Doing business in The Bahamas being revamped

The government is pushing legislation that will make it a lot easier and more efficient to do business in The Bahamas.

NASSAU, Bahamas, Thursday July 29, 2010 – A new piece of legislation is being debated in parliament in the Bahamas, aimed at modernising the way business is done in The Bahamas.

The Business Licence Bill 2010 aims to simplify the legal and regulatory requirements to both start and operate a business in the Bahamian islands of New Providence and the Family Islands, as well as facilitate a one-stop shop approach to business licensing. 

It is proposed that the new Business Licence Act take effect on January 1st, 2011.

Prime Minister Hurbert Ingraham says as a result of the legislation, business licensing will become “easier, faster and more efficient and it will impose much less of a compliance burden on the private sector”.

“In the meantime, officials will be working to further streamline application procedures to ensure that the granting of prior approvals by other regulatory agencies is clear-cut and as seamless as possible,” Ingraham explained.

The Bill proposes to eliminate the need for separate applications in respect of shop, liquor, music and dancing and other occasional licences. Businesses will also no longer need to apply for the registration of business names with the Registrar General since that will be taken care of jointly by the Ministry of Finance/Business Licence Office along with the application for a business licence. As such, the $150 fee for the registration of a business name will be eliminated.

The Prime Minister said that as a result, the Registration of Business Names Act, the Shop Licences Act, the Liquor Licences Act and the Music and Dancing Licences Act will all be repealed.

The new legislation will also see changes to how business licence fees are calculated. The Prime Minister acknowledged taht the process is now complex and cumbersome, as the amount payable varies depending on the size of the business, and the profitability of the enterprise.

Under the new Business Licence Bill, he said, the tax calculation will be significantly simpler and three general tax rates will apply.