What is VAT?

For the past few months in Bahamian news, besides waves of crime and gun violence, there has also been the issue of VAT or value added tax and how it will affect the individual Bahamian pocket. A lot of talk has been as to whether it will do more harm than good for The Bahamas in the long term and comparisons have been made to other countries that have a VAT system in place. I’m no expert on any of it so I’ll post a few links below that breaks down all the dirty details because unfortunately there are vast groups of people at home that don’t know or don’t care about what’s going on around them .

Bahamas government website

Straight Talk Bahamas

Hoovering Two Worlds

Occasionally when I think, I’ll have a pretty decent idea for a business and immediately imagine the successes it could have if the right amount of work and effort is put into it. Then I’d have to remember the reality of where such an idea could work in the Bahamian market I envision it in because I have to remember how stubborn our people tend to be about sticking with the old traditional way of doing things.
When you venture off to college abroad, you’re exposed to so many new things and ideas and you feel so inspired and motivated to bring all these great new toys back home. But when you get there you realize that no one else knows how to play with your new toys or want to learn and thus you’re stuck playing with the old ones until they open their minds to do learn.
It makes you reconsider the desire to rush back home and show everyone your new toys and skills and I’m sure many of my fellow Bahamian college graduates face this challenge every fall and winter as they too decide what is the next step for their life.
Growing up in a “third world country” and going to school in a first world country is sometimes challenging to connect the two worlds in a way that speaks to your talents and passion. I’m sure if you Googled, you won’t find many Bahamian ballet dancers or neurophysicists. Point is, until we can grow to a place where the two worlds meet in the middle, there’ll be more and more graduates not rushing to go back home with their new toys because they have no one to play with.