Government officers in The Bahamas revealed that the implementation
of a brand new tax on cruise ship passengers wouldn’t go into impact till 2024.
According to The
Tribune, Bahamian Tourism Minister Chester Cooper met with representatives
from the key cruise strains serving the island nation final week, with the
firm’s lobbying the politician to delay the implementation of the cruise passenger
tax will increase.
TravePulse’s Brian
Major reported that The Bahamas authorities deliberate to extend charges
collected for every passenger from $18 to $30. As a part of the laws, the
charges would soar from $18 to $23 for all vacationers departing by way of Nassau or
Freeport and a $5 per-person “tourism environmental levy” could be added.
In addition, the invoice additionally included a $2 per-person “tourism
enhancement levy” for each cruise passenger arriving or leaving The Bahamas.
The tourism enhancement payment was initially scheduled to enter impact on
January 1, 2024, however the unique studies urged the opposite taxes could be
utilized beginning on July 1.
“They’ve made certain representations,” Cooper advised The
Tribune. “We’ve taken these into consideration. The prime minister and I’ve
spoken. We will communicate at our cupboard stage. One of the problems had been that they
wished to have the ability to recapture the entire taxes from their prospects, and so on.”
“I gained’t go into the entire particulars by way of what their
representations had been,” Cooper continued. “Suffice to say, we’ve already given a
seven-month delay within the implementation of the tax.”
During his feedback, Cooper additionally claimed the federal government’s
intentions had been all the time to implement all phases of the brand new taxes in January
2024, “despite what was in the bill tabled in the House of Assembly,” in accordance
to The Tribune.
“The meant date of the tax is and all the time was January 1,
2024,” Cooper stated. “It’s all the time been that. That’s factored into the revenues,
and because it stands, that’s the date for implementation.”
Earlier this month, Carnival Cruise Line president Christine
Duffy advised Travel
Weekly aboard the Carnival Venezia’s inaugural crusing out of New York that
she wished to see the tax delayed.
Cooper stated the Bahamian authorities is trying to “almost
triple” the cash it makes from cruise line passengers, with an estimated $145
million in forecasted income, a rise from the $50 million budgeted for
the present fiscal 12 months.
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Source: www.travelpulse.com”