Government drops plans to legalise the numbers business in The Bahamas

Govt drops plans to legalise numbers business
By TANEKA THOMPSON AND KARIN HERIG
Tribune Staff Reporters
tthompson@tribunemedia.net and kherig@tribunemedia.net:


AS the government dropped plans to legalise the numbers business for the time being, Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham warned last night that other taxes will have to be introduced instead to sustain the Bahamian economy.

Mr Ingraham said his government had hoped that the licencing and taxation of a legalised numbers business would bring a revenue of between $30million and $40million annually.

Bringing the illegal numbers business into the formal economy would therefore have spared the Bahamian public new taxes which will be introduced in the House of Assembly tomorrow when the budget debate for the new fiscal year starts.

Speaking with The Tribune from his office in the Cecil Wallace-Whitfield Building, Mr Ingraham said: "We knew we had to increase taxes in the Bahamas in the forthcoming budget period, that that was unavoidable. We thought that the revenue we would get from the number business would assist in reducing the number of taxes we had to impose upon the public.

"We have to get the revenue from somewhere."

Without going into details about the taxes he will introduce, Mr Ingraham said they are necessary to "sustain the Bahamian economy, reduce growth in government debt, provide essential public services and keep employed the people who are employed by the government".

He said: "That's a reality."

The Cabinet Office announced yesterday, after consultation with a wide range of community leaders and other citizens including leaders of the church, the government has decided not to proceed with the legalisation of the numbers business.

"The consultation clearly showed that there is presently not a national consensus on this matter and that, in fact, there are strong feelings on both sides of the issue," a statement said.

Instead, the government proposes that a referendum should be held on the issue after the next General Election so that the will of the people on this issue can be determined.

Referendum

Mr Ingraham said yesterday his government decided against holding a referendum before the next election as it did not want to mix up the two.

Mr Ingraham pointed out that gambling was not the FNM's "issue".

He said it was not something they promised they would address during this term in office.

As to the support and opposition to the legalising of the numbers business, the Prime Minister said consultation has shown that there is strong support for it, as there is against it, and that views diverge regardless of party or religious denomination. Yesterday, the Archbishop Patrick Pinder, leader of the Roman Catholic community in the Bahamas, said that in his view, the law should not be changed to support legalised gambling. He said the laws as they are now appear "intended to exercise an abundance of necessary caution for the good of individuals and the community as a whole." (See Page Two for story).

The Cabinet Office's statement said supporters of both political parties represented in Parliament hold opposing views.

"Also, the consultation revealed that even within most religious denominations there are divergent views.

"There are pressing national challenges that require the focussed and united attention of government, church and the nation as a whole at this time, particularly violent crime and an economy battered by the global recession," the statement said.

As to how the numbers business - which Mr Ingraham said his government has also considered illegal - will be dealt with in future, the Prime Minister said it will dealt with as it has been so far.

May 25, 2010

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