Bahamas targets US$50m in charter fees
BAHAMAS The Bahamian
government is targeting what
one official calls the “low
hanging fruit” of existing,
uncollected revenue sources
such as the island nation’s 4%
yacht charter fee.
“We know there are vessels
that come here and stay for six
months conducting charter
business during that time and
not registering as commercial
entities,” Deputy Prime Minster
K Peter Turnquest told a recent
business conference. “As a
result, the Bahamas gets no
revenue. There is a 4% charter
fee we are supposed to collect,
but if they don’t register, then
we are not collecting our 4%.
It’s estimated that it could be as
high as US$50m a year.”
The Association of BahamasMarinas (ABM) has been urging
the government for years to
enforce the 4% charter fee
on foreign-owned vessels in
Bahamian waters, estimating
in 2014 only about 30% of
the revenues due were being
collected.
“We’re putting in place
some legislation as well as
technology-based solutions
to help us control that, and
hopefully drive that yield up
over the next year,” Turnquestsaid. “A side benefit is that we
will be able to deal with some of
the illegal activity happening in
our waters because we will be
able to tell who, where, when
and what by using data.”
Facing a budget crisis, the
Bahamas is seeking to avoid
new or increased taxes from
traditional sources such as VAT
and customs duties for fear the
local economy could not bear
the burden. The 2019-
budget is likely to focus on
plugging revenue loopholes
such as the yacht charter fee.
It is almost certain to include
the imposition of VAT or
some other levy on Airbnb and
vacation rental-type businesses,
and a renewed focus to ensure
all taxes existing on the books
are fully collected.Mercury expands diecasting operations
USA In a move to expand
capacity to meet current
and future product demand,
Mercury Marine has completed
a US$9m, 23,500ft^2 expansion
to its diecasting operation at
its Fond du Lac, Wisconsin
headquarters. The expansion
will include a second
4,500-tonne diecast machine
used to form V-6 and V-8 engine
blocks, as well as the addition
of automation to take oversome of the more dangerous
manual operations like molten
metal pouring, heavy lifting,
sawing and repetitive motion
procedures.
The ribbon-cutting event
comes on the heals of a
ground-breaking last month
for a US$17m expansion to
the Mercury Propellers facility
and brings the company’s total
investment in its headquarters
campus to US$1.14bn since- “We are working as
hard as ever to make sure we
have the capacity to meet
demand,” Mercury Marine
president Chris Drees told IBI
following the event. “That is
not a small effort, though. So
when we add capacity, it’s not
adding a person or two, it’s
building buildings, bringing in
new equipment and though
it takes a little bit of time, we
understand the situation we’re
in and to try and be a good
[OEM] partner is our goal, and
the key is to make sure you
deliver on time.”
Mercury was caught short
by the popularity of its V-
and V-8 product when it was
introduced and has been
struggling throughout this year
to meet demand. Drees said the
company is shipping 27% more
engines this year than at the
same time in 2018.
8 JUNE–JULY 2019 | International Boat Industry ibinews.com
HEADLINES International Marine News
USA Bass Cat and Yar-Craft
Boats have completed
construction of a new building
and renovations to existing
facilities that add 4,000ft^2 of
space and should increase
production by 40%.
The sibling boat brands now
boast 19,000ft^2 of production
space at the Mountain Home,
Arkansas headquarters, giving
the maker of bass and walleye
fishing boats a dedicated
production area for each
brand as well as a new repairfacility, upholstery sewing and
lamination booths, with an
area dedicated to building new
production moulds.
The expansion was carried
out to help the company meet
product demand.
“Our customers and
business partners are happy
with the progress we are
making. The improvements
made possible through the
expansion will improve our
staff, our product and our
overall operations,” said Rick
Pierce, president of Bass Cat
and Yar-Craft. “Our sales
department now has the
flexibility and capacity to
meet the demands of both
brands, which we could not do
previously.”Bass Cat,
Yar-Craft
complete
expansion
Cutting the ribbon at Mercury Marine’s Fond du Lac headquartersWe know
there are
vessels that come here
conducting charter and
not registering
as commercial
entities Our sales
department
now has the flexibility
and capacity to meet
the demands of
both brands