A cloudy economic climate that was worsened by last year’s terror attacks on the United States is forcing the very wealthy to exercise more fiscal prudence and has resulted in the exclusive Lyford Cay Club losing about 75 members.
This revelation was made in the House of Assembly last night by Member of Parliament for Montagu Brent Symonette and confirmed today by Paul Thompson, the club’s managing director.
With some people pulling out, the club – which boasts of having members who are among the world’s most deep-pocketed, high-networth individuals – still has 1,258 members.
Those members pay $80,000 to join the club and $8,000 in membership dues every year.
There was no specific explanation given in the House of Assembly as to why the Lyford Cay Club is losing members. Prime Minister Perry Christie questioned whether Mr. Symonette was saying that the PLP government’s policies were driving foreigners out of the Bahamas .
“I wanted to tell you what the imagery was,” Mr. Christie said. “The imagery was, here was this very successful white politician in the Bahamas dropping that on a black nationalist government…I happen to believe, based on all you’ve said to me that you are concerned about the atmosphere that must exist in our country to foster foreign investment and sustain it and that is why I was so shocked and that is why I ran across Parliament Square to get here to try to stop you dead in your tracks for where you were trying to take us because it was inimical to the best interest of this country. It was wrong.”
But Mr. Symonette insisted that this was not the case.
“There was no intention of imputing that the members of that club left as a result of the policies of this government or the former government,” Mr. Symonette said.
Mr. Thompson said that the club’s members were not pulling out because of any government policies.
“There is a general fear of flying because of terrorism,” Mr. Thompson said. “If something happened, they want to be close to their families and the fact is that a lot of people are losing money through falls in the stock market.”
He said while about 75 members are leaving or have left, the club is getting some new members. Business is slightly ahead of last year, but about 20 percent behind the year 2000, Mr. Thompson said.
Like businesses throughout the country, the Lyford Cay Club took a downturn after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks.
Mr. Thompson said he expects that the club will get the business back that it has lost, although he did not give a time frame.
He said that a proposed amendment to the Real Property Act presently before the House of Assembly is welcomed news.
That amendment would raise the exemption ceiling on real property tax from $100,000 to $250,000. It would also drop taxes from one percent to 0.75 percent of the value of homes between $250,000 and $500,000 and reduce taxes from 1.5 percent to one percent on homes valued at more than $500,000.
“That’s certainly good news,” Mr. Thompson said from his Lyford Cay office.
But he said some Lyford Cay residents were concerned that they were paying high taxes after selling their homes.
By Candia Dames, The Bahama Journal
