Bahamas News
Bahamas Deputy Prime Minister tells students The Bahamas will eventually join WTO
#Bahamas, November 2, 2017 – Nassau – The Bahamas will, eventually join the World Trade Organization and as a result there will be some demands placed on The Bahamas, which will be designed to reduce “artificial barriers to trade”, and cause the free flow of goods and services across borders. This reality was brought to light to a group of primary and high school students by Deputy Prime Minister of The Bahamas and Minister of Finance, the Hon. K. Peter Turnquest.
“Traditionally, we earn most of our revenue through border taxes, customs duties and as we join the WTO, they are going to require us to reduce those taxes, either to zero or to the very low administrative rate, and as we do that, we are going to have to figure out how to replace that revenue, because we need money to run the government.
“That will mean that we will have to look at new forms of taxation or how we increase the yield we earn on existing taxes.”
The Finance Minister spent the first part of his morning on Monday, October 30, 2017, with the children at Mary, Star of the Sea Catholic School, where, following the school’s assembly, he presented a student with a special gift for an outstanding accomplishment.
Yana Swain of Mary, Star of the Sea Catholic School, was the National winner of an Essay competition, hosted by the Caribbean Organization of Tax Administrators, which was held in June of 2017. The theme of the essay was “Reformation of Taxes”.
Within the context of her essay, the young, grade eight student offered some suggestions as to how the government can go about implementing the necessary taxes in the country, in order to increase revenue. Suggestions of income tax, asking those who make more money to pay more taxes, while at the same time increasing the national minimum wage, were among Yana’s ideas.
“Yana, if I had a junior minister of Finance, you probably would qualify,” Minister Turnquest jokingly suggested. “Some of the ideas you presented are the same which some people may be thinking about and some ideas I dare not even speak about.
“But the truth is, if we are going to compete and continue to keep up with the rest of the world, we’re going to have to be creative about how we address this whole issue of raising Government revenue.”
Minister Turnquest told the student body that the Government must look at ways of making the whole process of paying taxes much simpler. The idea of consolidation of some taxes was one of the suggestions by the Finance Minister.
“Right now we still operate on a system — other than Value Added Tax — that we inherited from our Colonial days,” added Minister Turnquest. “We have stamp taxes, excise taxes and other kinds of taxes. So we need to consolidate in order to make the tax paying experience smoother, easier and encourage them to comply.”
The Deputy Prime Minister congratulated Yana for her creative ideas and for thinking outside of the box. He also encouraged the entire student body to continue to set the example for other schools in Grand Bahama and throughout the Bahamas.
“Mary Star has a tremendous legacy of producing successful people,” added Minister Turnquest. “For years, when it came to the sciences, you have been on top and your performance in the SCEME competition is legendary. I hope that you will continue to push forward in science, in technology and in engineering, because that is the new frontier and that is where we need to take this country.
“We need to recreate ourselves to being something more than just service oriented. So, I encourage all of you to continue to be creative and to think outside of the box. And let’s remember, Yana’s accomplishment was not just for Grand Bahama, but she came out on top of all entrants throughout the entire Bahamas.”
Before going to his office to begin his day in helping to govern the country, Minister Turnquest stopped by the Internal Revenue office to present another student with her third place award for the same essay competition.
D’Asia Russell of Eight Mile Rock High School finished third overall in the National competition. In presenting D’Asia with her gift and certificate, Minister Turnquest said that her accomplishment was special because she represented the public school system.
“As a product of the public school system, this proves that in spite of all the challenges we have in our public school system, there is still hope for success for students in the public school system,” said Minister Turnquest.
By: Andrew Coakley (BIS)
Photo captions:
OUTSTANDING JOB – Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, the Hon. K. Peter Turnquest (second from right) presents Yana Swain of Mary, Star of the Sea Catholic School, with her certificate and award for winning the essay competition hosted by the Caribbean Organization of Tax Administrators. Under the theme, “Reformation of Taxes” the essay competition was held in June of this year and Yana won over all of the entrants from The Bahamas. Also on hand for the presentation, which took place on Monday, October 30, 2017 at Mary Star, were Rosemary Pintard-Bowe, Acting Comptroller for the Department of Inland Revenue (second from left); Vice Principal of Mary Star, Mrs. Hanna (left) and Yana’s dad, Denzel Swain (right). (BIS Photo/Lisa Davis)
CONGRATULATIONS D’ASIA – D’Asia Russell of Eight Mile Rock High School (third from left) receives her certificate and prize from Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, the Hon. K. Peter Turnquest (third from right) for her third place finish in the Caribbean Organization of Tax Administrators essay competition, which was held in June of this year. D’ Asia finished third nationally. Also on hand for the presentation on Monday, October 30, 2017 at the Department of Internal Revenue were Rosemary Pintard-Bowe, Acting Comptroller for the Department of Inland Revenue (second from left); Chester Cooper, Principal of Eight Mile Rock High (second from right) and Ms. Patricia Ennis, D’Asia’s literary coach (left). (BIS Photo/Lisa Davis)
NASSAU, Bahamas — Caribbean Bottling Company (CBC), local producers and distributors of Coca-Cola and Dasani products concluded their 10 weeklong Twist To Win campaign with four $5,000 Mall at Marathon shopping sprees.
The campaign which was available throughout the entire Bahamas allowed consumers to enter by purchasing a 20oz bottle with a yellow cap
from the following brands: Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola No Sugar, Sprite, Fanta Orange, or Fanta Grape. Each yellow-cap had a unique alpha numeric code underneath which they submitted to the Twist To Win WhatsApp number.
With each qualifying purchase, participants residing in The Bahamas were entered to win instant prizes and into a grand prize draw to win one of four $5,000 shopping sprees at the Mall at Marathon.
Participants also enjoyed exciting instant prizes such as: Airpods, JBL Speakers, premium Coca-Cola merchandise, $500 Visa gift cards and Amazon, Spotify and Apple Music digital gift cards.
Out of 76,000 plus submissions, Brian Bethel, Ashia Demeritte, Merlin Adams, and Taraceta Neely won the coveted Mall at Marathon shopping sprees at the following select stores, Kelly’s House & Home, The Sports Center, John Bull, Brass & Leather, and BTC.
Leading up to the grand finale shopping spree, Coca-Cola hosted a Trivia Showdown with the eight finalists to determine the four winners. Finalists were tested on their knowledge of World History, Pop Culture, Caribbean Bottling Company and Coca-Cola Facts!
After a few rousing rounds of trivia, the four winners were declared after each winning their spot in the shopping spree by answering their questions correctly and choosing the “Grand Prize” Coca-Cola labeled bottles at random.
The morning of the shopping spree Coca-Cola gave the winners exclusive access to the Mall at Marathon and its participating stores before
their usual operating hours. Grand prize winners were greeted with wide smiles from Coca-Cola brand representatives and morning bites before the big event.
At the start of the thirty-minute clock the grand prize winners along with each of their Coca-Cola shopping assistants ran to the various stores collecting items in their arms and carts.
Merlin Adams, a husband and father of four was proud to have executed his game-plan at the end of the shopping spree. With toys, a new phone and materials for his home from Kelly’s, Adams felt accomplished in what he gathered.
Taraceta Neely, a winner from Eleuthera collected beautiful bags for herself and relatives from Brass and Leather and Brian Bethel bought matching athletic and outdoor wear from The Sports Center for his family.
The final winner Ashia Demeritte bought linens and household items in addition to a new phone from BTC right in time for Christmas.
Caribbean Bottling Company is proud to share the real magic of Coca-Cola with the grand prize winners and the may instant prize winners across the Twist To Win campaign. For more updates on new products, promotions, and events follow www.cbcbahamas.com.
Bahamas News
The Coca-Cola Art Project Astonishes Art Lovers at The Bahamas Culinary & Arts Festival
NASSAU, Bahamas — Caribbean Bottling Company (CBC), local producers and distributors of Coca-Cola and Dasani products displayed
their astonishing Coca-Cola Art Project (CCAP), during Baha Mar’s five-day Culinary & Arts Festival. Earlier this year, Coca-Cola partnered with The University of The Bahamas’ Visual Art and Design Department for a culturally rich art competition. UB’s art students were challenged to create pieces surrounding the theme, Bahamian music.
As a result, 20 student works of art were made, with four students declared as winners at the CCAP exhibit opening in Baha Mar’s ECCHO: Art Gallery in August. To recreate the culturally stimulating magic felt at the exhibit’s premiere, the CCAP was featured at the FUZE Art Tent during The Bahamas Culinary & Arts Festival.
Nine incredible pieces of art lined the walls of the Coca-Cola Art Project, four of which included the winning pieces from Jhanaisia Cole,
with ‘Gaulin Bride’; Alyssa Pinder, with ‘Shotgun Wedding’; Nelson Gray, with ‘Untitled’; and Jaela Bowe, with the piece ‘Whims of Obeah, a Folktail’. Additionally, an intimate listening room was built. It displayed students’ artistic processes, UB Visual Art and Design representatives, and a recap of the exhibit opening for audiences.
Art enthusiasts also enjoyed premium limited-edition CCAP keepsakes at the booth. Journals which featured a collage of all 20 student submissions on the front and back cover, postcards with an art piece on the cover along with the student’s name, title, dimension and materials on the back and pens designed with the CCAP’s dynamic logo.
Throughout the art festival diverse groups of people visited the art tent taking in the displays while enjoying the artistic insights from the
listening booth.
Community and culture are always at the forefront of Caribbean Bottling Community, and it was boldly showcased during The Bahamas Culinary & Arts Festival for the third consecutive year.
For more details on the Coca-Cola Art Project, events and new products visit www.cbcbahamas.com today!
NASSAU, Bahamas — Caribbean Wines & Spirits (CWS), The Bahamas’ premier wines and spirits distributor delighted Jollification
attendees with bubbles from their Bottega and Bouvet Ladubay sparkling wines and Besserat de Bellefon champagne lines.
Located in the Monument Circle on The Retreat grounds, CWS transformed The Retreat Garden into a lush lounge with Besserat, Bouvet and their latest product addition, Bottega, during the two-day affair.
The festivities kicked off Friday during BNT Member’s Night. Guests enjoyed exclusive offerings from CWS’s catalogue, offered exclusively to members. Complimentary mixes or glasses on the rocks included El Tequileno tequila, Hard Truth whiskey, House of Angostura rum, Cross Keys gin, Nemiroff vodka and a slew of wines such as Fonesca Bin, Bottega and Besserat.
Guests also savored the ‘Jolly Paloma’ cocktail, an instant favorite made with El Tequileno tequila, Schweppes Grapefruit and Domaine de Paris rose wine. To end the night, guests were treated to branded limited-edition wine tumblers as keepsakes.
On Saturday and Sunday, Jollification attendees delighted in glasses or bottles of champagne and sparkling brut or rosé wines while taking
in the comfort of the chic lounge. In addition to purchasing bottles for onsite consumption, consumers were also able to purchase bottles as gifts whether for themselves or someone special.
The sophisticated “bubble lounge” lounge was decked with velvet couches, gold rimmed cocktail tables, blue and pink pillows, and a white floral branded backdrop created for capturing the perfect picture.
Caribbean Wines & Spirits, a historic partner of the Bahamas National Trust was pleased to support Jollification 2025 to kick off the festive season and share their expansive range of spirits.
To keep up to date with all CWS products and events, visit their website at www.cwsbahamas.com today.
