So, no more breaks on stamp duties...now ve gat to pay an additional 8% stamp duty on purchasing houses. No more breaks on importing cars to be used as taxis...now ve gat to pay the duty 50% duty on them too...what they trying to do to us...kill the small man...what ve do them so? What else did they take from us? What more I ga te pay? And the sad thing is no one is complaining...we just taking it hard, with out vaseline.

So, no more breaks on stamp duties...now ve gat to pay an additional 8% stamp duty on purchasing houses. No more breaks on importing cars to be used as taxis...now ve gat to pay the duty 50% duty on them too...what they trying to do to us...kill the small man...what ve do them so? What else did they take from us? What more I ga te pay? And the sad thing is no one is complaining...we just taking it hard, with out vaseline.
The "small man" needs to stop thinking so small and get his act together.

Even that terminology is flawed. What man willingly considers himself "small"?

In any event, the "small man" needs to hunker down and hold his own, just like my grandpa dem used to do when times got challenging. My grandpappy dem were real men, rawbone tough. One had 8 chirren and the other had 11 chirren (just counting the "inside ones") and NONE o' dem chirren were neglected - dey took take care of ALL of them.

Seems in many cases that what we call man nowadays een no real man. The "small man" needs to stop whining like a little...

...and handle his bizness properly.

So, no more breaks on stamp duties...now ve gat to pay an additional 8% stamp duty on purchasing houses. No more breaks on importing cars to be used as taxis...now ve gat to pay the duty 50% duty on them too...what they trying to do to us...kill the small man...what ve do them so? What else did they take from us? What more I ga te pay? And the sad thing is no one is complaining...we just taking it hard, with out vaseline.
All we have to do is become forginers and import a fleet of taxies then we will get breaks.

So, no more breaks on stamp duties...now ve gat to pay an additional 8% stamp duty on purchasing houses. No more breaks on importing cars to be used as taxis...now ve gat to pay the duty 50% duty on them too...what they trying to do to us...kill the small man...what ve do them so? What else did they take from us? What more I ga te pay? And the sad thing is no one is complaining...we just taking it hard, with out vaseline.

As an observer it sounds like they're trying to influence spending. Too much spending on houses will drive the prices too high which in the long run will kill the "small man" because to afford the cost of living his wages will have to move with the escalating prices - which in the short term doesn't happen. The same with cars. But to me, I would assume Nassau has more than enough cars to go around twice. Which makes no sense.

The thing about this is though that most of the taxis that I have ridden in recently have been used jap vehicles. Wasn\'t that tax break supposed to encourage the drivers to purchase very nice vehicles, and often? Were they getting breaks on Jap vehicles as well? When I look at England, the cabs are standard, all the same. That is charming. I recall Christie saying that the government would standardise cabs same colour and models, Benzs, I believe. What happened to that? Wutless!

When I look at England, the cabs are standard, all the same. That is charming. I recall Christie saying that the government would standardise cabs same colour and models, Benzs, I believe. What happened to that? Wutless!

All of the people in England, knows their role. That country is so depressed; even more depressed, is France. Having lived in both for a considerable chunk of time, to notice that the "small man" has a standardized everything, is more than typical.

I don't think you can or should, force cab drivers to drive certain cars, unless it is a car company and he stipulates that. Other than that, those similar looking cab drivers, are only in place for vanity for British cab drivers. The other local cab services, drive anything that they want. Which makes it a waste of time and money, to try standardization in the Bahamas; because, you force them to do what government wants them to do, cut into their profit, waste their time and still, hackers and cab drivers, will still end up driving what they want.
:)

As an observer it sounds like they're trying to influence spending. Too much spending on houses will drive the prices too high which in the long run will kill the "small man" because to afford the cost of living his wages will have to move with the escalating prices - which in the short term doesn't happen. The same with cars. But to me, I would assume Nassau has more than enough cars to go around twice. Which makes no sense.

If the tax exemption is for homes under a certain price, how can it raise the cost of houses?

In today's market, 250k for a house is pretty reasonable- even though it is still a bit too high for me, considering the small man. I don't know how much materials would/should cost, but, I feel a low income home, two bedroom one bath, should be around the 100k range- and that is a good price. The thing that escalates prices, is that runaway train on real estate. Are you saying that real estate prices would escalate?

In the Bahamas, I don't see shifting house prices as much as you would see in the US.

I understand what you are saying however, that we need a raise in wages- we need to come to grips with that. And I understand your concern.

If the tax exemption is for homes under a certain price, how can it raise the cost of houses?
In today\'s market, 250k for a house is pretty reasonable- even though it is still a bit too high for me, considering the small man. I don\'t know how much materials would/should cost, but, I feel a low income home, two bedroom one bath, should be around the 100k range- and that is a good price. The thing that escalates prices, is that runaway train on real estate. Are you saying that real estate prices would escalate?
In the Bahamas, I don\'t see shifting house prices as much as you would see in the US.
I understand what you are saying however, that we need a raise in wages- we need to come to grips with that. And I understand your concern.


Round_Robbin, I believe that builders should take advantage of the fact that building out of wood is actually cheaper because wood is duty free, and requires less labour. Where we get this jonze from that our houses must be cement boxes? I undertand too that wooden houses are better in our climate because they stay cooler in summer and warmer in winter negating the need for expensive central air and high current bills. Am I wrong engineers and architects?

I understand erryone is being squeezed but at least we pay far fewer taxes here than peeps in the States do.It is incredible how many times the same dollar is taxed there,all the way from the federal level down to the local level. Then wateva is saved is taxed by nearly half wen you pass it on to your family. We lucky:)!

The same with cars. But to me, I would assume Nassau has more than enough cars to go around twice. Which makes no sense.
You could say DAT again!

Look on the bright side.

If you want to buy a pleasure boat, customs and stamp duty has been cut by Mr. Ingraham in this budget from 20% and 7% respectively to 5% and 1%. That's a nice tax break of from 27% total to 6% total. HMMMMMMM!!

Happy cruising!!!

Round_Robbin, I believe that builders should take advantage of the fact that building out of wood is actually cheaper because wood is duty free, and requires less labour. Where we get this jonze from that our houses must be cement boxes? I undertand too that wooden houses are better in our climate because they stay cooler in summer and warmer in winter negating the need for expensive central air and high current bills. Am I wrong engineers and architects?

No. You are just very, very (werry, werry) sad.

If the tax exemption is for homes under a certain price, how can it raise the cost of houses?

Lower taxes = Lower total cost = Increased demand ---> Prices are driven upward
THEN, there would be the issue of "no houses priced under xxx,xxx" so the tax exemption would be pointless anyway.
Taking the tax exemption away results in less people being able to buy houses (sad, yes), but eventually, the prices on houses will have to drop, or at the very least, stop rising so quickly.
It's just a little fiscal policy at work.

The thing about this is though that most of the taxis that I have ridden in recently have been used jap vehicles. Wasn\'t that tax break supposed to encourage the drivers to purchase very nice vehicles, and often? Were they getting breaks on Jap vehicles as well? When I look at England, the cabs are standard, all the same. That is charming. I recall Christie saying that the government would standardise cabs same colour and models, Benzs, I believe. What happened to that? Wutless!

When Bobby Symonette owned a taxi company, all of his fleet were Benz 300Ds. He had a huge amount of spare parts for these vehicles.

Too many taxi's today have broken aircondoo, torn seats and other mechanical problems. When someone pays $25 - $30 to get from the airport to downtown, that should be enough revenue to keep a fleet in good condition.

I think Nassau should impose a law to the effect that if you want to import a car, then you have to wait for a car to be exported - either as scrap or sold to another island.

There are far too many cars in Nassau (a city that doesn't check emmissions) and far too many BIG cars too. Watching a stretch Hummer negotiate Elizabeth Ave / Bay Street corners makes me want to cry.

Look on the bright side.
If you want to buy a pleasure boat, customs and stamp duty has been cut by Mr. Ingraham in this budget from 20% and 7% respectively to 5% and 1%. That's a nice tax break of from 27% total to 6% total. HMMMMMMM!!
Happy cruising!!!

Well this tells you where the FNM got its support, not from the working man, not from the young professional trying to buy his first home, but from the rich who want to purchase their luxury yachts.