A leading Bahamian auto dealer backed the Government’s move to switch the industry’s duty structure to one based on import size, but railed against rates that are “strangling” new car and commercial sales.
Andrew Barr, sales manager at Friendly Ford, told Tribune Business that while the former Ingraham administration had been correct to encourage Bahamians to purchase smaller vehicles, with an eye on reducing fuel imports and benefiting the environment/health, its 2010-2011 Budget had set Excise Tax rates too high.
As a result, even though Bahamas Motor Dealer Association (BMDA) members collectively saw an almost 16 per cent increase in new car sales for the nine months to end-September 2012, Mr Barr said both the industry and the Government were losing out.
Tribune Business understands that new car sales are still more than 42 per cent below pre-recession levels, and Mr Barr said that lower duty rates might stimulate more sales, translating into increased imports and inventories, plus higher tax revenues for the Government.
