Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Peter Turnquest
NASSAU, Bahamas — Although encouraged by the 19 percent increase in value-added tax (VAT) collections and 50 percent reduction in the fiscal deficit, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Peter Turnquest yesterday admitted that the numbers do not reflect the true position of government finances.
“We are very pleased with where we are today. The numbers are encouraging. Of course, the numbers do not reflect the true position because there are some special circumstances that the government has been in with respect to the [Grand Lucayan] hotel and respect to contracts that have been ongoing. So, we will see the full effect in the next quarter, hopefully, and certainly going into the third quarter. But we are encouraged by where we are today,” Turnquest told reporters outside the Churchill building Tuesday. “We recognized that this is not free money, that, in fact, we made a commitment to the Bahamian people and we are following through on that.”
The government released a report on the budgetary performance of the country for the first quarter of the fiscal year which showed that government revenue increased by $60.1 million, in part because of the increase in stamp tax and value-added tax collections. https://thenassauguardian.com/2018/10/31/turnquest-fiscal-plan-working/
