All Security products are generally 25-35 % duty plus 7% stamp tax. So on most alarm products you are looking at almost 45% customs.

I believe all security products should be customs free, allowing businesses like mine to give lower prices to the Bahamian people, so everyone can afford to protect their family or property.

Who else agreed, and if not, why not?

If you agree, does anyone know how we can achieve this. This would mean security businesses could drop local prices considerably.

I agree.
Customs should make it easier for Bahamians to protect themselves and if that means eliminating duty on security products then so be it.
Do you sell those new stun guns?

Originally posted by Delroy
I agree.
Customs should make it easier for Bahamians to protect themselves and if that means eliminating duty on security products then so be it.
Do you sell those new stun guns?

No

Only one place in Nassau sells that. I think it is called Westech. I cant import them Legally. I guess they know someone. In any event that is personal protection which I dont want to get into since so many people are already selling them and the legalities of it all is way too complicated (and not worth it financially). When you sell too many types of products or do too many different things it can cause problems. I stick to Video Surveillance and Alarms. For locks or Access Control I always recommend my clients to a local Locksmithing company i do business with.

Rory

Rory, I think that it would be a very worthwhile initiative to lobby the government to remove duty from security products. Here is my suggestion: you should try to get a Security Suppliers/Installers association going that, in addition to trying to establish standards, can lobby the government in concert. The approach to the government is that they can use the duty removal initiative as part of their crime fighting strategy. There is no doubt that criminals think twice before trying to commit crimes against homes and business with visible security signs posted.

Your association should also work closely with the Bahamas Architects association and urge them to make provisions for alarms in ALL of the drawings. To my mind, it is unthinkable that today plans are being drawn without any thought for security and we are wracked with crime. To take it a step further, I think that your Security association can offer security planning advice to architects who sometimes are too concerned about the appearance of a house than the security issues. Most home owners today would not mind paying a reasonable fee for such security planning advice. In this way, all of the conduits can be properly installed for a neat finish, the system can be discreet etc. You can even do an arrangement where the consultancy fee is refunded if the person does the installation with you.

This is all doable, and I look foward to hearing of your progress in this forum and seeing this in the press when your assoication is formed and you call of the Minister of National Security!

All the best with this

I prefer to address the larger issue of taxation in the Bahamas.

We need to review how we are taxed. Taxes should be fair, they should provide sufficient funds to provide the services wanted by the citizenry, they should be easily collectable, and they should be properly accounted for by the government.

All four of these points are lacking in this country. Everyone should pay taxes. This qualifies you to make demands on the government and to claim a right to government-provided services.

Customs duties are collected inefficiently, they provide a significant source of corruption, collection is expensive, and they are unfair in many ways. Customs duties force the prices of goods to be very high.

Targeted taxation may be a way to go. Road taxes might be something worth considering.

Toll booths should be erected at certain points to raise funds for road construction and maintenance.

Drivers licence fees should be increased to around $500.00 per year. This fee should provide 3rd party insurance coverage. Instead of insuring the vehicle, we should insure the driver. Comprehensive insurance should be left to the private insurers. This will also eliminate the prejudice against young drivers who have a difficult time getting insurance. Everytime you have an accident, your license fees would go up. This tax would raise about 35 million dollars per year. It is easy to enforce and collect. The funds should be used for driver education, vehicle repair, and road construction and maintenance (Maintenance should include keeping the roads clean and beautiful).

The vehicle licensing fees should be increased. The funds should be used to maintain roads and pay for the administration of all the road-use-related taxation.

Passport fees should be increased to at least $50.00 per year.

The taxes on gasoline should be increased. This money should be directed to road construction and maintenance. Gas can go to $3.00 per gallon. Don't worry! Good roads will mean reduced vehicle maintenance costs, fewer traffic jams (hence more productive time), and fewer accidents. This tax is easy to collect.

The concept of tax credits should be introduced to spur investment in certain areas of the country and in certain industries. The areas including Bain Town, Farm Road, Chippingham, Coconut Grove, Englerston, Kemp Road, Montell Heights, Nassau Village, Black Village, and parts of Fox Hill should be targeted for redevelopment. Persons hould be encouraged to participate in a massive redevelopment plan. Purchasing tax or Customs credits which can be used now or resold for use by others should be established. The funds would be used to redevelop the targeted areas.

Mortgage taxes - this would be easy to collect. A 1% mortgage tax should be charged. This money would go toward creating an education industry which would educate our people and provide educational services to the world. We could create a university town somewhere. But education is an industry that can be developed in the Bahamas.

Utility Taxes - We should tax utilities. Water should be free. Power should be cheap. All other utilities should be used to raise funds for operating the country. A 5% cable tax, and phone tax should raise a few dollars. Some of this money should be used to fund the proper regulation of the utility industries which should be open to competition. And I do mean wide open.

The fees for using Jitneys should be reduced to 25 cents and be left at that level. Bus Drivers would collect bus tickets from patrons and they would be cashed into the treasury. Government would subsidize and regulate public bussing.

The Traffic Division of the police should be beefed up. They should establish a no-tolerance procedure with traffic offenders. The fines should be lowered to $50.00 for routine offenses, but enforcement should be strengthened. The money should go to provide transportation and communication equipment for the police. Vehicular behaviour needs to be improved.

Prisoners should work to produce the value necessary to pay for the costs of maintaining the prison. They should not be allowed to just sit and get fat in prison. Every prisoner should have his own cell. Every prisoner should have a spartan diet - Oat meal every morning for breakfast, vegetables and corn for lunch, and beans, grits and vegetables for dinner. They should be given Bahamian fruits. Care should be taken to ensure they get all the necessary nutrients. There should be no variation of diet while they are in prison. Every day they should have the same meals. They should get enough exercise, study time, and they should work. Those who produce more should be allowed more study time and more exercise time. Forget the cable TV. Prisoners should be allowed positive books. When they leave prison they should be highly literate.

I have more to say. Rory I agree with you. But you see I have more to say.

very interesting and well thought out. maybe you could get your ideas in the newspaper so the government may implement them eventually. Tax is definately an issue here, no country is ever become a 1st world country, without properly implemented taxation.

Originally posted by ebo
I prefer to address the larger issue of taxation in the Bahamas.

We need to review how we are taxed. Taxes should be fair, they should provide sufficient funds to provide the services wanted by the citizenry, they should be easily collectable, and they should be properly accounted for by the government.

All four of these points are lacking in this country. Everyone should pay taxes. This qualifies you to make demands on the government and to claim a right to government-provided services.

Customs duties are collected inefficiently, they provide a significant source of corruption, collection is expensive, and they are unfair in many ways. Customs duties force the prices of goods to be very high.

Targeted taxation may be a way to go. Road taxes might be something worth considering.

Toll booths should be erected at certain points to raise funds for road construction and maintenance.

Drivers licence fees should be increased to around $500.00 per year. This fee should provide 3rd party insurance coverage. Instead of insuring the vehicle, we should insure the driver. Comprehensive insurance should be left to the private insurers. This will also eliminate the prejudice against young drivers who have a difficult time getting insurance. Everytime you have an accident, your license fees would go up. This tax would raise about 35 million dollars per year. It is easy to enforce and collect. The funds should be used for driver education, vehicle repair, and road construction and maintenance (Maintenance should include keeping the roads clean and beautiful).

The vehicle licensing fees should be increased. The funds should be used to maintain roads and pay for the administration of all the road-use-related taxation.

Passport fees should be increased to at least $50.00 per year.

The taxes on gasoline should be increased. This money should be directed to road construction and maintenance. Gas can go to $3.00 per gallon. Don't worry! Good roads will mean reduced vehicle maintenance costs, fewer traffic jams (hence more productive time), and fewer accidents. This tax is easy to collect.

The concept of tax credits should be introduced to spur investment in certain areas of the country and in certain industries. The areas including Bain Town, Farm Road, Chippingham, Coconut Grove, Englerston, Kemp Road, Montell Heights, Nassau Village, Black Village, and parts of Fox Hill should be targeted for redevelopment. Persons hould be encouraged to participate in a massive redevelopment plan. Purchasing tax or Customs credits which can be used now or resold for use by others should be established. The funds would be used to redevelop the targeted areas.

Mortgage taxes - this would be easy to collect. A 1% mortgage tax should be charged. This money would go toward creating an education industry which would educate our people and provide educational services to the world. We could create a university town somewhere. But education is an industry that can be developed in the Bahamas.

Utility Taxes - We should tax utilities. Water should be free. Power should be cheap. All other utilities should be used to raise funds for operating the country. A 5% cable tax, and phone tax should raise a few dollars. Some of this money should be used to fund the proper regulation of the utility industries which should be open to competition. And I do mean wide open.

The fees for using Jitneys should be reduced to 25 cents and be left at that level. Bus Drivers would collect bus tickets from patrons and they would be cashed into the treasury. Government would subsidize and regulate public bussing.

The Traffic Division of the police should be beefed up. They should establish a no-tolerance procedure with traffic offenders. The fines should be lowered to $50.00 for routine offenses, but enforcement should be strengthened. The money should go to provide transportation and communication equipment for the police. Vehicular behaviour needs to be improved.

Prisoners should work to produce the value necessary to pay for the costs of maintaining the prison. They should not be allowed to just sit and get fat in prison. Every prisoner should have his own cell. Every prisoner should have a spartan diet - Oat meal every morning for breakfast, vegetables and corn for lunch, and beans, grits and vegetables for dinner. They should be given Bahamian fruits. Care should be taken to ensure they get all the necessary nutrients. There should be no variation of diet while they are in prison. Every day they should have the same meals. They should get enough exercise, study time, and they should work. Those who produce more should be allowed more study time and more exercise time. Forget the cable TV. Prisoners should be allowed positive books. When they leave prison they should be highly literate.

I have more to say. Rory I agree with you. But you see I have more to say.

Originally posted by Rory
I believe all security products should be customs free, allowing businesses like mine to give lower prices to the Bahamian people, so everyone can afford to protect their family or property.

There are _many_ items that should be imported duty-free or at a reduced duty rate. We already reduced duty on computers in order to help make technology accessible to the masses. My thoughts are that small and hybrid vehicles should be imported at a drastically reducted duty rate to help alleviate the traffic and pollution problems we have here. Nassau is primarily a tourist destination yet we clog our streets and pollute the air with large cars and trucks. There is simply no reason for that.

The Hybrid vehicles are here today and are being sold in our neighbor to the north with tax credits and insurance incentives. It would be in our best interest to follow their example.

That was WAY off on a tangent, but I had to voice my opinion. :D

Originally posted by Joe Baboon
There are _many_ items that should be imported duty-free or at a reduced duty rate. We already reduced duty on computers in order to help make technology accessible to the masses. My thoughts are that small and hybrid vehicles should be imported at a drastically reducted duty rate to help alleviate the traffic and pollution problems we have here. Nassau is primarily a tourist destination yet we clog our streets and pollute the air with large cars and trucks. There is simply no reason for that.

The Hybrid vehicles are here today and are being sold in our neighbor to the north with tax credits and insurance incentives. It would be in our best interest to follow their example.

That was WAY off on a tangent, but I had to voice my opinion. :D

i totally agree with you on this, polution in Nassau is almost worst than some large industrial cities in the US, as we have no laws that take the vehicles off the road which are spitting out blue carbon dioxide and busses spitting out diesel.

Also, with computers, they actually do still charge duty sometimes, it depends on whether the PC is a Desktop/laptop, whether it is shipped Fedex or you bring it in yourself, and if you are a business brining it in. Besides, customs always make up their own minds on duty without referring to their book.

oh well :-))