Constitutional reform - pt. 11... ...The supreme law clause of the constitution should be strengthened in the following ways: ...(a) by granting to the courts the power to review legislation to ensure consistency with the constitution... ...(b) by conferring legal standing to citizens of The Bahamas, in their own interest ...or as part of an association or interest group ...to initiate a constitutional challenge with respect to the validity of any legislation that they consider to be inconsistent with the constitution

Constitutional reform pt. 11

By ALFRED SEARS

Chapter one of the constitution states that the constitution is the supreme law of The Bahamas in the following terms: “This Constitution is the supreme law of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas and, subject to the provision of this constitution, if any other law is inconsistent with this constitution, this constitution, shall prevail and the other law shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be void.”

In a political culture where the political directorate is perceived to be the highest law of the land, it is the constitution which is the supreme law and should any other law be inconsistent, that other law would be declared null and void and of no effect.  The prime minister, the Cabinet and Parliament are subject to the constitution and any executive action which contravenes a provision of the Constitution can be declared to be null and void and of no effect by the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal or the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, through the power of judicial review, can examine any law passed by the Parliament or any action by the executive branch of government to determine whether it is consistent with the constitution.  If it were found that a law or an action by the executive branch is inconsistent with the constitution, the court can declare it unconstitutional and award a remedy to the aggrieved person.

A case

The supremacy of the constitution was dramatically affirmed in the case D’Arcy Ryan v. Attorney General (1977).  In this case, Ryan had applied to become a citizen of The Bahamas on October 24, 1974, pursuant to Article 5 of the constitution.  Ryan had been living in The Bahamas as his primary residence from 1947 and received belonger status in 1966.  He was married to a citizen of The Bahamas and all of his seven children of the marriage had been born in The Bahamas.  Ryan was informed on June 16, 1975 that the minister of home affairs had refused his application.  The minister gave no reason for his refusal of the application.  Ryan instituted legal proceedings in the Supreme Court seeking a declaration that upon the true construction of the constitution he was entitled to be registered as a citizen of The Bahamas and that section seven of the Bahamas Nationality Act, 1973 and was ultra vires the constitution.  Two justices, sitting as a division of the Supreme Court, held that the purported decision of the minister was a nullity and referred the matter back to the minister to be reconsidered in accordance to law.  The attorney general appealed the decision of the Supreme Court to the Court of Appeal.  The Court of Appeal held that section seven (a) – (e) of the Bahamas Nationality Act was not ultra vires, but that the proviso thereto was ultra vires the constitution, as it did not prescribe any ground on which the minister could base his refusal.  The Court of Appeal found that the minister’s refusal to grant Ryan’s application for citizenship was therefore a nullity.  The attorney general appealed the decision of the Court of Appeal to the Privy Council.  Lord Diplock, writing for the Privy Council in 1979, held that: “Their Lordships accordingly propose humbly to advise Her Majesty that for the single declaration made by the Court of Appeal, the following declarations as to the several questions of law that have been raised by these proceedings should be made:

(1) A declaration that the minister’s decision of 28 May 1975 to refuse the plaintiff’s application dated 27 June 1974 for registration as a citizen of The Bahamas is null and void.

(2) A declaration that the final words of the proviso to section seven of The Bahamas Nationality Act, 1973, viz: ‘or if for any other sufficient reason of public policy he is satisfied that it is not conducive to the public good that the applicant should become a citizen of The Bahamas’ are inconsistent with the Constitution of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas and are void.

(3) A declaration that the plaintiff is entitled to have his application for registration as a citizen of The Bahamas dated 27 June 1974 reconsidered by the minister according to law, as it has been stated in their lordships’ reasons for their humble advice to her majesty in this appeal.”

The Ryan case demonstrates that the court, if inconsistent with the constitution, can declare ministerial decisions, null and void.

Notwithstanding the clear direction by the Privy Council in 1979 that Ryan should be given Bahamian citizenship as a matter of constitutional entitlement, the government did not issue Ryan a Bahamian passport until 1993.  This case illustrates the need for citizens in a democratic society to be vigilant to ensure that the guarantees enshrined in the constitution are in fact observed by the state.

Recommendation

The supreme law clause of the constitution should be strengthened in the following ways:

(a) by granting to the courts the power to review legislation to ensure consistency with the constitution;

(b) by conferring legal standing to citizens of The Bahamas, in their own interest, or as part of an association or interest group, to initiate a constitutional challenge with respect to the validity of any legislation that they consider to be inconsistent with the constitution.

• Alfred Sears is an attorney, a former member of Parliament and a former attorney general of The Bahamas.

Nov 01, 2012

thenassauguardian

Caribbean Blog International

Constitutional reform - pt. 10... ...The government should commission The College of the Bahamas and the Eugene Dupuch Law School to conduct a scientific study to determine the comparative deterrence between the death penalty and life imprisonment ...to inform public education and policy on the issue of the death penalty... ...

The Bahamas, being a no-direct-tax destination ...and dependent on indirect taxes ...needs to be aware of the consequences of higher taxes - says John Bain - Managing Partner of UHY Bain & Associates

Bahamas Warned Not To Increase Tax Burden

The Bahama Journal



A chartered accountant is warning the government to hold the line on indirect personal taxation as a study of 26 countries revealed what its authors called “the yawning gap” between the ability of high and low tax economies to attract and retain talent and investment.

The study, conducted by UHY, the international accounting and consultancy network with affiliates in 81 countries, says the broadening gap has been driven by struggling European economies raising taxes to plug gaps in budget deficits while emerging economies like BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia India, China) are attracting more professionals – and investment.

UHY warns that higher taxation is making European economies even less competitive relative to rival low tax economies.

Managing Partner of UHY Bain & Associates in The Bahamas office John Bain warned that while The Bahamas was not included in the year-long, 26-nation study – Bain & Associates was just named to the global network last month – the country would do well to heed the results that clearly showed populations and investment followed the path of attractive personal taxation.

“The Bahamas, being a no-direct-tax destination and dependent on indirect taxes, needs to be aware of the consequences of higher taxes,” said Mr. Bain.

“The population is highly taxed indirectly, which results in the burden of taxation being skewed unfavourably towards the poor and middle class. The Bahamas government has promised a revamping of its taxation system. As some of the residual income of some European countries is astounding, this report and the comments by the country partners should be considered at the discussion phase of taxation reform in The Bahamas.”

While The Bahamas has no direct income tax and prides itself on being a tax-neutral country free of estate, personal income, capital gains and other forms of taxation, Bain estimates that the indirect taxation from Customs duties and a cornucopia of fees amounts to between 30 per cent and 40 per cent, placing this nation in a precarious position for holding on to talent.

According to the six-page UHY release issued yesterday with details of the study, the average taxpayer in a BRIC country earning $25,000 a year will keep 85 per cent of their salary.

Someone earning $200,000 will keep 75 per cent.

Higher tax countries, including those in Western Europe, are taking upwards of 50 per cent of high income salaries.

Russia, with a flat tax rate of 13 per cent across the board, was the most consistently low-tax economy while Italy and France were in the highest taxing economies for every pay scale with France taking as much as 75 per cent of incomes over $1.3 million.

“The low tax economies, not all of which are developing economies, have been able to maintain or cut their tax rates over the past year,” said UHY Chairman Ladislav Hornan.

“Traditionally, the EU (European Union) has been able to offset the effect of high taxes by offering a wide range of public services. However, tax rises in some EU countries have come hand-in-hand with sweeping cuts to public services.”

Two of the countries imposing the five highest tax rises between 2011 and 2012 for those earning $200,000 or more were the US and France. Russia’s low flat tax rate means a taxpayer earning $250,000 will take home $80,000 more per year than a worker making the same amount in Italy.

“The first response to the impact of taxation on decision-making is concern about investment,” said Mr. Bain.

“But over the long run, the more significant impact may be a brain drain with taxation driving talented professionals, especially those who are relatively young and mobile, to jurisdictions with more appealing taxation translating into more attractive income. There is a tipping point in everything and we have to be very careful in The Bahamas to take results like this into account because increases in taxation that seem to provide a temporary breather can be a long-term threat to the very economy we are trying to build. Conversely, lowering the rate of taxation may be among the smartest moves we can make to retain talent and attract investment.”

Bain & Associates, forensic accountants, was named The Bahamas affiliate to UHY in October, joining independent firms that together represent 6,800 staff in 81 nations.

8 November, 2012

Jones Bahamas

Caribbean Blog International

...the Bahamian government has got its gaming policy wrong ...it should implement a National Lottery rather than look at legalising web shop operations (“personal rackets") - says international regulatory expert and mayor of Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago - Louis Lee Sing

Gaming Expert: Government Wrong To Legalise 'Rackets'

By NATARIO MCKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

An international regulatory expert yesterday said the Bahamian government had got its gaming policy wrong, arguing that it should implement a National Lottery rather than look at legalising web shop operations he described as “personal rackets”.

Louis Lee Sing, mayor of Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago’s capital, told Tribune Business that gaming must be operated or managed by the state, not left in the hands of a few select citizens.

Mr Lee Sing, a former chairman of Trinidad’s National Lottery Control Board, who was instrumental in helping to reform the gaming business in that country, was a presenter at yesterday’s session of the Bahamas Institute of Chartered Accountants (BICA) accountant’s week seminar.

Mr Lee Sing, who made it clear that he had no vested interest on the outcome of the December 3 referendum on whether or not to legalise web shop gaming, told Tribune Business: “The Trinidad and Tobago lottery has proven to be a success story.

“Between 2010 and 2012 it has generated roughly $5 billion T&T dollars. The highest contributing game to it is a number game we used to call Whe Whe, which we turned into a game we call Play Whe. All of this is online, and it provides the kind of transparency needed in something like gaming.

“Gaming in any society must be operated by the state. If it is not operated by the state it must be managed by the state, and so the question is not whether to regulate it but how to regulate, when to regulate and where to regulate.

“If you approach it from that perspective, the question really answers itself. In Trinidad and Tobago we have allowed the online games to grow, to prosper and it has given every Trinidadian the opportunity to participate without any hanky-panky, corruption or fraud.”

Mr Lee Sing further added: “What you have here, I suspect, is something different than we have in T&T. My fear is that you are about to legalise something that ought not to have been in the first place. People can’t be allowed to run their own rackets, as it were.

“I sense that the Government, rather than go the way of legalising the web operators, should be moving as it were to introduce a National Lottery.

Of course, the web operators could be a part of a national lottery because if they are taking bets now for other kinds of games, they would be permitted to take bets for the lottery by putting in a terminal, but they would not have ultimate control over the terminal."

“My argument is that the all the men who currently run web shops or internet cafes should be asked to continue running Internet cafes and, if they wish, they could apply for a lottery terminal and they would be playing by the rules of the state. They would not be able to do hanky panky and money laundering.”

The Christie administration’s consultants, Dixon, Wilson & Co, ruled out a National Lottery for the Bahamas on the grounds that there would not be enough interest, especially given the competition from Florida.

But Mr Lee Sing said that it was in the best interest of “countries, the people and economies” to legalise and regulate gaming.

“It’s important that the Government of the Bahamas take control of the lottery,” he said. “In taking control of the lottery the Government must ensure that people across the Bahamas are allowed to play the lottery simultaneously.

“If those fellows who are running these Internet cafes want to be a part of the dance, let them buy the ticket and come in. Let them buy a lottery terminal that can be placed in the cafes, so that they can have a chance to be a part of the process, but you cannot leave it in the hands of a few select citizens at the expense of everyone else.”

Outlining some of the benefits of legalised gaming, Mr Lee Sing said: “If you legalise gaming you are going to create employment and organise sustainable employment at varying levels.

“You would be making varying contributions to the state. You are going to be given an opportunity to do clearly defined good projects. You will ensure the collection of fees and taxes. You will ensure that there is transparency.”

November 07, 2012

Tribune242

Caribbean Blog International

...Bahamians should roundly defeat the upcoming referendum question on legalizing web shops

Vote no on referendum: PLP sells out the country

Front Porch

By Simon

On multiple grounds, Bahamians should roundly defeat the upcoming referendum question on legalizing web shops.  First, there is a stunning and insulting lack of transparency.

Moreover, the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) that cried foul over a lack of process during the last referendum has been breathtakingly hypocritical and cynical in terms of the lack of process in its rush to give certain numbers houses an early Christmas gift.  This referendum involves both a perceived conflict of interest and a betrayal of the common good.

A part of the back-story of the PLP’s decision to hold a referendum solely on the question of legalizing the current criminal enterprise of selected web shops involves a bizarre statement recently made by Prime Minister Perry Christie.

When asked if his party accepted campaign donations from various illegal numbers houses for the recent general election, former prime minister and Free National Movement (FNM) Leader Hubert Ingraham said that while individual candidates may have, he did not accept such donations on behalf of the party.

By stunning contrast Christie said he didn’t know whether the PLP received donations from such illegal enterprises.  Bahamians will have to judge whether they find credible Christie and his stated ignorance on this matter.

 

Ignorance

What is incredible is that on a matter of which there is widespread suspicion of a conflict of interest by Christie and his party is that he has claimed ignorance on whether donations were received.

Imagine the British or Canadian prime minister claiming ignorance about potential donations from illegal sources in the run-up to a major vote in Parliament or a referendum.  He would be hounded by the press and perhaps hounded out of office.  But here in The Bahamas Christie is hiding behind a claim of ignorance.

The potential conflict of interest on the referendum question is as transparent as it appears massive.  This referendum is a defining moment in Christie’s legacy.  It spells the death-knell of the progressive spirit in the PLP, a party now fully in thrall to special interests and a self-serving oligarchy whose mantra is: PLPs first.

This is a shameful and disgraceful moment for the country, for the PLP and for Perry Christie, who will go down in Bahamian history for selling out the Bahamian people.

Are we to be treated to the same contempt for our intelligence and contempt for the national interest by Christie on the matter of oil drilling?  He has also failed to be transparent about his relationship with and the consulting fees he received from a company conducting oil drilling tests.

Having failed to expand constitutional rights for women in its last term, the first referendum held by the PLP, the party of corporatist interests, is one that will narrowly and overwhelmingly benefit special interests at the expense of a broader common good.

Women of The Bahamas be damned.  The question of legalizing windfall profits for illegal enterprises is more a priority for a referendum under the PLP than your rights.

 

Dictator

In its election charter, the PLP promised a referendum on a national lottery and gambling in general.  It has broken its promise citing a report by consultants which the Christie government has refused to make public.  If we have paid for this report, why can’t we see it?  This is the behavior of a dictator, not a democrat.

The message to the Bahamian people: Go to hell and drop dead.  Not only won’t we tell you what’s in the report.  We also don’t see a need to justify the limited nature of the question or why we changed our position.

In one of the most pathetic, insulting and dismissive statements ever made by a prime minister, Christie offered a litany of nonsense in his communication to the House on web shop gaming: “Firstly, I reiterate that my government and party will maintain a position of complete neutrality on the referendum question.  We will not campaign for or against either side to the question, nor will we offer any encouragement for either a yes vote or a no vote.  We are going to stay out of the fray and let the Bahamian people decide what they want without any cajoling or coaxing one way or the other.”

What utter hogwash!  How stunningly disingenuous!  By so narrowly defining what will be voted on and who may benefit, Christie’s PLP has dispensed with any pretense of neutrality.  And, then, he seeks to insult the intelligence of the Bahamian people by claiming neutrality.

There is the old joke of a wife looking through the keyhole of a hotel room, watching her husband and best friend disrobing and cooing at each other.  At the last minute before certain matters transpired, one of their undergarments is flung over the keyhole, so the wife never actually sees the deed done.  It is -- pun intended – a revealing story.

Christie’s non-transparent and pathetic statement continued: “I hasten to add, however, that not all existing web shops would be legalized.  Instead, it would only be those that are duly licensed in due course.”  Really?  Like whom, prime minister?  Anybody in particular, or might we take bets on who may be licensed?  Might you give us some examples?

Then there was this from the prime minister who is morphing from late-again to last minute: “The precise phraseology of the question that will be put to the electorate in the referendum will be announced well ahead of the referendum itself.”

Is this a joke?  Clearly, timeliness has never been one of Christie’s strengths.  Mere weeks before the referendum on a single question, and his administration can’t tell us the question.  And this from the party that criticized the FNM on process?

On the basis of process, and according to what the PLP self-servingly claimed at the last referendum, this question should be defeated.  The referendum has been rushed, the question is still not known mere weeks before the referendum, promised questions are left out, and there is insufficient time for well-organized and thorough forums for debate.

 

Obligation

More so, there is so much we don’t know in terms of the details of possible legislation, which the government has an obligation to address in greater detail before a referendum.  Christie and the PLP cannot be trusted on this front.

Christie also offered this false equivalence between how casinos and web shops should be taxed: “This would be in addition to the annual taxes that would be payable, based on the revenues of the licensed web shops, similar to the taxation structure that applies to casinos.”

He noted that the government expects between $15 million and $20 million in revenue from legalized numbers.  Yet, estimates from study of the industry by the Ministry of Finance prior to May 1, 2012, suggested in excess of $40 million annually.  Why have estimates seemingly been halved?

There are many other questions of public policy and social justice left unanswered by Christie, a number of which require urgent discussion prior to the referendum.  The debate has been joined by the general public, some churches and others, including the Democratic National Alliance, which released a clear position on the referendum.

Meanwhile and unfortunately, the opposition FNM has appeared bungling and inept.  Rashly and idiotically, Opposition Leader Dr. Hubert Minnis pledged to vote yes on a gambling referendum months ago, before a question to be put to the electorate has been framed and finalized.

One Lorraine Gibson defended Minnis’ statement as his personal view.  This is the kind of silly defense that might be made by a green pre-law student or a naïve political activist.  On questions of such moment and import it is best for any leader to make a statement on behalf of his party.

The FNM needs to get its act together and issue an intelligent, vigorous and consistent position on one of the most important issues before the Bahamian people during the current administration’s tenure.  The country cannot afford a feckless government and prime minister as well as a feckless opposition and leader of the opposition.

November 06, 2012

thenassauguardian

bahamapundit.com

frontporchguardian@gmail.com

The Democratic National Alliance (DNA) says:... ...Despite all the talk to the contrary by Prime Minister Perry Christie and his administration in the past few months... the recent announcement in the House of Assembly on the proposed “numbers” referendum is the clearest indication ...and saddest reminder to the Bahamian public yet ...that this administration is in the hands and pockets of the illegal numbers’ men... December 3, 2012 will be nothing more than payback day for services rendered

DNA Chairman Calls December 3^rd Referendum Christie Administration’s Attempt to “Payback” for Numbers’ Support

Despite all the talk to the contrary by Prime Minister Christie and his administration in the past few months, the recent announcement in the House of Assembly on the proposed “numbers” referendum is the clearest indication and saddest reminder to the Bahamian public yet that this administration is in the hands and pockets of the illegal numbers’ men. December 3^rd will be nothing more than payback day for services rendered.

To reasonably thinking Bahamians who are taking note of the vamped up public relations campaign now underway by Mr. Christie and the numbers’ businesses whose cause he seems to be championing, it is obvious that they are betting on the ignorance and desperation of poor, downtrodden black Bahamians to get their “snake oil” remedy for our pressing social ills made legal. It is the DNA’s hope that Bahamians will not buy what they are selling.

This administration gave the Bahamian people a “snake oil” sales job during the election campaign, and for what they have gotten thus far, Bahamians are now having buyer’s remorse. It would be a shame if they fall for the same old fool talk coming from this administration on this issue as well.

If the choice is ours and Bahamians are supposed to be considering the legalization of “gambling” in the country, a national lottery should also be put on the table next to these illegal numbers operations for consideration as well. It is ridiculous to think that the numbers racket can rake up money enough to be a financially successful operation here in the Bahamas but a national lottery cannot. If Bahamians were to fall for this, the DNA wonders what other kinds of crazy Houdini act and ponzi schemes they would be willing to have this Prime Minister and his administration run on them again.

If the government says it stands to make upwards of $20 million in taxes annually, then that would mean that the take home profits for these numbers businesses can potentially run somewhere in the vicinity of $200 to $350 million a year. How is $20 million more beneficial to social development than $200 million? And if these numbers’ businesses can generate those kinds of revenue, then why can’t the government with its own National Lottery for education, sports, and social programs? Why should the government have it hands out waiting for proceeds when it can make its own proceeds?

It does not make sense that the government should only be concerned with getting proceeds from taxes to take care of social programming when it could control all the proceeds by simply enacting a national lottery – if it is going to make chance gaming legal. Again, for the most part, it does not make sense, and the Bahamian people should demand their government take its time and make sense out of this seeming idiocy. 

This administration used taxpayers’ dollars to have their British consultants come here to tell us a national lottery will not work “at this time;” now Bahamian people should demand that the Prime Minister’s office release the whole report so that we can all see how this hired group arrived at their conclusion - because the math just does not add up. It is time that we not allow our choices to be limited based on someone else’s reporting, unless we are privy to the report and can verify it as such. So we are calling on the Prime Minister to make the report public.

In their times of hardship and woe, the Bahamian people are looking to their government to come up with real and lasting solutions to their social pains. They no longer want governments who use their bully pulpit to continually shove choices on them that have no meaningful impact on their lives and their upward mobility.

More importantly, they are growing wearisome of this administration as it continues attempting to make a mockery of the system, them, and their constitutional rights as citizens of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. The DNA suggests that if this administration seriously cares about Bahamians it should demonstrate it by protecting their constitution right to free choice in their own country by offering them “free” choice.

If this Christie administration seeks to put to the Bahamian people any referendum on gambling that does not include a Bahamian’s right to gamble in the local casinos, any question that does not include a Bahamian National Lottery, as well as a question of whether they can own interest in chance gaming, then it continues to show its cowardice to do what is truly in the best interest of Bahamians. The DNA hopes that this second-chance Christie administration owns up and does bolster its reputation as a “sell-out/bought out” administration.

British physicist Stephen Hawking says that, as a people, “We are in danger of destroying ourselves by our greed and stupidity.” With each passing day leading to what has now gone from a proposed referendum on gambling to a referendum on legalizing the numbers business, we in the DNA hope that the Bahamian people will not become consumed – nor allow their government to have them become sufficiently consumed - by either greed or stupidity to prove Hawking’s theory correct. The future of a whole society is dependent on it.

We challenge Prime Minister Christie to reconsider his recent unashamed tactic to lead this cause for the legalization of the numbers business by playing on the nation’s emotional ignorance and fears of Bahamians. It not only comes across as unbecoming of a Prime Minister, but it also illuminates what most have come to fear - that this administration is indeed in bed with the persons who now run these illegal operations.
This administration can expect that, until such time as it puts to the Bahamian people a referendum that is reflective of real choice, it will continue to hear the DNA speak out and challenge them on this matter - right up to December 3^rd. 

Mark Humes
DNA Chairman

Tuesday November 06, 2012 - via e-mail

Caribbean Blog International

  

The Free National Movement (FNM) believes that Prime Minister Perry Christie is moving with uncharacteristic speed to push through a referendum ...followed by legislation to legalize the numbers business

PM Christie’s Rush on to Legalize the Numbers Business

What is the RUSH? Will haste make for more wasted lives?

Prime Minister Christie is moving with uncharacteristic speed to push through a referendum followed by legislation to legalize the numbers business.  The Free National Movement believes this is the wrong thing to do. We agree with others in the religious and civic communities that he needs to slow down and be a lot more thoughtful and deliberate.

The most recent community leader to echo this sentiment is Rev. Dr; Myles Munroe who has highlighted points that others have raised: the process is being rushed; there has been insufficient time for contemplation; it is unfair to ask people to make such a big decision with “very little information”; there is no reported (local) research on the impact gambling has had in Bahamian communities or on the likely long-term impact if the web-shop and similar gambling are legalized. These are all legitimate points that remand careful consideration.

The Prime Minister needs to slow down. There needs to be an opportunity for the Bahamian people to understand and appreciate all of the issues.  If the government truly has no “horse in the race”, then certainly there is no logical need to rush.

With back to school only just behind us, the Christmas holiday on the horizon and the repairs and replacements needed because of the devastation of ”Sandy”, it would be ill advised to ask people who may be at their most vulnerable to seriously consider any decision on gambling at this time.

It is obvious that a thorough and extensive report is needed as to the economic, psychological, cultural and moral impact that this activity has on our country today and potentially the future.

During its tour of Family Island communities impacted by Hurricane Sandy, the FNM was once again reminded of another storm that has been striking Family Island communities for several years; that of the proliferation of gambling houses.

In point of fact, community leaders have expressed alarm. Gambling has become so pervasive and socially damaging that these leaders report that more and more residents seem to lose the passion for work, in favour of staking theirs and their families’ futures on “winning big” in the gambling houses. The impact has been very real and very damaging to the social fabric in Family island communities.

This pattern has become so pervasive that one school principal advised the FNM that primary school children spend significant amounts of their time plotting out which numbers to buy and how to win. The principal describes the impact on young people as an epidemic.

It is imperative that a responsible government take the time to determine the extent to which these anecdotal stories are localized to only one or a few communities or whether this decay is the reality across the entire Bahamas.

Cart before the horse

The growing number of concerns from responsible leaders of the civic and religious communities and average Bahamians again raise the question of whether the Prime Minister’s approach is backwards. It seems clearer than ever, that the right approach is for the government to exhaustively study this matter then, following widespread consultation with all stakeholders, bring and act to parliament accompanied by the proposed referendum question or questions.  The legislative and consultation process will afford everyone an opportunity to study the reports of the Prime Minister’s so-called experts…before a decision is made. No other approach seems fair or reasonable…or responsible for that matter.

Financial priorities

The cost to provide financial aid to communities hit hard by Hurricane Sandy should also cause the government to eliminate the financial costs of a rushed and ill-conceived referendum.

November 1, 2012

fnm2012.org

Caribbean Blog International

Prime Minister Perry Christie says:... ...The government would ensure that gaming laws are enforced ...and that persons who break them are dealt with to the full extent of the law ...should Bahamians vote NO to the legalisation of web shop gaming in The Bahamas ...in the upcoming referendum - December 03, 2012

PM Says Money Could Be Funnelled Into Public Purse

By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

IF BAHAMIANS say “yes” to the legalisation of web shop gaming in the country, tax revenues ranging from $15 to $20 million a year could be funnelled into the public purse, Prime Minister Perry Christie announced yesterday.

In addition, web shop chiefs, Mr Christie said, could face up to $1 million in licensing fees coupled with a performance bond in a bid to award certification to a small number of licensees.

 

The Prime Minister made the statement in the House of Assembly shortly after announcing that Bahamians would turn out to the polls in one month to cast votes during the highly anticipated referendum.

 

Mr Christie said: “If licensed web shop gaming becomes a reality, it is anticipated that tax revenues would initially be at $15 to $20 million range per annum.

 

“I wish to make it clear that in the event that the referendum question passes, it would be the policy of my government to limit web shop licenses to a small number. This would also help ensure that the regulatory infrastructure of the Gaming Board, which I confirm would be the regulator of the licensed web shops is up to the task of adequately monitoring and regulating web shop operations.”

 

Mr Christie said the revenue would be earmarked for use in helping to fund educational scholarships, athletic, sporting, music and art developments.

 

A range of private and public community, health, infrastructure, recreational, and social outreach facilities and programmes are to be funded as well.

 

To qualify for a web shop gaming license, applicants would have to meet specific criteria which include experience, integrity and expertise along with a suitable financial footing. Organisational and internal controls to operate in a responsible and transparent manner are also required, the Prime Minister said.

 

“This would be in addition to the annual taxes that would be payable, based on the revenues of the licensed web shops, similar to the taxation structure that applies to casinos.

 

“Web shops would also be required to contribute to the cost of implementing the new laws and regulations for web shops.”

 

The legalising of this type of gaming would then force owners to fund, at their own expense, programmes to help protect gamers from addiction and to help in the treatment and rehabilitation of such persons.

 

Instituting measures approved by the Gaming Board, to ensure that only persons of the legal age are allowed to use web shop facilities is also required.

 

Anti-money laundering standards also would be altered to ensure that the Bahamas remains effective in its monitoring regulations, Mr Christie said.

 

The government would ensure that gaming laws are enforced and that persons who break them are dealt with to the full extent of the law should Bahamians vote no, The Prime Minister said.

November 02, 2012

Tribune242

Caribbean Blog International