Consultant: Make small business tax incentives a part of comprehensive sector plan
Mark Turnquest.

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — A local small business consultant has welcomed government’s plans to create tax incentives for small and medium-sized enterprises, while noting that such a move should be part of a comprehensive plan toward small business development.

The Davis administration in its Speech from the Throne noted that it will introduce legislation to create tax incentives for small and medium-sized enterprises owned by Bahamians.

Mark Turnquest, principal of Mark A Turnquest Consulting and president of the 242 Small Business Association and Resource Centre told Eyewitness News, “Basically we have some tax incentives now but of course we need to know what these new incentives are and for what industries. I will need to find out and I am drafting a letter for the SBARC to have a meeting with the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, and the Minister of Economic Affairs.”

Turnquest continued: “Tax incentives and the like should not be in isolation. It should be a part of a comprehensive plan for national development and underpinned by the Small Business Act. We wait to see what the incentives are. We are advocating for a lot of things but we need to have things legislation. One of the challenges we have is that what constitutes a small business in this country is not clearly defined.”

The SBARC is seeking to advance the creation of a micro, small and medium-sized enterprises national development plan; legislation and execution of the SME Act; greater participation of MSMEs as it relates to creating policies to govern the sector; the relaxation of regulations and constraints to obtaining international funding for MSMEs; to ensure that MSMEs are properly registered to do businesses; and to ensure that the SBARC is recognized as the united voice for Bahamian MSMEs.