A Bill for an Act to Amend the Passenger Tax Act, will allow the $15 departure tax that is required to be paid by all international travelers at the Nassau International Airport, to be incorporated into the total price of a ticket.
“This will eliminate the need for Bahamians and visitors alike to pay $15 in cash at the airport. This practice has been the source of numerous complaints from visitors. Indeed, there has been many cases where visitors, having enjoyed all the Bahamas has to offer, as they prepare to depart, find themselves at the airport with insufficient money to pay the departure tax, particularly during spring break,” expressed Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Investments and Financial Services, Michael Halkitis, who made the disclosure on Wednesday in the House of Assembly.
Mr. Halkitis explained that a ticket tax is already levied on a ticket sold in The Bahamas for travel outside of The Bahamas, in which the rate is $7.00. He said it is now intended that the passenger tax will also be levied on the ticket whenever a ticket is sold.
Mr. Halkitis stressed that the amendment does not introduce a new tax, or represent an increase in an existing tax, in which both taxes will remain the same.
He said the rate for departure tax is $15 per adult or child over the age of six years, and this amount, that is now paid in cash at the airport, will instead be added to the cost of the ticket.
The Financial Services Parliamentary Secretary said that for some time now, all the major airlines operating in The Bahamas have expressed disapproval of the process of having to collect the level of cash which they do, and said that from a security standpoint, there is cause for concern.
“Under the proposed amendment, it is envisioned that the departure tax will be collected by the owner, master or any agent for any vessel or by any person through whom passengers are brought into or taken out of The Bahamas. These monies will be paid to the Comptroller of Customs who will then pay these monies into the Consolidated Fund,” said Mr. Halkitis.
Once the $15 departure tax in incorporated into the ticket, Mr. Halkitis said, the owner, master or agent of a vessel is required to present to the Comptroller of Customs, by the third day after every seven working days, a Passenger Tax Confirmation Report.
This report, he said, must provide the name of the vessel, the date of its departure from the Bahamas, the number of paying adults, the number of exempt adults and the number of exempt children. A copy of a Passenger Manifest will also be required.
Meanwhile, Mr. Halkitis said, persons exempted from passenger tax will include: A cruise passenger arriving in The Bahamas on a second or subsequent occasion in the course of the same cruise; the first four passengers of, or above the age of six years arriving in The Bahamas on a pleasure vessel; a passenger certified by the Minister of Tourism to be coming to The Bahamas in connection with the promotion and development of the tourism trade in The Bahamas; a transit passenger who upon arrival by air or sea, does not leave the airport or dock at which they have disembarked before proceeding to a destination outside The Bahamas; and any illegal immigrant repatriated or deported by the government of The Bahamas and consular officers.
Mr. Halkitis also stated that 50 per cent of the monies paid into the Consolidated Fund, in the form of passenger tax collected in any Family Island, will be paid out of the Consolidated Fund and applied to meet expenditures for public works in that Family Island.
In regards to the ticket tax, Mr. Halkitis stated that the rate at which the ticket tax will be assessed, will remain at seven dollars for each passenger over the age of three years, whose name appears on a ticket sold within The Bahamas. As with the departure tax, Mr. Halkitis said, this $7.00 ticket tax will be collected by every owner, master or agent of a vessel who will also be required to keep records relating to the collection of ticket taxes and shall be required to present these records on the last day of each month to the Comptroller of Customs.
“The ticket tax will be paid on the last day of each month to the Comptroller of Customs, who will pay these sums into the Consolidated Fund. The Comptroller shall issue a receipt to every owner, master or agent of a vessel in respect of any payment collected for ticket tax,” he said
Mr. Halikits also explained that if a ticket is canceled, the amendment makes provision for the refund of the ticket tax upon proof of the cancellation. The amendment, he said, allows the Comptroller to require the owner, master or agent of a vessel, to enter into a bond as a security for payments which are to be made.
The amendment also sets out penalties for failure to collect the taxes and pay funds to the Comptroller of Customs as well as for failure to provide information to the Comptroller, which carries a fine not exceeding $500 and a further fine of $500 for each day the offence continues.
“Failure to comply with any other provision, shall be liable upon summary conviction, to a fine of $400, in respect of each contravention or default,” said Mr. Halkitis.
Mr. Halkitis said that in the current economic environment, where traditional revenue sources are threatened, it is the government’s duty to ensure that no effort is spared in collecting the taxes that are due to the government under the present tax structure.
“There have been numerous approaches and suggestions made as to how best to collect the departure/passenger tax. After numerous meetings with airlines’ representatives, this approach was decided on,” said Mr. Halkitis.
