By BARBARA WALKIN
FREEPORT, Grand Bahama, December 19, 2023.– While there is no real property tax levied on property purchased in Freeport under the Hawksbill Creek Agreement (HCA), agents in the real estate sector say the issuance of the VAT Tax Assessment number process takes too long and is hampering business.
The Real Property Tax Valuations Unit is responsible for assessing each property, vacant or not, submitting a report, and placing a value on the property.
Inspectors assess the value of real property. Thereafter, a Certificate of Registration/Tax Assessment number is issued.
The application is the process of registering a piece of property, a house, etc., purchased in The Bahamas. There is a fee of $250 each applicant must pay.
According to the Department of Inland Revenue’s website, the Certificate of Registration is prepared within 30 days from submission of all documents. However, some agents believe because documents have to go through New Providence, it is creating a “bottleneck.” They suggested that Freeport’s Inland Revenue office should handle everything locally.
“Sometimes Nassau people are appraising property without paying attention to comparable sales which is true market value. On top of all this, large commercial purchases and second properties require BIA (Bahamas Investment Authority) pre approval so this is creating another bottleneck,” said an agent who did not want to be named. “This is frustrating and is holding up sales.”
Grand Bahama News reached out to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Inland Revenue Office in Grand Bahama and New Providence for clarification on the process, but received no response.
Bahama Blue Properties agent Forrester Carroll said, “It is not an issue with the assessment tax, but with the process. What the government wants is a registration number of the purchased land to be registered in their system, in the event we will have to pay property tax in the future.”
He said, “The application is done through an online platform and that is where the process seems to become stagnant.”
Carroll said that when the applicant completes the form online, whoever picks it up in the national office sometimes take too long to respond.
“Therein lies the frustration, because Inland Revenue will not sign off and stamp the registration number certificate/permit,” he said.
Carroll said the online procedure is not working very well and suggested that the government get official documentation or the description of the property from the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA).
“They have all the legal description of every piece of property in Freeport, unlike the subdivisions in New Providence or any of the other Family Islands,” Carroll said. “All the property in Grand Bahama is either in a subdivision with a lot, block or unit number. The Port has the official description of the properties, and if that can be collected and uploaded to a computerized system, when lawyers need information all they have to do is go to the site and pick up the land description and details.”
Carroll said there is speculation about why the government is now requiring property registration.
“But that is neither here nor there. So far, there is no real property tax and Freeport is only exempted because of the Hawksbill Creek Agreement (HCA),” he said. “My view is, though; the online process is not functioning properly and should be revised.”
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