Bahamas 2018
Yearbook 2018
Bahamas. In February, the government signed an agreement granting Oban Energies the right to build an oil refinery on the island of Grand Bahama. The plant, once commissioned, is estimated to employ about 600 people. Another good news in the economic field was that in May the Bahamas was removed from the EU’s “black list” of so-called tax havens, that is, countries that have facilitated business and private individuals to avoid tax. After the Bahamas government demonstrated its willingness to reform tax rules, the country was removed from the list.
- According to Abbreviationfinder: BAH is an three letter acronym for Bahamas.
In June, riots broke out in the capital Nassau after the government proposed a VAT increase from 7.5 to 12% in its budget. According to Countryaah.com, Nassau is the capital city of Bahamas, a country located in North America. The Budget Bill also included a proposal on tax on betting and lottery activities. The protests were organized by a former senator, who is now employed by one of the largest players in the betting industry. Before the vote in Parliament, Prime Minister Hubert Minnis let the party whip over the ruling party of the Free National Movement (FNM) MPs. Nevertheless, several members of the party voted against the proposal, which led to Minnis dismissing them. Later in June, the proposal was approved in the Senate.
Economic conditions
Among the archipelago’s economic resources we find fishing, which mainly produces crustaceans and tortoises; the production of brine and the use of timber. It was harvested; sugar cane, vegetables and pineapples were stored. Distillation, petroleum refining and cement manufacturing are among the major activities of the secondary sector. The economy, once based on primary activities, is now almost exclusively oriented towards the tertiary sector, which contributes to the formation of the GDP for about 86% and employs almost the entire active population. In particular, tourism plays a leading role (1,561,000 entries in 2004) and with offshore financial and insurance activities / “> offshore are the main resources. The tourist activity is favored by excellent hotel facilities and by the presence of numerous ports and airports. The merchant navy, among the largest in the world, is mainly made up of ships from other countries that have chosen that of the Bahamas as a flag of convenience. In function of this new economic structure of the country, also the organization of the territory has undergone profound changes, determined by the rise of large accommodation facilities and new manufacturing industries, while at the same time they have had considerable impetus communication infrastructures: the network road has exceeded 3600 km, and new ports and airports have been built. The United States, where about 90% of tourists and major capital investments come from, is also the archipelago’s main trading partner.
