NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Calling it “shameful” that the private sector has blasted the government for recent policy decisions, Opposition Shadow Finance Minister and East Grand Bahama MP Kwasi Thompson criticized the Davis administration for subjecting Bahamian micro and small businesses to “excessive new measures and burdens.”
“During our administration, significant steps were made to reduce red tape and digitize certain processes,” Thompson said.
“Bahamian small businesses are just beginning to recover from the fallout of the pandemic and now face a government that is determined to put up obstacles and make their challenging environment even worse.”
Thompson says the Government should be doing all it can to encourage entrepreneurship rather than “adding to their frustrations”.
Specifically, the Opposition shadow finance minister took aim at the government’s recently instated requirement for business owners to include the real property tax information of their landlords on business license renewals and applications, a stipulation Thompson believes is unreasonable.
He continued: “We demand that the government immediately reverse their hastily imposed and ill-advised requirements for business owners to chase down the real property tax information of their landlords. In no scenario is that a reasonable requirement of a tenant. We demand that the government cease its requirements for proof of income during this licensing period for micro and small businesses.
“If the government wants to change the financial information required from small businesses, it must give the businesses at least six months to plan for and adequately provide the information – with provisions for the training and support of small businesses,” Thompson said.
“We demand that the government cease its wholly unreasonable and expensive demand that all Customs brokers pay to integrate with its Customs Click2Clear system.”
Thompson added: “And if the government wishes to demand integration, the government must be prepared to foot the lion’s share of the costs. The FNM does not recall any relevant Minister of this Davis Administration speaking to the ‘ease of doing business’ in the Bahamas.”
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