#Bahamas, August 16, 2017 – Nassau – As The Bahamas government exacts austerity measures across the public sector to see a rebound in the economy, there are strides to boost recurrent revenue too. Tourism Minister Dionisio D’Auguliar recently explained that somehow the country has got to get tourists to spend more money and he signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Airbnb which paves the way to a new tax and a new stream of government income.
During the signing, it was shared that the tax could be along the lines of the 7.5% which is where VAT stands but more significantly, he noted, is the revenue Bahamian home owners could make in vacation home rentals. Airbnb says there are 1900 listings from The Bahamas, 1200 of them active. Tourism Minister D’Aguliar explained that not all vacation home renters are listed on Airbnb, which means a vigorous registration drive campaign must be launched.
