Budget deals marinas ‘another slap in face’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A FORMER Association of Bahamas Marinas (ABM) president yesterday asserted that the Budget has dealt the industry “another slap in the face” through multiple fee increases for dockage and vessel registration.

Peter Maury, who operates Bay Street Marina, told Tribune Business the hikes contained in legislative reforms accompanying the 2023-2024 Budget will not fall solely on wealthy foreign boat owners and charter guests as the Davis administration likely intended.

He explained that, with dock rental contracts and associated terms already agreed with clients in advance, Bahamian marina operators throughout the country will have little choice but to “eat” at least a portion of the 20 percent dock fee increase imposed on their commercial clients.

As a result, Mr Maury said there could be “a direct loss of revenue” to locally-owned companies. He also voiced consternation over the fee increases, and the way they have been structured, in the Boat Registration (Yacht) (Amendment) Rules 2023 which were also tabled in the House of Assembly with the 2023-2024 Budget.

Noting seven and ten-fold increases in first-time registration fees for particular classes of vessel, the former ABM president argued that the gulf between these and the new annual registration fees set out in the rules “makes no sense” given that the former are far higher.

Arguing that the first-time vessel registration fees are “prohibitive”, and will deter vessel owners from bringing their boats to The Bahamas to be registers, he asserted that it sent the signal of “don’t come in the door” to a high-spending tourism industry segment that the country has been seeking to grow and develop following the key role it played in driving the post-COVID rebound.

Pointing out that the marina and boating industry had to contend with the imposition of 10 percent VAT on yacht charter fees in the prior year’s Budget, on top of the already-existing 4