Tax authority ‘alarm’ over accounting at $5m firms
By NEIL HARTNELL
BAHAMIAN tax authorities are “shocked” and “alarmed” at the number of $5m-plus turnover companies who are being audited or preparing financials for the first time to meet the new Business Licence mandate.
Dexter Fernander, the Department of Inland Revenue’s (DIR) operations manager, told Tribune Business it had been forced to ask some firms “what have you been working with” after accountants reported they had to “replicate” a company’s accounts before an audit could be performed.
Disclosing that around 24 companies have so far requested an extension to end-August to produce their audited financial statements, he added that the tax authority was asking them to submit “preliminary figures” and basing their Business Licence fees on these so as not to block them from conducting business while the auditors’ sign-off was awaited.
Mr Fernander also revealed to this newspaper that some 400 firms with
• ‘Shocked’ so many firsttimers for audits, financials
• DIR asks some: ‘What have you been working with?’
• 400 hit with late filing fines; 24 seek audit extensions
annual turnovers exceeding $250,000, and who at least needed to have their financials certified by an independent accountant, have been hit with late filing penalties for making no effort to submit preliminary figures or request an extension.
That number, though, is less than 1 percent of the 45,000 annual Business Licence applications that the Department of Inland Revenue processes. Mr Fernander said the tax authority is “still working on a case-by-case” basis to process filings, extension requests and the overall results, given that audited financials
were required by the adjusted deadline of June 28.. “There has been a request by some who were required to have audited financial statements for an extension beyond July but we are reviewing, ascertaining the legitimacy of it,” he told Tribune Business. “We haven’t validated it as yet. So far we’ve had maybe 24 companies.....They are asking for an extension until the end of August, which sounds good, but at this point they should be able to give preliminary figures.”
BPL grid firm closes $100m bond amid ongoing queries
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
THE company poised to take over New Providence’s electricity grid closed its initial financing with an “oversubscribed” $100m bond raise amid ongoing concerns over the deal’s structure.
CFAL, which acted as placement agent and adviser to Bahamas Grid Company’s latest capital raise, confirmed that local investor demand for the bond offering exceeded the target sum although it gave no indication as to whether the excess will be retained to fund muchneeded improvements to
the island’s transmission and distribution network.
Angelo Butler, CFAL’s manager of corporate advisory services, said in a statement: “The bond offering was extremely successful. Due to strong response, we reduced allocations for some institutional investors to ensure all retail investors were accommodated.” Capital markets sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there had been little doubt that the two-week offering - which closed on Friday, July 2026 - would hit its $100m target and be fully subscribed due to the attractive rate of
Pintard: ‘Celebrating economic suicide’ as stopovers decline
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
THE Opposition leader yesterday doubled down on fears this nation is “celebrating economic suicide” with The Bahamas the only Caribbean country suffering a stopover visitor decline in 2024’s first four months.
Michael Pintard, in a column circulated to the media, drew on data from the Tourism Analytics website to back his assertion that The Bahamas faces “devastating implications” from cruise tourism’s rapid growth after it was shown stopover visitors to this nation fell by 2.8 percent
year-over-year to end-April 2024. Total stopovers, likely defined as visitors who spent more than 24 hours in the destination, thus excluding transient visitors, day trippers and those passing
‘Patient safety’ concern as attorneys usurp watchdog
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
ATTORNEYS are usurping the Bahamas Medical Council’s (BMC) role as physician watchdog to the point where patient safety may be endangered, the FNM’s chairman is arguing.
Dr Duane Sands, speaking after a recent Supreme Court ruling described the profession’s governing law as badly written, told Tribune Business that attorneys are exploiting “loopholes” in the Medical Act and other legislation to the point where the Council’s self-regulatory role in protecting the public and maintaining “the highest standards of practice” is being undermined.
Recalling how one doctor, who had “practiced at an unacceptable level”, was able to escape punishment thanks to such legal gaps, he argued that the continued use of legal “technicalities” to overturn Council decisions has “some serious life and death implications” for
patients of the worst was to occur.
While acknowledging that all in The Bahamas are subject to “the rule of law”, and court decisions must be regarded as final and binding, Dr Sands told this newspaper that physicians must have ultimate responsibility for self-regulating themselves as he asserted:
“I don’t pretend to be a lawyer. I don’t think the lawyers should pretend to be doctors.
“The Medical Act was most recently revised in 2014,” he added. “A phenomenal amount of work went into it, but unfortunately there are some
PLANNING and environmental regulators cannot do the job demanded by the Bahamian people because all are “under-resourced and under-staffed”, an MP has asserted.
Adrian White, the Opposition MP for St Anne’s, told Tribune Business that the blame and responsibility for this lay with the Government and successive administrations that have elected not to provide agencies such as the Department of Physical Planning and Department of Environmental Protection (DEPP) with the manpower, expertise and capacity to perform their jobs properly.
Speaking after the disclosure of events that led to a certificate of environmental clearance (CEC) being granted for a dock on ecologically-sensitive Athol Island, he said: “Our building authorities, our environmental authorities overall are under-staffed and under-resourced.
for commercial use and, if not commercial, applies for multi-family,” he said.
“Our zoning landscape is changed on a regular basis by persons that know when they’ve bought what they’ve bought.
“But they take it upon themselves to change the surrounding community and its interests for the benefit of their private interests and return on investment.
Our Bahamian patrimony is where it is, our Crown Land is where it is for the benefit of all Bahamians, and is not to be abused by one or two. It never should be, it never can be.”
Resources, in a statement issued on DEPP’s behalf, said Andrew Hanna initially applied in January 2024 for a CEC permit to develop a restaurant, rest area and dock on an island that sits at the heart of a Marine Protected Area (MPA), well-known for its fish and marine life, and is also a site of historical significance given its past as a quarantine station.
over Athol Island development. “In April 2024, the Department conducted a site visit in response to reports that the construction of the rest areas and a restaurant were underway on the property,” the ministry said.
“Accordingly, a cease and desist order was issued to Mr Hanna. Upon investigation, there were signs of oxidised limestone and wood, indicating that the disturbance was not new or active. The cease and desist has since been lifted.
“I remember when I was chair of the Town Planning Committee, working along with the Department of Physical Planning, and we had instances where the inspectors who were responsible for the inspections of setbacks on any no of inspections, tens or hundreds for the year, three of them would get into their private vehicles to drive around the island to do these inspections.”
Mr White said these setback inspections were especially critical when dealing with liquor stores, as these must be at least 70 feet away from a school or church in order to be licensed to sell alcohol. He added that the reliance on private vehicles was a sign of a department that lacked the resources to properly fulfill its mandate and perform all that is demanded from it.
“The Department of Physical Planning does not have the resources and manpower for them to do the job the public expects, and it seems that there’s a lack of understanding,” the St Anne’s MP told this newspaper. “It’s not the individual’s fault, but it’s the Government’s willingness and lack of responsibility to under-resource these bodies like the Department of Physical Planning and DEPP.”
Enforcement of the zoning regulations provides a further challenge, Mr White added. “Someone who has a single family residential property applies
Mr White spoke after it was revealed that environmental regulators gave the go-ahead to an Athol Island developer just one month after ordering him to “cease and desist” unauthorised construction activities at the same location.
The Department of Environmental Planning and Protection (DEPP) revealed that despite issuing three such orders to Andrew Hanna - at least one of which remains in effect today - it nevertheless granted a certificate of environmental clearance (CEC) that permitted him to construct a dock on the island off New Providence’s northeast coast.
The Ministry of the Environment and Natural
However, upon undertaking a site visit to Athol Island, DEPP officials found construction of the restaurant and rest area was already underway. And, despite issuing the first “cease and desist” order to Mr Hanna to halt such activities, the environmental regulator granted him the requested CEC - for the dock only - on February 16, 2024, on the understanding that any other development would face further review.
Yet DEPP’s January 2024 site visit also revealed a seawall was under construction, with the ministry stating: “It is unclear as to whether the appropriate building permits were obtained for the construction of the seawall.” Construction permits, it added, could only be obtained once the CEC is issued.
Two more cease and desist orders were subsequently issued to Mr Hanna after further concerns raised
“The matter was raised again in the House of Assembly on July 17, 2024. Out of an abundance of caution, a cease and desist was issued until the Department was able to conduct a comprehensive review of the entire site and meet with the environmental consultant of record,” the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources said.
“Officers of the DEPP conducted a site visit on that day to determine if any activities outside of those for which clearance was issued were being conducted. It was determined that the site was predominantly unchanged since the April 2024 visit. The cease and desist remains in place.”
ADRIAN WHITE
PINTARD BLASTS REVENUE TARGET AS ‘PURE FANTASY’
By
THE Opposition’s leader yesterday predicted that the Government will “bust” its near-$70m deficit forecast for the 2024-2025 fiscal year as he accused it of basing its revenue estimates on “pure fantasy”.
Michael Pintard, in a statement, argued that the Davis administration has “deliberately” delayed the release of the monthly fiscal report for May, which is now two months past due, and speculated that this was because the revised deficit for the 2023-2024 fiscal year exceeded projections.
“Although the Prime Minister, as minister of finance will likely continue to delay the budget reports as long as he can, he will eventually have to report on what will almost certainly be a much bigger Budget deficit than he had projected for the fiscal year just ended - fiscal year 20232024,” argued Mr Pintard.
“Worse, because this government based the revenue projections for the current fiscal year [2024-2025] on pure fantasy.... the Davis administration will also bust the Budget deficit targets for this fiscal year, driving the country into deeper and deeper debt.
is a structural change in revenue collection headed by real property tax, Customs as well as VAT,” he added.
“We were seeing a fall-off in arrears collection and a decrease in compliance, so our tax strategy has been a heavy focus on compliance and revenue compliance. Right now, we projecting total revenue of around $3.3bn. This is around 20 to 23 percent of GDP. On the horizon, the focus for us is going to be not only compliance but what will be called minimum corporate tax.”
corporate income tax so as to avoid double taxation, making it unclear what the net revenue gain will be.
Mr Wilson said: “That is going to provide the Government with around 1 percent of GDP. So, we feel pretty confident that by fiscal year 2025-2026 we will achieve that target of 25 percent GDP as a percentage of total revenue. What it means for us is we will be able to have an overall fiscal surplus. In our 51 years of independence, we have never had a fiscal surplus.
time, publishes the details of government contracts and enacts anti-corruption legislation. He said the Opposition is not “holding our breath” that the Davis administration will show “accountability, transparency, fairness, or equity in public affairs”, and pledged that under his leadership the FNM would recognize the “critical role” small and medium-sized businesses play in the economy and “remove the yoke” government agencies place on their necks.
Simon Wilson, the Ministry of Finance’s financial secretary, last Thursday said the Government was still on target to produce a deficit of between 1-1.5 percent of gross domestic product (GPP) for 2024-2025. He added that The Bahamas is “on the cusp” of achieving the annual fiscal surplus that has eluded it for 51 years of independence.
This would mean that, for the first time over the 12-month cycle to endJune, the Government’s revenues or income would exceed its spending. For the current fiscal year, which began on July 1, it is targeting a $69.8m deficit equal to 0.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) to set the platform for its first Budget surplus since independence.
Mr Wilson said the Government had projected total revenue of $3.3bn during the now-closed 2023-2024 fiscal year due to its continuing focus on tax collection and compliance, while anticipating higher revenues in the near future through implementing corporate income tax on companies that are part of multinational groups generating more than 750m euros in annual turnover.
“Some of these measures have included new taxes, new tax rates, increases in tax rates, but our focus overall has been on improving compliance and I imagine we’ve been successful. What we have seen
This will be the first income-based levy in the country’s history, and is intended to ensure The Bahamas complies and fulfills its obligations as one of 140 countries that have signed on to the G-20/ Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) drive for a minimum 15 percent global corporate tax.
In the first instance, this applies only to corporate groups and their subsidiaries that have a minimum annual turnover in excess of 750m euros. Mr Wilson said implementing the tax will provide the Government with annual revenues equal to around 1 percent of GDP, or $140m, and he is confident this will result in a fiscal surplus by the 20252026 fiscal year.
However, Business Licence fees will be reduced or eliminated for the companies that have to pay
“We are now at the cusp of achieving a fiscal surplus - not this fiscal year, but next fiscal year. This fiscal year, we are projecting a deficit of 0.5 percent of GDP, which is the lowest deficit projection ever. Last fiscal year, the deficit came in between 1 to 1.5 percent of GDP.”
Mr Wilson said the Davis administration has implemented its tax policies to improve “fiscal stability” and ensure the country has adequate “buffers” to withstand hurricanes and climate-related events while also improving “the conditions for long-term growth”.
Mr Pintard, meanwhile, urged the Government to provide a “clear economic and fiscal plan” that implements the Freedom of Information Act, ensures budgetary and fiscal reports are published on
Mr Pintard said: “We’re not holding our breath that the Prime Minister will show any interest in accountability, transparency, fairness or equity in public affairs, so come 2026 or before, the incoming FNM administration will do these things.
“Additionally, we will treat small and mediumsized businesses cordially, promptly, and professionally as valued partners rather than adversaries. Unlike the current PLP administration, a Pintardled FNM government recognises the critical role that Bahamian businesses play in driving our economy forward.
“We will remove the yoke that government agencies—particularly the Department of Inland Revenue—continue to place around the necks of Bahamian businesses.”
MICHAEL PINTARD
REALTOR EYES OFFERS FOR PI CONDOS BY YEAR-END
MORE than 75 attendees were present at the recent ‘open house’ showing of seven high-end condominiums in the THIRTY-SIX project on Paradise Island.
The event, hosted by The Agency Bahamas, drew real estate brokers and associates, private bankers, wealth managers, attorneys and other advisors. Attendees were treated to themed specialty drinks, sushi and fire dancing complimented by personal tours and an elaborate presentation of design and transformation of roof-top space.
Danny Lowe, founder of The Agency Bahamas, said: “At a time when inventory is low and demand for luxury property continues to be high, we welcome the opportunity
to present seven spectacular residences in one of the most coveted communities in the Bahamas, Paradise Island.
“We are honoured that Sterling Global Financial selected The Agency Bahamas and entrusted us to handle the sale of the remaining inventory of units.”
The offering include four penthouses and three twobedroom residences in the four-storey structure, with amenities that feature an infinity pool surrounded by a deck area. The complex also includes a fitness centre overlooking Nassau Harbour, 24-hour security and covered parking. Unit prices range from $995,000 to $1.53m.
Khaalis Rolle, Sterling Advisory Services president, said: “We applaud The Agency Bahamas for its excellent marketing skills, extensive client database and global reach. We believe that they will work co-operatively and collaboratively with other agencies and advisors to handle the sale of the seven remaining residences of this unique complex, THIRTY SIX.”
Mr Lowe added: “In addition to working with other real estate firms, we were privileged to have Sound Crate Group and Pink Sand Spirits as partners who helped sponsor this event, along with CIBC, who is providing financing for prospective buyers.”
“The event was an overwhelming success, and we
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have already received a lot of interest post-event. As a Paradise Island resident myself, I can feel the excitement and energy growing for PI as new developments are announced and new amenities come on stream for the island,” said Dexter Avney, realtor at The Agency Bahamas.
“Danny and I are very confident that the opportunity to purchase at THIRTY-SIX won’t last. This may be the last opportunity to purchase a newly-built condo on Paradise Island for under $1m.”
Mr Lowe forecast that all units will receive purchase offers by year-end.
THE AGENCY Bahamas managing partner, Danny Lowe, gives a presentation with a guest at the open house. GUESTS including bankers, lawyers, wealth management advisors and others gathered at the open house hosted by The Agency to showcase luxury condos at THIRTY-SIX, Paradise Island.
THE AGENCY Bahamas held an event to showcase the seven remaining condos at THIRTY-SIX, providing crafted cocktails, sushi and fire dancing.
Doctor warns that Eleuthera utility woes pose health risk
A BAHAMIAN doctor has warned that Eleuthera’s now-frequent power outages and water shortages may pose serious health risks to its residents and visitors alike.
Dr Arlington Lightbourne, founder of Eleuthera Medical Centre, said: “As a physician, I have a grave concern that Eleuthera’s water crisis can also mean a health crisis.
“We may think of it as annoying – we turn on the tap to rinse lettuce as we are making dinner and there is no water. We get frustrated, but frustration is just a reaction to what is a more serious problem, which is lack of water means people pay less attention to personal hygiene. Not washing your hands, for instance, leads to greater chance of getting or spreading infection.”
Dr Lightbourne, whose clinic provides comprehensive diagnostic and treatment services to thousands of the island’s residents and visitors, said he has already seen an increase in a variety of cases. The spread of infection is particularly worrying for those who suffer from immunocompromised conditions – diabetics, the elderly, someone with HIV/ AIDS or individuals undergoing chemotherapy for any form of cancer.
As infections spread and the ability to provide clean environments is reduced by lack of convenient water for rinsing, washing floors, scrubbing counter-tops and washing dishes after a meal, Eleuthera is likely to experience an increase in the population of rodents, Dr Lightbourne predicted.
“Any increase in rodents – rats, mice, roaches
Medical Centre, fears Eleuthera’s power and water challenges may pose a health crisis.
– can lead to vector-born illnesses, and there is another side to that which is as dangerous as the potential for illness. And that is to control the crawling rats, roaches and other vermin, people are more likely to use a bug and rodent killer that is as dangerous as what it is intended to wipe out, especially if the person pushing the button is also breathing in the fumes,” he said.
“Individuals do not know when the power is going to go out. They are moving from chilly air conditioned environments to sweltering heat and back again.”
Dr Lightbourne also fears that dried-up sewerage systems will lead to worsening air quality, foul odors and an increase in the number and severity of asthma attacks and other immune reactions.
This is not the first time that the wellness specialist has expressed concern
about a public works issue impacting health. In 2016, he was an outspoken critic of the ongoing fires at what was then the landfill and dump in New Providence, where blazes raged for days on end, filling nearby communities with smoke, forcing schools to close and leading to occasional evacuations.
Dr Lightbourne noted then that the average adult breathes 24,000 to 28,000 times a day, and there was no way to measure the longterm effects of that smoke inhalation. He is now calling for the authorities to look at how the Water & Sewerage Corporation deals with sewage disposal on the island, adding that it was time to stop the bandaid approach and find a long-term solution for Eleuthera’s utility woes.
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Two Bahamians among CIBC’s chosen FirstStars
TWO Bahamian executives received honours in CIBC’s FirstStars Awards as the bank’s regional chief executive declared that 94 percent of transactions are conducted digitally.
Mark St. Hill, speaking at the awards ceremony held at the Wyndham Grand, Sam Lord’s Castle Hotel in Barbados, said personal and business banking online and mobile transaction volumes were up 27 percent over the previous year. Corporate online banking transaction volumes rose by 11 percent, while overthe-counter transaction volumes dropped by 23 percent when compared to the previous year.
The awards ceremony saw nine of the bank’s employes from across the Caribbean rewarded for their performance. Corporate and investment banking dominated the awards with winners Nedra Woodside and Sonia Rutherford, both from The Bahamas; Mikeila Carrington-Eliebox from Barbados; and Priscilla Leonce of Antigua.
Ms Rutherford is a threetime winner of the annual award and Nedra Woodside a double awardee. Mr St Hill told the awards ceremony that CIBC Caribbean has “left most of the
old issues behind” and was creating a new legacy.
“The majority of our customers in 2024 see and experience an omnichannel bank, providing a first-class service that delivers loans in 10 minutes or less, cards that are printed on the spot, online account opening, online local and international wires and –should I even have to say it – instant payments such as our hugely popular 1st Pay,” he added.
Mr St Hill said CIBC also continued to deliver strong financial results, adding that “at the end of our first quarter, our net income was up 16 percent over last year, and we are continuing to keep a tight rein on our operating expenses”.
He said it was “safe to say, therefore, that CIBC Caribbean is leading the charge to create a modern digital banking experience that puts the control of being able to do your banking from anywhere at any time firmly in the hands of the client.”
Mr St Hill, who inducted the award winners into the bank’s Hall of Fame, hailed them as “our bank’s best examples of what happens when you display a winning attitude”. Janine Billy, CIBC Caribbean’s chief human resources officer,
JOB VACANCY
added that “recognition for a job well done is a part of the ‘Culture of Care’ we are working so hard to enshrine as a way of life at CIBC Caribbean”.
She thanked all the bank’s employees across the region for their work and commitment, saying: “Though they may not be standing here this evening receiving one of these awards, their hard work and commitment have not gone unnoticed. We see you and thank you for all that you bring to the table every day”.
Ms Billy praised the night’s awardees as “shining examples of the best that CIBC Caribbean has to offer, and I salute each and every one of you”. Adrian Gomes of Barbados and Caryl Fontaine from St. Lucia, plus Frederica Green-Brazier of St Maarten, were winners from the personal and business banking segment. Enterprise security and fraud management, technology had two winners both from Barbados, Rosalind Waterman and Dona Estwick. Caryl Fontaine was the winner of the CEO’s Award of Distinction, the highest accolade the bank bestows on an employee.
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TAX AUTHORITY ‘ALARM’ OVER ACCOUNTING AT $5M FIRMS
Companies with annual turnover exceeding $5m were this year required to produce audited financial statements for the first time ever as part of their Business Licence flings, which Mr Fernander hailed as “a worthwhile exercise”.
He added that the feerelated revenues collected had “met expectations”, with some 81.7 percent of the 2023-2024 fiscal year’s target collected by endMarch this year. Data unveiled with the 2024-2025 Budget showed that some $115.307m in Business Licence fee revenues had been collected at that point compared to the full-year target of $141m.
Business Licence fees are one area targeted for increased revenues by the Government. They are projected to increase by more than $62.5m, or 44.4 percent, to $203.554m during the current 2024-2025 fiscal year compared to the prior one, before rising again to $237.828m and $240.182m in 2025-2026 and 2026-2027, respectively.
Mr Fernander, meanwhile, said it was “alarming” that some $5m-plus turnover companies lacked basic management accounts and financial statements that banks would require before providing overdrafts and other facilities.
“It’s alarming that companies with such large turnovers are being audited for the first time and are preparing financial statements for the first time,” he told Tribune Business “That’s a bit alarming to the Department of Inland Revenue.
“I’m concerned that there is a request by audited companies and entities that this is the first year that a company, which makes $5m, has never done audited financial statements before. Their overdraft facilities from the banking industry require this. How have they been able to operate these entities? That’s alarming to me. It is what it is. Maybe it’s to the point where they don’t need an overdraft.
“We are shocked at the amount of individuals requesting an extension because this is the first time the company has been properly audited,”
Mr Fernander continued.
“It’s amazing that accountants are saying they have to before an audit; in some instances they have to replicate the company’s accounts and it is making more than $5m.
“They have to create the accounts and then another accountant has to be hired to do the audit. I thought this would be something they [the private sector] could use as a measuring tool for yourself to know where you are. If you have not got certified or management statements, what have you been doing?”
Boards, management and owners all need to know a company’s financial numbers so that they can track its performance and address any problems before they become major. Mr Fernander said the extension requests, and novelty of audits and financial statements for some, raised questions about verifications and certifications provided by auditors for Business Licence filings in prior years.
“It shows us the depth of the work the accountants did in prior years,” he added. “Did they look at more than the VAT filings? Did they assess revenue and expenditure? What was the work sheet that they used in previous years to validate the figures?”
Voicing optimism that next year’s Business Licence fee filings, and the provision of audited financials, will be a much smoother exercise having gone through it once, Mr Fernander said: “We are seeing where there needs to be adjustments in VAT reporting and it has given us insight into where certain areas need to be tightened in terms of policy.”
Declining to identify those “areas”, he emphasised that the Department of Inland Revenue was seeking to work with companies seeking a filing extension rather than impede their business operations. “We are asking them to submit preliminary figures so that they don’t slow down. We are willing to work with those figures until they are signed off on by an auditor,” the operations chief explained.
“Those who are submitting the preliminary figures, we are assessing the Business Licence on those preliminary figures so there’s no delay in them doing taxable activities in the jurisdiction. It’s been working well for us, getting preliminary figures.
“There are some entities who have not made any effort to give preliminary figures or submit declarations so they will automatically have received on July 1 a late filing
penalty from our system. We’re looking at maybe 400 of those entities that were reporting $250,000 and above turnovers that will have received late filing fees.”
A former Cabinet minister, though, told Tribune Business that this year’s Business Licence filings caused many businesses more “cash flow pain” than normal while numerous changes to the “definition” of revenue worked to the Government’s advantage and resulted in some companies paying much more than they did previously.
Dionisio D’Aguilar, Superwash’s principal, revealed that while the laundromat chain met the June 28 deadline it - and all other companies - were required to pay two years’ worth of Business Licence fees at the same time.
“What normally happened was, that in the first two months of 2024, you would calculate your revenue for 2023 and then you would pay your fee at the end of March,” he explained. “What they [Inland Revenue] did was say, OK, not only do we want you to do that but we want to change the system so that you pay in advance
and settle up at the end of the year.”
Mr D’Aguilar said Superwash and others were asked to estimate their 2024 turnover based on 2023’s results and pay a fee on that as well.”Then, at the end of the year, when you get to the 2025 first quarter, you will file your 2024 results and either pay the difference or the Inland Revenue will have a credit waiting for you which you apply to the upcoming year in 2025,” he explained.
“This was in addition to the many changes to what is the definition of revenue. Not only did you have the cash flow pain of paying both a fee based on your 2023 numbers and the fee based on an estimate of your 2024 numbers, but they changed to their
advantage the definition of revenue.
“There were a lot of transactions, international transactions, that law firms and others were treating as tax exempt transactions but they came back and reclassified them and said that’s not the case,” Mr D’Aguilar said.
“They really clamped down on what could be excluded from the calculation of revenue for Business Licence purposes and VAT. There were a lot of changes and clarifications in that regard to the benefit of Inland Revenue. There was a lit of redefining and the like, and people ended up having to pay a lot more, based not only on having to pay the 2023 and 2024 fees but what made up the definition.”
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PINTARD: ‘CELEBRATING ECONOMIC SUICIDE’ AS STOPOVERS DECLINE
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through, were shown by Tourism Analytics to have fallen from 669,161 during the same period in 2023 to 650,371 this year.
The different definitions of ‘stopover’ and ‘air arrivals’ likely explains why the Ministry of Tourism’s recent presentation shows a 3.9 percent increase in air arrivals for the first five months of 2024 to end-May, with numbers up from 790,368 in 2023 to 821,334.
Mr Pintard, though, used the Tourism Analytics data to argue that The Bahamas is losing higher-spending stopover visitors to the cruise industry with the result that the economic impact of the country’s largest industry is being reduced. This, he argued, is masked by the focus on arrivals numbers which is largely being driven by the cruise ships and their private islands.
The Opposition leader, who has already clashed with Chester Cooper, deputy prime minister and minister of tourism, investments and aviation on the issue, wrote: “The numbers clearly show that as cruise passenger numbers rise and we giddily celebrate record-breaking arrivals, our stopovers fall.
“The simple fact is that our stopover visitors are rapidly being converted to cruise passengers with devastating implications for our economy. Using data presented at the Ministry of Tourism’s July 5 press conference, for every 6 percent conversionrepresenting a loss of 100,000 stopovers - our economy loses around $250m or a quarter of a billion in visitor spending.
Describing this as the “great conversion”, Mr Pintard said the evidence supporting his assertion is “incontrovertible”. He added: “In 2023, while nine other countries in the region, led by Turks & Caicos, grew their stopovers by up to
36 percent over 2019, our previous best year, stopovers in The Bahamas grew by 0 percent (compared to pre-COVID).
“All of The Bahamas’ increase in our record-breaking year for visitor arrivals were cruise passengers. As of April 2024, The Bahamas is in last place in our region concerning stopover visitor growth. In fact, for the first four months, stopovers to The Bahamas are behind stopovers for last year. These comparisons have been taken from tourismanalytics. com.”
Referring to 2023, Mr Pintard added: “If, like Turks & Caicos, all of The Bahamas’ 33 percent increase in visitors were stopovers, visitor spending would have increased by $6.2bn. Unfortunately, they were all cruise passengers, so the spending increase was only $168m - a $6bn difference. The gulf between stopover spending and cruise passenger spending is staggering.
Describing the constant focus on arrivals numbers as “deliberately masking the elephant in the room”, he said: “Those in denial do not wish to acknowledge that the growth of cruise visitors and the fall-off of stopovers are inter-related.
“They do not wish to recognise that the biggest threat to our tourism economy is the continued conversion of stopovers to cruise passengers. Doing so would force them to acknowledge that they have been celebrating economic suicide.
“Instead, they attribute the lack of growth of stopovers to the loss of hotel rooms between 2019 and today, even though, unlike the cruise lines, our current hotel rooms are far from 100 percent occupancy.”
Mr Cooper, who previously branded Mr Pintard’s concerns as “utter nonsense”, has already said he wants to double The Bahamas’ hotel
room numbers by 15,000 over the next decade.
Addressing the Opposition leader’s concerns on the matter previously, he said:
“After reading his comments about tourism revenue dropping despite having more visitor arrivals, I can categorically state he is speaking utter nonsense.”
Mr Cooper added that stopover arrivals grew by 17 percent overall last year compared to 2022, and 3.5 percent over 2019. And, in the first quarter of 2024, they also grew by over 3.5 percent.
However, Mr Pintard said yesterday: “Could it be that other destinations are growing their much more economically valuable landbased tourism while The Bahamas continues to celebrate lower-spending cruise visitors?
“The truth is that amenityladen mega-ships of today are far different from ships of bygone ages. Each one has more sleeping rooms than Baha Mar, more restaurants, more bars and more entertainment. They have multiple pools, meeting rooms, water slides, neighbourhoods, multiple suites and more ocean-view rooms.
“The Bahamas has happily added the one thing they had missing: Private beaches and the magnificent ocean waters of our private islands. Such amenities can be provided at prices far lower than a land-based vacation in The Bahamas with comparable amenities,” he added.
“And with operating costs for utilities and labour far lower than those for landbased hotels, the profitability of cruise companies has skyrocketed since the end of the pandemic. Both land-based and cruise-based tourism can co-exist profitably in The Bahamas. However, the current and devastating problem for the Bahamian economy cannot be solved by those in denial.”
‘PATIENT SAFETY’ CONCERN AS ATTORNEYS USURP WATCHDOG
lacunae, there were some things that were not anticipated, etc. To be very blunt, the challenges to the Medical Act and the Medical Council have flourished.
“People are trying to get what they want whether it’s consistent with the spirit of the profession or not.
Quite frankly what has happened, and this is very strong language, is that the legal profession has decided they will be the watchdogs for everybody and the medical profession cannot police itself.
“You have a Council established to ensure the safety and quality of practice in The Bahamas, and then the lawyers come around and exploit the loopholes and say that’s the law.” Dr Sands spoke out after Justice Loren Klein, in a Supreme Court ruling earlier this month, found that the Medical Act “was perhaps not drafted with the care it might have been” despite it being the main law regulating doctors.
He reached this conclusion in ruling that it would be “an unjust and absurd result” if - as the Medical Council had argued - specialist doctors could appeal any disciplinary action taken against them but were unable to take the same action when their registration application was rejected. In doing so, Justice Klein ruled against the Council’s narrow interpretation of the Act passed by Parliament one decade ago.
Dr Sands, though, said: “All of a sudden you find the lawyers, the courts etc get into the business of countermanding the decision. We have had a number of instances where the
Medical Council finds itself challenged on the technicalities because of drafting issues with the Act.
“A number of judgments have been given that fly in the face of even, in my view, the safety of the public: ‘We’ll give this one a licence because section six in the Medical Act is improperly drafted and so on and so forth.
“While I think it’s very important to understand that the rule of law, we all exist because of the rule of law, the technicalities have some serious life and death implications. When you ask who ought to be the watchdog for a particular profession, if you ask me the architects should be the watchdog for the architects, the accountants should be the watchdog for the accountants, the physicians should be policing themselves.”
Dr Sands argued that “we are really walking down a slippery slope” by making so many Bahamas Medical Council decisions “subject to the interpretation of the lawyers”, as he added: “We expect people to make the tough decisions and there ought to be a ‘no blame’ basis.”
He recalled when, as chair of the Medical Council, one disciplinary matter became “so tied up in injunctions” that even now - ten years or one decade later - he is prevented from discussing it.
“While the lawyers do what they have to do to get their clients what they want, let’s be very clear,” Dr Sands told Tribune Business
“You’re talking about protecting the welfare and safety of the jurisdiction and ensuring standards of practice are maintained to the highest level. Some may say this is a Scud missile
directed at the heart, but I think the problem may be let’s call a drafting challenge exactly what it is: A drafting challenge.
“Yes, the Act may have to be updated. We have a number of medical-related Acts. The Vaccine Act came in in 1860. I can guarantee you that it needs to be updated. The current Bahamas Vaccine Act has been around since the 1860s. Does it need to be updated? Yes, it does. Does it mean we throw the baby away with the bath water? Probably not. Sometimes we complain when we don’t get the standards we want.”
Dr Sands said he has witnessed “more and more and more” challenges to the Medical Act based on loopholes and gaps discovered by attorneys and their clients, and acknowledged that Parliament - as the Government’s legislative or law-making arm - “is not as responsive to these kinds of things” - as it might be.
“These are the kinds of results you get when judges and lawyers have a field day with it,” he added. “I am very much one who believes in maintaining very high standards of practice in the country, but I think that standard of practice of physicians ought to be under the oversight of senior physicians.
“They have exploited this whole thing about weaknesses in the 2014 legislation, but that took more than ten years to make it from a Bill to an Act. If we had wanted it to be perfect, it would still be going back and forth now from the Council and [Medical] Association to the medical community.
“The criticisms that are being levied are, I think, heavy-handed and I think
the persons that managed to get that Act into force deserve to be commended notwithstanding the challenges, the weaknesses, the problems. Come show me a perfect Bill and I will be amazed. I don’t think there’s a perfect Bill that exists, and one that anticipates a lot of the challenges,” Dr Sands continued. “We want to maintain the highest possible standards. The unintended consequence of this is you will have individuals who throw their hands up and say this is not worth it. You try to make the decisions in
the interest of patient safety and so forth, and it’s picked apart. Then, when something happens on the back side, you get blamed for it.
“There are some people who ought not to be practicing. While there’s a need for objectivity and fair play, there’s still a role for peer review. I don’t pretend to be a lawyer. I don’t think lawyers should pretend to be doctors.”
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BPL grid firm closes $100m bond amid ongoing queries
return and structure of the deal.
The $100m Bahamas Grid Company bond issue carries an 8 percent interest rate coupon, thus providing investors with a return some 3.75 percentage points above Bahamian Prime and much higher than the minimal deposit rates being paid by commercial banks. Also attractive is the monopoly nature of Bahamas Grid Company’s business and the minimum 25-year deal it has with the Government.
“Bahamians will always go for the rate. They don’t care about anything else,” one source said. “There’s going to be a lot of work going on very quickly. They [Pike Electrical] must have about 50 trucks on the island already.”
Bahamas Grid Company and its management firm, Island Grid, can now pair the $100m in bond debt capital with the $30m in equity previously raised from private investors to complete the $130m in financing it was targeting to complete “foundational upgrades” to the transmission and distribution network it now controls.
Eric Pike, Island Grid’s principal, also heads Pike Electrical, which will supply the manpower, materials and resources to effect the New Providence energy grid’s transformation. The arrival of Pike-branded bucket trucks signals their
intention to make aggressive progress given that the bond offering document said a 2024 third quarter start is critical to meet the initial 2025 second quarter completion.
But, while Bahamian businesses and households will likely care little if the Government’s Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) and wider energy reforms result in cleaner, more sustainable and cheaper energy with outages much-reduced if not eliminated, questions continue to be raised over the deal’s structuring - especially on the transmission and distribution side.
With concerns already raised over whether The Bahamas is getting the best energy costing and other terms due to the seeming lack of competitive bidding on both the baseload generation and grid contracts, one financial analyst again questioned the Bahamas Grid Company equity split and how this had been calculated.
“The Bahamas government is contributing assets - the existing transmission and distribution networkworth an assumed $100m for 40 percent ownership of Bahamas Grid Company. This implies a value of $250m for 100 percent of Bahamas Grid Company,” they wrote in a note seen by Tribune Business.
“However, private investors and the new manager of the grid, Island Grid, have been given the
DORLEANS of Croton Road, Flamingo Gardens, Nassau, The Bahamas applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/ naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 22nd day of July, 2024 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.
opportunity to purchase 60 percent of Bahamas Grid Company for $30m. Based on the assumed value of $250m for Bahamas Grid Company, the value of 60 percent of the entity would be $150m, not $30m.
“The private investors are essentially under-paying by $120m if you assume that all shareholders should pay the same amount for their equity position. A majority interest would typically be a premium over a minority interest so it could be argued that the private investors should have paid even more than $150m for the 60 percent interest.”
Having argued that Bahamas Grid Company’s owners under-paid by 80 percent for their equity, the analyst argued that the company appeared to have been set up solely to facilitate the transfer of BPL’s New Providence energy grid “and the associated profits into the hands of a few wealthy investors”.
Tribune Business previously reported similar questions given that the Government/BPL are getting the minority interest despite seemingly contributing more via the $100m “book valuation” of New Providence grid assets. By contrast, the private investors are gaining a collective 60 percent majority stake via just a $30m equity investment.
Equity means that investors are contributing their own money to a project.
However, several Cabinet ministers have valued the private sector’s 60 percent at $130m by adding the $100m bond raise to the $30m equity capital. Given that bonds are a form of debt, since capital is being borrowed from investors and lenders, several sources have privately told this newspaper the $100m cannot be treated as equity.
As a result, they have suggested that the Government/BPL interest is really $20m, not $100m, so as to produce the 40/60 ownership split at Bahamas Grid Company in favour of the private sector. The $100m “book value” assets transferred to Bahamas Grid Company from publiclyowned BPL have also now been used as leverage to raise the $100m in bond debt capital.
“What these guys have done in effect is give BPL away to private interests, no if’s, and’s and but’s,” one energy industry source said. “They’ve papered it up but, in effect, it’s a give away of assets with a replacement value of $500m for a ‘book value’ of $20m.”
However, the Government may have had little choice but to make the grid deal as sweet as possible so as to attract the necessary private capital and investors to do the job. It has repeatedly stated that the cash-strapped Public Treasury and BPL do not have the ability to raise the financing to address the
is
that
DESHOMME of Fox Hill Road, Nassau, The Bahamas applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 22nd day of July, 2024 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.
latter’s $1bn needs - $500m in capital upgrades, and the same amount in legacy debt. Via this structure with Bahamas Grid Company, the Government and Bahamian taxpayers do not have to spend a single $1 up front and also avoid having to provide a government guarantee. Questions, though, will likely continue to be asked over whether it was necessary to transfer the New Providence grid to private control as opposed to a pure management contract with the same responsibilities.
The financial analyst, meanwhile, writing on condition of anonymity, said the deal had almost been made risk-free for Bahamas Grid Company’s investors/ owners. Besides the generational nature of the deal, with a 25-year contract that has a ten-year renewal option, the bond offering document also details the “waterfall” payment structure.
This, they and others confirmed, means Bahamas Grid Company gets its revenues - equal to 5.5 cents per kilowatt hour (KWh) from all customer billings for the first five years - first before any other payments are made to BPL, its Bahamas Utilities Company generation partner, and others.
“Effectively all the risks associated with the generation and distribution of power is retained by BPL - the Government and the public,” the analyst wrote. They added that while Bahamas Grid Company’s revenues remain constant, the Bahamian people and government - via BPLwill bear the burden if the
latter’s revenues decrease or costs rise.
Turning to Bahamas Grid Company’s projected profits, which are forecast at $10.419m for the entity’s first year rising to $13.677m, the analyst added that if these targets were hit - and net income all transferred to retained earnings, the $30m equity investors will effectively make their money back in five years ($6m-plus share of the profits annually) to leave them with a minimum 20-year profit run.
However, Bahamas Grid Company is only one part of the Government’s energy reforms. It is impossible to pass judgment on the deal until more is known about the generation side with Bahamas Utilities Company, the FOCOL Holdings affiliate, especially on the price it will see power to BPL at, the length of its power purchase agreement (PPA) and the costs to construct an LNG pipeline.
CFAL’s statement said that, after the initial upgrades are completed, Bahamas Grid Company will continue to repair and maintain poles, wires, and substations on New Providence, partnering with BPL “to enhance the reliability, resiliency, affordability, and sustainability of power for all residents and businesses on New Providence”.
A Bahamian political group, the Bahamas Constitution Party, also plans to challenge the BPL deal in the courts on the grounds that the Government failed to consult with the Bahamian people as required by the Electricity Act 2024 and Utilities
and Competition Authority Act 2009.
LARELYA WILKIETA TAKIYA ROBERTS If there are any objections to this change of name by Deed Poll, you may write such objections to the Chief Passport Officer, P.O.Box N-742, Nassau, The Bahamas no later than thirty (30)
Most of Wall Street leaps in a widespread rally, from big stocks to small
By STAN CHOE AP Business Writer
A WIDESPREAD rally
swept Wall Street Friday, lifting far-reaching corners, to close a tumultuous week where stocks that had been left behind for much of this year's record-setting run wrested the spotlight back from the market's biggest stars.
The S&P 500 jumped 1.1% for its best day in seven weeks after 3M and several other big companies delivered better profits for the spring than analysts expected. The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 654 points, or 1.6%, while the Nasdaq composite climbed 1%.
The market's widespread gains included rallies for both Big Tech behemoths and smaller stocks. That's a departure from recent trading, where a divide deepened between the handful of elite stocks that dominated the market for much of this year and almost everyone else.
Nvidia rose 0.7% to trim its loss for the week to 4.1%. Most of the other members of the small group of stocks known as the "Magnificent Seven" also climbed to claw back some of their losses from earlier in the week. They were under pressure after the latest profit reports from Tesla and Alphabet raised worries that investors had gotten carried away in their frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology and taken Magnificent Seven prices too high. Because those seven stocks are so massive in size, they were the main reason the S&P 500 set dozens of all-time highs this year, and they masked weakness elsewhere in the market.
As those Big Tech stocks atop the market's leaderboard tumbled, formerly downtrodden areas of the market turned higher, and that momentum kept rolling Friday. The Russell 2000 index of smaller stocks climbed 1.7% to bring its
gain for the month so far to 10.4%. That towers over the roughly flat performance for the big stocks in the S&P 500. Industrial companies and other businesses whose profits are closely tied to the strength of the economy also rallied. They had lagged earlier this year under the weight of high interest rates meant to get inflation under control.
Norfolk Southern rose 10.9% to erase what had been a loss for the year so far after the rail company reported better profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It got a boost from insurance payments related to last year's disastrous East Palestine derailment. The company also made progress in reducing its expenses and improving efficiency.
3M leaped 23% after reporting stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. The company behind the Scotch-Brite
and Nexcare brands also raised the bottom end of its forecasted range for profit for the full year of 2024. Market watchers have been hoping for just such a broadening of gains because a market with many stocks rising is seen as healthier than one lifted by just a handful of dominating elites.
Stocks broadly got a boost from Friday's latest update on inflation, which further cemented investors' expectations for coming cuts to interest rates.
U.S. consumers paid prices in June that were 2.5% higher than a year earlier, down from May's inflation rate of 2.6%, the Commerce Department said on Friday. That's according to the personal consumption expenditures index, which the Federal Reserve pays more attention to than the consumer price index, or CPI. With inflation resuming its slowdown following a discouraging start to the year, traders are banking
on a 100% probability the Fed will begin easing its main interest rate in September, according to data from CME Group. The Fed has been keeping its federal funds rate at the highest level in more than two decades.
"Income growth is slow, spending growth is moderating, goods prices are in deflation, service price inflation is tame," said Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management. "If this doesn't give the Fed confidence to cut, nothing will."
The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.19% from 4.25% late Thursday and from 4.70% in April. That's a significant move for the bond market and offers support for stock prices.
Among the other winners on Wall Street, where nearly 90% of the stocks in the S&P 500 rose, Deckers Outdoors climbed 6.3% after breezing past Wall Street's earnings expectations on the strength of its Ugg and Hoka brands of
footwear. The California company also raised its fullyear profit forecast.
Newell Brands soared 40.5% after the owner of Coleman camping supplies and Sharpie markers easily topped analysts' profit targets.
Among the relatively few stocks to drop was DexCom, which tumbled 40.7%. The diabetes care company reported stronger profit for the latest quarter than expected, but its revenue fell short of analysts' expectations. So did its forecast for revenue in the current quarter. All told, the S&P 500 rose 59.88 points to 5,459.10. The Dow rallied 654.27 to 40,589.34, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 176.16 to 17,357.88. In stock markets abroad, stock indexes were higher across much of Europe and Asia. Japan's Nikkei 225 was an outlier and slipped 0.5% amid expectations the Bank of Japan may raise interest rates at a policy meeting next week.
A MANIPULATED VIDEO SHARED BY MUSK MIMICS HARRIS’ VOICE, RAISING CONCERNS ABOUT AI IN POLITICS
By ALI SWENSON Associated Press
A MANIPULATED
video that mimics the voice of Vice President Kamala Harris saying things she did not say is raising concerns about the power of artificial intelligence to mislead with Election Day about three months away.
The video gained attention after tech billionaire Elon Musk shared it on his social media platform X on Friday evening without explicitly noting it was originally released as parody.
The video uses many of the same visuals as a real ad that Harris, the likely Democratic president nominee, released last week launching her campaign. But the video swaps out the voiceover audio with another voice that convincingly impersonates Harris.
"I, Kamala Harris, am your Democrat candidate for president because Joe Biden finally exposed his senility at the debate," the voice says in the video. It claims Harris is a "diversity hire" because she is a woman and a person of color, and it says she doesn't know "the first thing about running the country." The video retains "Harris for President" branding. It also adds in some authentic past clips of Harris.
Mia Ehrenberg, a Harris campaign spokesperson, said in an email to The Associated Press: "We believe the American people want the real freedom, opportunity and security Vice President Harris is offering; not the fake, manipulated lies of Elon Musk and Donald Trump."
The widely shared video is an example of how lifelike AI-generated images, videos or audio clips have been utilized both to poke
fun and to mislead about politics as the United States draws closer to the presidential election. It exposes how, as high-quality AI tools have become far more accessible, there remains a lack of significant federal action so far to regulate their use, leaving rules guiding AI in politics largely to states and social media platforms.
The video also raises questions about how to best handle content that blurs the lines of what is considered an appropriate use of AI, particularly if it falls into the category of satire.
The original user who posted the video, a YouTuber known as Mr Reagan, has disclosed both on YouTube and on X that the manipulated video is a parody. But Musk's post, which has been viewed more than 123 million times, according to the platform, only includes the caption "This is amazing" with a laughing emoji.
X users who are familiar with the platform may know to click through Musk's post to the original user's post, where the disclosure is visible. Musk's caption does not direct them to do so.
While some participants in X's "community note" feature to add context to posts have suggested labeling Musk's post, no such label had been added to it as of Sunday afternoon.
Some users online questioned whether his post might violate X's policies, which say users "may not share synthetic, manipulated, or out-of-context media that may deceive or confuse people and lead to harm."
The policy has an exception for memes and satire as long as they do not cause "significant confusion about the authenticity of the media."
Musk endorsed former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, earlier this month. Neither Mr Reagan nor Musk immediately responded to emailed requests for comment Sunday.
Two experts who specialize in AI-generated media reviewed the fake ad's audio and confirmed that much of it was generated using AI technology.
One of them, University of California, Berkeley, digital forensics expert Hany Farid, said the video shows the power of generative AI and deepfakes.
"The AI-generated voice is very good," he said in an email. "Even though most people won't believe it is VP Harris' voice, the video is that much more powerful when the words are in her voice."
He said generative AI companies that make voicecloning tools and other AI tools available to the public should do better to ensure their services are not used in ways that could harm people or democracy.
Rob Weissman, copresident of the advocacy group Public Citizen, disagreed with Farid, saying he thought many people would be fooled by the video.
"I don't think that's obviously a joke," Weissman said in an interview. "I'm certain that most people looking at it don't assume it's a joke. The quality isn't great, but it's good enough. And precisely because it feeds into preexisting themes that have circulated around her, most people will believe it to be real."
Weissman, whose organization has advocated for Congress, federal agencies and states to regulate generative AI, said the video is "the kind of thing that we've been warning about."
