Budget hits across the board
(CNS): Although the financial services sector will bear the brunt of the government’s fee increases in the 2009/10 budget, local businesses, large and small, as well as the man in the street will be hit by the need for government to raise more cash. A new business premises fee of 10%on tenants of commercial property, an increase in most work permit fees, a new $1000 fee on imported used cars, the introduction of a 2% remittance fee on all money leaving the islands through money transfer firms and a 2% increase on import duty will all impact the wider Caymanian community.
Presenting what the government described as a “bare bones” budget, Financial Secretary Kenneth Jefferson told the Legislative Assembly this morning (Friday 2 October) that government is expected to generate $562 million in this financial year. With core operating expenses combined with the public authorities’ deficit and financing expenses estimated at $531.9 million, the new UDP administration said it expects a budget surplus at the end of 2009/10 of $9.5 million and a return to compliance of the Public Management and Finance Law.
Given the global economic situation, plus Cayman’s own financial difficulties, along with directions from the UK, Jefferson explained that government was left with the difficult decision of implementing revenue measures which will realize almost an extra $95 million during this financial year and a further $31 million going into 2010/11.
“The decision to implement revenue measures during difficult economic times is not one that many economists would recommend,” Jefferson told the House. “However, the government had no other choice but to implement revenue measures that are estimated to bring in CI$126.4 million per year.” Hesaid the increases were a directive of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in order to gain the necessary approval for borrowing to see government through the current fiscal year.
While the bulk of the revenue will come from increases in existing fees associated with the financial industry — such as annual company fees, general registry fees, mutual fund licences, security investment fees, exempted limited partnerships, tax and trust undertaking fees, banks and trusts as well as insurance licences and CIMA transaction fees — the introduction of new fees and increases in many others will hit local businesses and both the ex-pat and Caymanian ‘man in the street’.
All work permits, with the exception of domestic workers, are to increase as well as fees for key employee applications, which Jefferson said would bring in $22 million over the next 12 months. Duty on all goods will increase by 2%, which is expected to yield some $16.5 million for government coffers, Jefferson noted.
Thefee most likely to hit small businesses is the new business premises fee, which will see all tenants of commercial property pay 10% on their annual rent to bring government $6.5 million. The environmental impact fee on used vehicles will be a new flat fee on top of duty for imported used cars that have a maximum insurance and freight value of CI$12,000, bringing in $1.8 million. Another new fee on transfer through money remittance companies of 2% will be charged on cash leaving Cayman via money transfer entities, which government estimates will yield around $4.6 million.
Jefferson said there were many other fees and tariffs which had not been raised for several years, some not since 1986, which would also be increased. Stamp duty, admission fees for attorneys, passport frees, planning and building fees and others would together bring around $4.4 million to the treasury.
With the increases Jefferson also said there had been cuts in government spending and stated that a rigorous and detailed expenditure review and cost cutting exercise had brought government operating costs back down to those of 2008/09. These included a hire freeze, overtime restrictions, cuts in accommodation and equipment costs, elimination of all but essential travel and the restriction of the use of government vehicles.
“Government had to combat the tendency of increasing operating expenses and to curtail operating costs … as much as possible without seriously jeopardizing the quality and quantity of services to the public,” the financial secretary said, adding that it was also committed to bringing the islands back to prosperity.
Category: Headline News
Stop targeting the poor people! If we could afford a car over $12,000 we wouldn’t need to import used ones!
Part of the reason that small business is so angry about this lease tax is that it is a form of property tax that is applied to small business but not the rich who own their own buildings and pay off the political party in power. From our point of view the government lied. A lease is a form of ownership of property. A tax on leases is a property tax – something that the government said that they would not do.
If someone already had four or five cars coming from United States or Japan already paid for do they have to pay the new fees? If so it is not fair!
Fair? Nothing about this budget is fair.
RE: Sugar Tax
I see your point, but thinking one step futher past the obvious you need to remember that there are a great many tourists coming to this little rock, and they are already ticked off with our high prices. I work with tourists all day long and their number one complaint about Cayman is the high prices. $5.00 Mountain Dews would send them over the edge, and hurt us more then they would help.
Not $5.00 but $1.10 if a tax of 10 cents was imposed. Hopefully we could get the tourists to buy a case each for the rest of the cruise – budget problem solved.
Apart from that it appears to me that many of our cruise ship tourists are calorie challenged as well. A Cayman consumption tax on junk food could be seen as contributing to global health.
A UNION to defend your RIGHTS
The Civil Service has such union and they’re untouchable by government: if they say NO to a proposed 2% drop in salary, McKeeva bends backwards dare not cross them!…
Form the UNION of the the NON Civil Servants and you’ll finally have a VOICE in your Future!…
So far all I’m getting out of this is "my country can beat up your country".
I was really really hoping this thread wouldn’t turn into Caymanians vs. Expats. So often our conversation turns into that with no apparent gain or win for anyone. We could go on like this to infinity! I meet great expats. Mostly people in lower paying jobs. Housekeepers, gardeners, brick layers, etc. And I’ve met arrogant, egotistical and downright sinister expats too. I meet great Caymanians. Friendly, helpful, and cooperative. And I’ve met lazy, indignant, and self-serving Caymanians too. My overall impression is the people I’ve met here… are human beings. And not one of them is perfect! What makes this more interesting is that when we make disparaging remarks to each other the place is so small that might be the person who lets you into traffic the next morning or says "sorry" if they bump you with their shopping cart. Financially at present we’re in deep s**t. But we’re going to sink even lower if we keep this up.
One Love. Bob was right.
Yes but Caymanians are the best people on earth and expats are the cause of all our problems. Other than that I agree with you.
"I don’t look to jump over 7-foot bars: I look around for 1-foot bars that I can step over." Warren Buffett.
In similar vein, is there a way to table some form of simplified, unaudited, quarterly financial statements in the LA (and online) within 6 to 8 weeks of the end of each calendar quarter, so that as a nation we can see how we’re doing? We can then cut our sail according to our cloth.
Said simplified financials might ideally be only an interim measure while we seek to complete the new reporting framework and catch up on the backlog with audited accounts.
Working on an 80/20 principle, even broad numbers such as consolidated revenues, expenditures, debt and cash balances for the prior quarter and fiscal year-to-date, actual and versus-budget, might give 80% of the picture and could serve as a useful map as to where we’ve been and how we’re set for the road ahead.
Anonymous 16:05:
That my friend is too good an idea for govenment to consider. It has always amazed me that when an election is called we are not given any information and have absolutely no idea wherewe are financially. Until of course the election is over with either the same bunch who didn’t give us any information before and still won’t. Or a new bunch that say… Ohmigod!!!!! Interim reports…just like quarterly reports…are meant to keep investors (us) informed as to the ongoing success (or non-success) of proposals and actions of the board (government). So that we are not always in damage control from one election to the next.
The only logical reasons for not issuing interim financial reports is 1. none of the proposals or actions worked. or 2. they don’t know. The theory behind both is…
Ignorance is bliss! God Bliss Cayman
Let’s put a SUGAR TAX on the imported sodas, this would be a "sin tax" and win the battle of the rampant Diabetes explosion here! We could beat Obama to the world stage of doing the right thing…. I’m tired of seeing obese school children. It is a fact that these horrible habits lead to lower energy (laziness) bad sleep patterns and directly effect these kids chances of getting a decent education.
If Cayman had only ONE priority, it would be to look after our children. If they succeed, we all win. Kids should be taught well, then get a part time job to save for college (yes! gasp in the service industry) go away to a good university and come back with EXPERIENCE to have a career. I’d hire any Caymanian who showed me a community college and a waitress job on their resume. It means that they actually made an effort!
I agree whole-heartedly with you – but just check the dates on the resume… If they only worked a month at each, they would be, sadly, pretty typical.
If Caymanians had as hard a time job hopping as expats, they would appreciate more the value of employment.
Sadly, positions of employment are treated as a right, and until that changes…
You can’t stop people from eating – and if the world was run with people with your mindset you’d tax sugar – then sodas – then breakfast food, then lunch food, then dinner food – if your mindset gets a foot in the door the outcome won’t change consumption, just alter the price.
A tax is a tax, whether it is on sugar, sodas, bread, or any commodity, and to pretend for a momnent that it is going to reduce diabetes is simply fantasy!
Actually the evidence is that taxes do change behaviour – that they have cut both cigarette consumption and alcohol consumption. The other side is that the tax raised can be used for health care for people with calorie related diseases and can pay for education to help our people avoid such diseasese. I am all in favour of taxing junk food including soft drinks.
A 10 cent tax on soft drinks and a similar tax on other junk foods is an excellent idea. Raise money for government, discourage health problems associated with junk foods, and cut the country’s future health care costs all at the same time.
A real issue here!
Why is it that even McKeeva’s own party can’t pay attention when he talks?
I see Mark Scotland on his Blackberry at the LA when the budget was going through, looking thoroughly bored, sending jokes on his Blackberry to other LA members and then looking across to see if they got the joke?
Could someone please tell me why we pay them so much to just sit there, act bored and do nothing? The same thing happened when McKeeva addressed the country.
There are your "Shining Stars" of the country, not interested in what is going on, playing on their Blackberry while the leader (dictator) gives the agenda. What a disgrace!
At one point the Speaker of the House had to ask people to turn off their phones as the signal was interfering with the PA system and the radio broadcast. What do they think the LA is? A 4th grade classroom? These people are supposed to be running the Country.
If I was McKeeva I would get all the phone bills for those members present for the address and check out who was tinkering on their Blackberry – I would be severly disciplined for such behaviour in my company…..
The UDP is planning on spending more this year than the PPM did last year.
I guess all that talk about the PPM spending too much was a bunch of hogwash. The problem the UDP had wasn’t that the PPM didn’t spend too much, but that they didn’t increase taxes enough…
Do you know what the cost is to get a third party insurance for one (1) year for a seventeen year old?
The answer is between $1,700.00 and $2,000.00 . More than the cost to purchase the car. This is awful and these insurance companies around here does not want to even compete.
They are just taking every dollar they can get.
Business people out there, who can afford a Class A Insurance lic, please help by opening up an Insurance company that is will to make us run to your company for all our insurance needs.
Big Mac you are talking about helping the young people, please have a look into this matter or ask for outside help.
Just asking; Can we get insurance from overseas? I do not see anything in the law that states otherwise.
"The answer is between $1,700.00 and $2,000.00."
That’s because they are a menace to the motoring public. They would get the same rates anywhere.
Besides, it isn’t the middle-aged and up who are driving around in those hopped up micro-cars with annoying mufflers trying to smoke their tyres and go 100 mph. It’s the young people with huge hormone imbalances and tiny little teenaged pea-brains that wreak all this havoc. You wanna put one of those brainless menaces on the road with us grown-ups, you have to pay for the risk you are exposing us to.
This is less than the cost for such insurance in the UK, where there is far more market competition. It really is just a reflection of the risks associated with young drivers rather than the workings of a cartel.
I concur. It is the same story in Canada. Young drivers have less experience, the loss ratio is higher, thus high premiums.
Oh come on, Mac is a genius. Last time around he gave all the foreign nationals status, now he is going to tax them the most to pay back for the PPM government having to build infrastructure to accommodate these new Caymanians. What do you expect Elio is the head of his brain trust? Was John John too busy to help?
Don’t worry. We’ll soon hear about the special residency that will be given to the mega rich so that they’ll buy up all the land and then, we’ll hear about steps towards independence.
This place will soon go the way of Turks and Caicos. Hell in a hand basket.
How does CI Gov’t define "Money Transfer firms"? Are we talking Western Union and Quick Cash, or every financial firm with the capacity to set up a wire on the island?
Einy meiny miney mo, which employee do I let go? A 10% tax on rent equates to $9000 per annum for my small business. No problem I’ll just take that out of the piles of money I’ve made this year in our booming economy. Oh, but if I was one of the big boys that owned his building(s) I would pay… let me get the calculator… oh yes NOTHING.
Seems fair to me.
Humph!!
Mr. McKeeva Bush and Elio…come on now!!
I’m listening to these two gentlemen on Rooster right now and when pressed about how the new fees etc. will (negatively) affect small Caymanian business owner and customers for that matter – all I am hearing is a bunch of deflection, sputtering and gibberish!
Then, Mr. McKeeva Bush took the shameful route of DROPPING THE NAMES of individuals who HE happened to appoint as the team responsible for compiling these alarming fee increases; Canover Watson, Cindy Scotland, Bree (of DMS), some other person of Delloitte – are you kidding me Mr. Bush…and Solomon?!
For the first time in WEEKS have I heard McKeeva so readily appoint "credit" to others for action taken in his time of "leadership".
Furthermore, practically ALL of the individuals that he named were from the "upper echelons" of the local professional ranks!
No wonder the smaller guy is bearing the brunt of the new costs – sorry Ms. Jamaican or Filipino domestic worker / shopkeeper – you should’ve been a partner in one of our local firms – anyway…moving right along!
So typically Caymanian…I only trust that we are ready for the great fall that is coming our way!
I have lost a LOT of RESPECT for McKeeva and his party this morning.
(Shaking my head!)
Can’t wait to see who gets the OBE or MBE for this!
@whodatis – I too have lost respect for McKeeva and his party!!!
"Caymanians, we should be truly ashamed of this proposal to tax the poorest members of our society."
Finally…..some compassion! Do you know why I love Cayman? I come from a huge country. Where the working premise is…."dog eat dog. And ifit doesn’t happen to me…..I’m fine and let someone else suffer." And there the government is huge and has lost touch completely. It is the government’s task to manage services in a responsible fashion. That is why they are paid. Very generously. But because of that… they lose track of average people and their situations. And when revenue is needed to make sure that every member pays according to their abilities and receives according to their needs.
At least one Caymanian has the compassion to remember that.. because that’s what Caymanians used to do and still do for their families. Thank you.
Hear my trial ya tonight…these "new people" to our country has all the answers and is spreading gloom and doom because the government raises duty.
Listen, for as long as I remember the governmnet has raised fees and lowered them as needed. This is nothing new to the average caymanian.
We have always had a consumption tax system. It has not changed. You pay more if you can afford more. So this argument about the rich getting away and poor people paying more does not hold water entirely. Yes, I understand, 2% for someone making $ 10.00 may perceive or even feel that 2% more than someone earning $25.00 for example. However, the person with $25 dollars will pay more by virtue of having greater purchasing power. If I can afford a porche then I will pay more by virtue of that porche costing more than the honda I import.
As I understand it, the staples are still duty free or they attract a peppercorn duty rate, so this has not changed.
Our consumption based tax system is still valid and it has worked well, for the most part, and we will be just fine with it.
To the person below who talks about without expat labour our tourist business will be third world is full of themselves and clueless as to strength, agility and drive of the Caymanian people. How dare you suggest this.
The totality of our tourism product are made up of: God given natural resources (our beaches, water, reefs, wetlands and woodlands – our attractions), then there are our retaurants, bars, shopping and infrastructure – our accommodations, roads etc. Then finally our people. Besides our conservation efforts there is very little we can do to bring or enhance these natural resources. As for all the other areas, it is veryh much in our range as a people to enhance, build our services ourselves.
Our toursim business has been open for decades now. Who do you think were bartenders, wait staff, cooks, beach cleaners, housekeepers, bell men and front desk clerks etc during the starting years of the jurisdiction’s embrace of visitors?! Caymanians that is who. You think a visitor comes to the CI to see jo-blow from toronto makes him a drink?! No it is a native Caymanian face. You are arrogant to suggest that Caymanians can’t revert from long sleeves and neck ties to aprons and bar maids.
The penchant of the Caymanian people to shy away from the service business has little to do with our proclivity for service and hospitality. We are almost inate, as a people, for kindness and good hospitality. As more Caymanians reverse the recent generational thrust towards ties and long sleeves, we will see a new breed of caymanians who will take their rightful place in our hospitality service industry.
For years our guest workers has been gaining much from the country. It is high time we redress this bleeding and look to give back to the country. We both know that this 2% equates to a lot less than what you would pay back home in taxes.
So move right along with that thinking that you are not replaceable. We are a hard working people and we know what we have and what is needed to protect it. Yes we are struggling and yes we are going through growth pains but with the Lord’s help, we will be just fine.
Press on my Caymanian brothers and sisters and all those amongst us who loves Cayman and is on board and helping to pump out the water that the good ship Cayman took on.
"The totality of our tourism product are made up of: God given natural resources (our beaches, water, reefs, wetlands and woodlands – our attractions), then there are our retaurants, bars, shopping and infrastructure – our accommodations, roads etc."
1 beach – over-developed.
1 sea- pretty much everywhere in the Caribbean region, the clue is in the name.
Reefs – yes, no doubt we will always be a great diving venue, if prices are kept in check – divers are v. cost conscious.
Wetlands and woodlands – really don’t push it too far, geographically Cayman has nothing to offer on land; ugly scrub, mangroves and no mountains.
"retaurants (sic), bars, shopping and infrastructure" a large array of soulless Americanisms. Other islands have 20/30 Rum Points.
Cayman is a second/third rate Caribbean venue charging first rate prices. We have no casino, no culture to mention, no history to mention, one accessible 18 hole golf course and that is about to be ripped up.
Wonderful service is not going to make up for these deficiencies in product.
Ahhh! Come on now. What about Mount Trashmore????
It is visible from all over the island these days. Thanks to Arden McLean of the PPM.
your opinon on the majesty of the Cayman product is taken with a grain of salt. I do however wish to outright reject your assertion about no history. How dare you?! What…you are another "new comer" who has chosen to mingle with your fellow man and be fed the racist, one-sided and shut regurgitations of your fellow trancient workers. I am sure they have become old wives fables and makes for a good "dumpy’ story while eating at your favourite pubs.
I will invite you to visit hero’s square. Do you know where that is? It is centre downtown right in front of the court house. But if you need road names…well here we go: Take fort street and hero’s sqaure is between Albert Panton’s street and Edward Street (I believe)….but you sure to not miss it.
When there, you will find on the section facing Albert Panton street about 6 – 10 nicely erected marbled monuments that were unveiled during our 500 year celebrations in 2003 (oops that is history) we were discovered in 1503…any ways those erections will give you a snapshot of Cayman’s history until 2003. Happy reading.
Back to my sanka.
It’s interesting that while I agree with most of the facts in your post, I disagree with your conclusions.
Yes, most Caymanians could revert from shirt sleeves and ties to aprons and bright shirts, but I seriously doubt that they want to. The hospitality industry is for the most part a young persons industry and when I look at the youth of Cayman now, I see little indication that they would willingly give up air-conditioned, well paid office work somewhere in the financial service industry to take on the challenges presented by the hospitality industry. If they won’t do it willingly but are forced by circumstances to do so unwillingly, they are very unlikely to be effective ambassadors for tourism. A new breed of Caymanians might emerge but whether it will have the right stuff is in my view a serious doubt.
The latest government statistics show that in 2008 there were 16,517 Caymanians and 20,932 non-Caymanians employed in Cayman. Your assertion that expats are replaceable is simply not true. Unemployed Caymanians in 2008 per the same source totaled 1169, so even if all of these could find employment, Cayman would still need almost 20,000 expats to sustain the current level of economic activity.
This is not to say that any given expat is irreplaceable. In this context everyone is replaceable, but as a group, they are not. The only way in which even 20% of them could be replaced is if the Cayman economy were to drastically shrink and to wish this would be a serious case of cutting off your nose to spite your face.
As always, cream, no sugar please.
How about lets take a vote by all people living and working on Cayman.
1.Who gives better service ( and therefore makes money for their employers) A. a typical caymanian worker
B. a typical expat worker.
2. Heres one for all the employers. How would you like to pick the people who represent your company( and make or break it)
A. By skills, experiance,and proven work ethic.
B. Caymanian.
I’m not saying all Caymaians are unemployable but as in any country many of them are for many different reasons. The Cayman Goverment has the largest Caymanian work force and hires Caymanian over skill. How do you think its doing as a business?
A. Great!!
B. Failing..Not producing product for their (your) money.
C Failed. Borrowing from the future to pay for the present.
Try this as a poll and maybe everyone can see the current problem in Cayman.
My point? If you the Caymanians want a great Country-Goverment then YOU must work for it and pay for it. If you let others work and pay for it it is not really yours and you need to learn to share.
I think Caymanians wholeheartedly agree with you and look forward to an opportunity to share in all the benfits generated for others (I accept largely by others) in their own Country. Caymanians and Expatriates should be working together for everyone’s benefit. The problem is they are not – and the reason why they are not is sometime’s the fault of Caymanians, and sometimes the fault of Expatriates – but neither side of that equation is without blame or responsibility to get it back on track.
I only going to say this once: Caymanians will never shut up, be quiet, roll-over stop challenging what is rightfully theirs. Think about that for a minute. How can we be at fault for resisting against what most certainly feels like a bad bargain. What are you saying. The only reason why we are "pringled" too the core is because of the arrogance from the guest worker who believes he/she is entitled to more than a honest pay for a honest days worked. Stay out of local affairs…stop meddling, undermining and taking people for fool.
Listen my fellow caymanian (because you sound like one)…fear not…we through our forefathers has been the champions of our destiny. With the Lord’s help and guidance I expect no different for us our our children.
Looking for my sanka now.
A, A, C
Idiotic and arrogance filled. Won’t waste my time. You nah gone yet? You need a ticket awha?
Hey Johnny!!! I’m glad to see that the rumours of you drowning in a double espresso were grossly overstated. Welcome back.
For me: just a shot of bourbon, with a beer in front and a tequila to chase it back.
Nah gone no way…taking it all in.
Don’t listen to rumours buddy, especially since you heard it was an expresso. Now that is a revolting thought.
Thanks for the warm embrace. Who knows might join you for one of those shots 🙂
No Johnny we are staying, stashing our money, employing our own and enjoying the last days of Cayman’s prosperity. We will leave when we want to, not when you tell us.
This post really really angered me. Not because you have the legal right to live and work here (I assume), but because you are an economic rapist and proud of it.
Furthermore, you are in the Cayman Islands. Where are you from? I’m sure you would be none too pleased if I went to live and work in your country for a better life (maybe only financially) and then told you and your people that I would leave your country when I want to (when there’s nothing left to pillage), not when you tell me to. How ungrateful can you be after the opportunities my country has provided you with??
Put simply, your attitude is disgusting and you should be ashamed of yourself.
What am I meant to do, prostrate myself at your angry feet and declare my undying gratitude for what Cayman has done for me? Good luck with that one. I pay my way, contribute far more to the government budget than the vast majority of Caymanians, do my job, provide employment for Caymanians and save for my future. "Economic rape" shows how little you know. Cayman is not a mine or natural resource that is being "used up" by prospectors. Rather is it is rapidly dying star whose light will soon go out. When it gets too tough I will leave. I like an easy life, that is why I came here. I do not wish the Cayman Islands any harm, but it has offered me nothing long term so I owe it nothing long term. So right now I will "pillage" away as you put it. You stay angry there big boy, I like it when you are angry.
I never suggested that you should prostrate yourself at my feet. I unlike you (obviously), have enough respect for other people to not expect or suggest such a crass disposition.
It is economic rape. When you decided to come here for "easy life", and found out that it would be short-term you decided that you would pillage my country. Your attitude and actions constitute economic rape. I also never suggested "undying" gratitude, although you should find a way to be somewhat gratuitous for the easy life my country allows you to live.
You may not wish the Cayman Islands harm, but your attitude causes the Cayman Islands harm.
Furthermore, I don’t stay angry very long. Your "pomeranian attitude" might have the ability to piss me off for a minute, but just like the unreasonable attitude of those small dogs, your attitude is not worth my continued anger. Therefore, you won’t see me responding to you about this again.
P.S. My analogy about the pomeranian does not indicate that I don’t like animals. I am a proud owner of a beautiful german-shepard/husky mix canine.
Thanks again for your meanful engage.
I could name dozens of caymanians who I know have tried to find their way through the fog and smoke screens that exist at our hotels, restaurants etc. that cater to our visitors. One recent success almost had to sell his soul and denounce his existence as caymanian to prove loyalty. The story is for another time.
I assure there is strong desire/will, and skills that can help restore the vibrant buy-in of the caymanian worker to our tourist industry. So, I disagree with you that they do not want to. Surely, there will have to be a shift in the business model of these establishments from the peanut wages to the unfair labour practises that is the MO for many of them now with our "guest" workers. Caymanians will not and should not work in these very hostile environments – I assure you.
In regards to your examples of numbers…from previous engages, you should have discovered that I do not shy away from the "strong" views or opinions. So your drawn obvious conclusion that maybe I was referencing a scale down version of our economy that better suits the needs of caymanians…was certainly entertained and settled upon. See my friend, the depth of the Caymanian soul is deep and no plan is too unreasonable that one cannot or will not explore it spin-offs. Caymanian is not settling…we are about assertion without arguments what is rightfully theirs. No apologies made. Is there a place for the guest worker – yes. Howevre, this should always be a gap filler to Caymanians’ disgards…not the other way around.
One with cream and no sugar coming right up….it nice and hot too, so I got ya a saucer.
I’ve been here long enough to remember when the tourist industry was staffed mainly by Caymanians and for what its worth, it was a much more authentic experience for everyone and appealed to tourists ( and locals alike ) much more than the product we have now.
But this was when the industry was small and that time has gone. It’s a pity, but I doubt there is any going back. Having said that, I wonder sometimes that there seems to beno control over the tourist product, or over the impact developments might have on those of us who live here.
Thanks for the saucer but I’ll try not to spill it.
Dont make me laugh. A Caymanian working in the hospitality trade. Please let that be a joke.
No Caymanian would get out of bed in the morning to go and serve tourists at a bar or restaurant. They think of that as slavery and that they are forced to serve invaders of their country. If they did have no other option but to work in a bar or restaurant they would feel it so far below themselves that they would be moody, arrogant and lazy thus putting off tourists from coming back.
In the places where you do get served by locals, generally the service is disgraceful and moody.
The tourist would prefer to see a friendly islanders face behind the bar, but there is a less than zero percent chance of that ever happening so he’d much rather settle for the friendly helpful server from Toronto than the lazy, teeth sucking, surly moody Caymanian that would give him the wrong drink anyway. The tourist might return if he gets good service but he won’t if he doesn’t.
The tourist product is dated and inadequate (like yourself). The beaches are ok but have ugly great hotels all the way along them, the bars are all the same as are the restaurants. There is no culture anywhere on the island, the attractions are third rate, the prices are too expensive. Here are a few reasons why your statement that about the totality of the tourist product. I’ve had plenty of friends come out to see me for a holiday. None of them would come back for these reasons. They’d prefer to meet in Cuba, Jamaica etc that has better flight options and bigger, better tourist facilities.
I do agree with you that the 2% extra duty is not a big deal, but obviously whilst those of us that can afford to buy luxury goods and services can always afford the extra 2%, those living on the breadline will struggle as their bills increase by 2%. Yes they may not pay duty on food items, but they do on all their other items, as does their landlord who will need to make 2% on their rent etc etc.
Who doesn’t pay duty on food???
You are somewhat misinformed here… There are certain items of food that are duty free and duty reduced, but the vast majority is 20%.
So in fact, to your point, this is going to hit them a lot harder.
That is, unless they want to live on a diet of fish, chicken, milk, butter, cheese and rice… All fresh, mind you – not prepared, flavored, or processed…
What a pile of ca-ca.
Caymanians get out of bed every morning and serve the tourist industry not in numbers that I believe are coming. I could give you countless stories, but it is a waste of my time.
You made me laugh when you mentioned the tourist would prefer the friendly canadian. Are you sure friendly and canadian are not an oxymoron?! Enough said here. Oh and you can exchange canadian with britishor american and they will fit perfectly.
I only have a few questions to your closing example about your friends visiting and not wanting to come back: Seeing that, UNFORTUNATELY, a great many of the faces on the front line at our restuarants and bars, etc are Canadian or European…I wonder if it was those friendly faces that caused your friends to lool elsewhere? Did you take them to the nice local spots like coconut joes or the Irish Pub for example? It is a such a pity that they never expeienced the vibrnt and strong culture of the Caymanian Islands…what a poor host you were. Then again, what can I expect from someone who obviously has blinders on and is likely one of those "new comers" who believes they are gift to the Islands.
Back to my maxwell hose brew.
I am paying that plus the duties for car imports, a new tax on leases I will have to pay in December plus business fees that that helper won’t pay.
Simple point is everyone needs to pay there part. If $2 of every $100 which someone is remitting is too much to help this country to continue to be a place that affords them opportunties they obviously cant get in their own country then they probably should leave.
My only criticism is that it should be applied to all personal remittances and wire transfers to catch the higher earning set. Personal so businesses dont go elsewhere as any new fee will cause them to do.
Mike and Rolston you too are the only two good ppl in UDP…they should really leave that group
Ok food for thought. Are fees really going to be sustainable? Won’t smokers find a way to hit up the black market or even quit? Sin taxes have never supported a budget deficit no matter the size of the government anywhere in the world. I think McKeeva is really showing he has no idea what he is doing with the economy here. You need to build sustainable income while shrinking your over head dramatically. The civil service is the number one thing that is dragging the CIG into the red that can be changed. You can’t cut services and expect to remain politicallyviable but you can justly cut redundant positions and slash bloated salaries for the good of the country. The fees will be avoided by as many people as possible and others will just cut back on spending and rementance if they can. I think Mac tried to hard to multiply some existing numbers based on current levels of business. When you fee up on people they will just try to work that into their budgets and avoid those fees by not hiring or not sending as much money back or whatever can be done. This was the cowards way out of a budget nightmare and its not over. Barley any mention of spending cuts were made and no concrete solutions have been offered. Cayman may not be taken over by the UK for corruption but more likely will be for ignorance on how to run a country. Mac can talk to the NYTimes all he wants about being poor but history shows that anyone who gets drunk on wealth soon forgets their humble beginings and joins the rich crowd. Except for the fact that people with inheirdeted wealth have a long tradition of spending their money wisely as opposed to "new money." To all Caymanians who grew up through the 1970s to now, you are considered "new money" and this is how things go when you breed more politicans and blowhards than accountants.
I am ashamed that there would be Caymanians paying helpers $50 or $100 per week.
I believe 2% is reasonable for anyone enjoying the benefits of Cayman to pay for is continued success.
Are you paying 2% of your earnings to help the continued success of Cayman?
This is why many have to then search for other illegal employment, and there are cases when their employers actually refuse to pay them for work and tell them to get other jobs to support themselves.
If they complain they are deported, and if they leave the families back home will suffer
It’s pretty much indentured service, shame on some people.
What happened to the tax on leasure watercraft?????
"WHAT HAPPENED TO THE TAX ON LEASURE WATERCRAFT"
President George Herbert Walker Bush learned the hard way that the last thing you should penalize is the equipment people use to relax after a hard week of work. He taxed pleasure craft and sent the industry into the ground. The first thing his successor President Bill Clinton did when he became President was to remove this Tax and the industry again flourished.
Leisure watercraft like automobiles are heavily taxed upon importation. Since very few are manufactured locally the tax collected upon importation is substantial.
I am sure the Government took a serious look at this and made their decision wisely. It is better to continue to collect the original duties plus an additional 2 percent than risk forcing people to stop the importation and deny the government the present revenue they make from this.
Also it is unlikely that Mac would want to increase his operating cost of the Classic Hatt.
How many really get this ridiculous inhuman amount? We need to know if this is just mischief reporting on CNS. Any real, repeat real, evidence anyone? Mine gets over $1000 a month.
I pay my Helper/Nanny CI$350 per week, paid flights a few times a year (to JA or anywhere she wants to go), paid vacation (at least 4 weeks per year). Why would I dream of under paying the person that is taking care of the things that mean the most to me.
I commend you for your approach and only wish there were many more like you, but…
I know someone (Caymanian) who pays their (Jamaican) helper only CI$650 a month to look after his elderly mother 24/7. Out of this she has to feed not only herself but his mother – he doesn’t even bother to carry her to the supermarket – she has to pay for a bus or a taxi and carry all the heavy bags home herself. She has no social life – she cannot leave his mother who is severely disabled and incontinent… oh, and she also has to buy all the nappies out of her wage pack too. He is well enough off, just imported a nice new car, has a lovely house, lavish lifestyle, his wife gets everything she wishes for… yet his mother is lucky to see him once a month, and his mother’s helper has to chase him most months if she wants to see her pay packet – he never pays her on time – often a week late. She has no pension (isn’t that illegal?), she has no paid vacation entitlement whatsoever, and she is not paid if she takes time off sick so she works endlessley and tirelessly throughout the year. She is such a good woman she never complains and is always ‘thankful’. I take my hat off to that lady, and others I know who work in similar conditions. And yet this lady (somehow) manages to send a little cash back home to her family in Jamaica… and now she’s going to be taxed on it.
All the negative comments about people sending money home prolly led to this new rule. But people let me ask you – if you went to another country to live and work would you not want to send money home to your people too? Or would you just desert them and leave them to fend for themselves?
When you say "mine" it implies ownership which is really uncool to think/say in this Century.
I paid my helper CI$450.00 per week. In addition to all the items she stole from my house and shipped off to her country.
Since she only cooked one meal per day, washed my clothes and cleaned my house once a week I decided it was too expensive to pay that kind of money for someone to watch Novelas on TV all day.
I told her I could no longer afford that kind on money since I am old, alone and retired without an income.
She told me what an ungrateful person I was for all she was doing for me, quit when I offered her one day a week employment and left for her homeland, never needing to return because she was so well off after working for me for 2 years she could go home and open her own restaurant.
I am English – I posted the comment about the Jamaican lady earning $650 per month. If only speaking out here was so easy, but regrettably naming names or pointing fingers would be my quickest route out of here… that is if the government official I upset the other week doesn’t get me out of here first, because she made it clear I "better be careful". That was for defending my Caymanian friend against her accusations, which as god is my witness, I knew to be untrue, and I would be prepared to go to court to defend him or anyone when it comes to matters of the truth.
As for the man who pays the Jamaican lady – he seems to think she is getting a good deal because she doesn’t have to pay for accommodation or utilities. I personally disagree because she has no life, no fun, no holidays, no time off sick (she continues to work through illness), no pension, no insurance – no nothing except a roof over her head and a few dollars to send home each month… a few dollars which will now, sadly, be taxed. Yet in the face of all of this, she continues to be one of the most cheerful and positive people I have ever met in my life.
These would most likely be employees of civil servants such as immigration who can put them on the next airplane out.
There is a labour department where employees who are treated unfairly can take their complaints.
Every expat knows that the labour department is not even an option if they have a grievance. Any complaints to that department is going to lead to them being on the next flight home on a technicality (i.e. because their employers cousin works in immigration or something).
Don’t even pretend that labour relations dept is an option to these poor people that are still learning the language. Their employer usually won’t even pay for a work permit, if they did they would keep it hidden away and this would ‘dissappear’ in the event of any worker daring to raise a grievance.
I must say that as a UDP supporter I am ashamed that they would tax the helpers looking after our children and they are already so underpaid. Can you imagine earning $50 to $100 a week and live on that and send home to support your children and be taxed by the Government. SHAME SHAME SHAME on you UDP.
Thank you to Mckeeva and the UDP for working so hard to take us out of this rut. But I couldn’t help but notice that the duty on cigarettes doubled (I am not a smoker) but there has been no specific hit on alcohol which is the drug of choice and destroys most households. Men (and some women) prefer drinking to supporting their children. Also the bars is where most of the prostituting goes on but they have not been hit. And wow we sit around and wonder why we have so many troubled young men and the crime the way it is. Men are not home being fathers they are at the bars drinking. Put the cost of liquor up so it gets out of reach. Also why not legalize the lottery the people on the road are making a killing and sending it to their countries so why not the Government. I am sure it would make more than the $700,000 extra that cigarettes will bring.
Things are going to get ugly. Thankfully I will not be here to see how bad they are going to get.
So long, and have a nice flight.
Those people leaving are probably each taking a bit of Cayman’s future GDP with them. Think about it when you post like a 5 year old. They have somewhere to go to with a future, you are here with the real risk of economic collapse. I would be doing more to keep experienced workers if I were you.
Cant stand to hear the truth eh. If you have so much future in your country, why are you here?????.
Amen to that!!
If your country was so much better, why did you come here and why are you leaving as soon as there are problems. Maybe you are one of those that took the free Ivan flights paid for by us, the people of the Cayman Islands, then waited for us to cleanup the mess and then came back to reap the spoils of our hard work.
Cayman Airways is available again but this time you will have to pay for it. Of course we know you probably never supported Cayman Airways until there was no other choice and it was free. I’m sure American, US Airways or British Airways would welcome you aboard just as nicely as we would.
Stop wasting time posting! Flights are leaving Owen Roberts daily..
Bon Voyage!
We came here to make money. Lots of easy money. You see we have to be paid quite a bit more than at home to make living here tempting. While there is still easy money to be made we will stay. When the money stops making up for all the negatives of being here we will go. Really I do hope it all works out well for Cayman after that, but, seriously guys, I think you are screwed.
I am one Caymanian who have always believed that the almighty promised me prosperity in my country. Thats why I defend it by getting up and going out to be a productive citizen every morning.
I am certain that the almighy promised you prosperity in your own country as well. Problem is: You discovered that you could come here and take away my prosperity and repatriate it back to your country.
So! I have rebelled about what you are doing and you have retaliated with sarcasm. Shame on you, instead of making yourself welcome by being grateful for what my country has provided for you, you make yourself unwelcome by being ungrateful.
I recall the Almighty telling me that I am a citizen of the world and it is my duty to go out and add to His Kingdom, without boundaries. Prosperity is where you find it, you can stay here and complain about others stealing from you or you can go out and earn your promised prosperity.
Another pathetic excuse for a human being using God as an excuse to spread racist hatred.
God would spit in your face if he knew how bigoted you were. you obviously forgot to read in the bible about sharing, not being greedy, being welcoming of others.
We allshare the earth, but for some reason you think you own this part of it. Typical xenophobic attitude and expectation of entitlement.
Stop bible bashing, put a bit more effort in at work, beat your wife less and bring up your kids better and then you are starting to earn some of the privileges that us expats are paying for you.
Bon Voyage. People like you we don’t need here in the first place, Caymanians stick together during good times and bad! take a page from our book and think about it when you return to your country after raping ours!
Rape your country??? You pay slave wages to over 50% of your expats, deny them all and any rights, speak poorly of them, treat them poorly, etc. and then have the audacity to claim that they rape your country. It’s your politicians that rape your country STUPID. It’s your, your family’s, and your neighbour’s greed that rapes your country, selling all you own for the mightly dollar, only so that you can later claim that you were "ripped" off. It’s your stupidity that rapes your country my friend – nobody else…
I don’t see why people who are clearly told they have no links to Cayman and will have to leave after 6 years have any reason to stick it out here during the bad times. Only those with nothing to go back to will still be here in a couple of years.
"Caymanians stick together during good times and bad"
I beg to differ – anyone who reads this blog site regularly knows that UDP hates PPM and Grand Caymanians hates the Brackers (and vice versa).
Budgets are about politics – a truism I know. If budgets were about prudent economic solutions then this budget would have had far more cuts in spending and fewer increases in taxes/fees.
Taxes and fees remove money from the more productive sector and transfer them to less productive sector. That is not saying that we do not need a public sector, just that increasing the size of the public sector beyond the minimum required tends to make things worse.
The civil service has increased in size by 50% in the last 5 years. Is there any sane person in Cayman who thinks that the level of service which we Caymanians receive as a result is worth this increase in cost? Come to think of it, I am not sure that there has been any increase in the level or quality of service. In my last few interactions with government officials all I noticed is that there is a lot more paper work and delays in getting straight forward things accomplished.
My urgent message to government is – Please cut the cost of government – It is killing us.
I have never heard so much bitching and moaning from the "sore Loser" party. What is the PPM’s plan? If propping up the economy is by seeing how much money you can spend in a bar room then dog eat our supper!
Stop moaning and put forward your plan and some real alternatives. Sadly, I don’t think you have any! We certainly don’t want to try the old model again, " build $100m dollar monuments and reduce stamp duty for 3 months." Some plan that was!
If you have ever taken a candy from a Baby and seen their response, you should certainly understand why the "sore losers" you refer to are upset.
No politician enters the political arena for their health. There is more to being a politician than just the MLAs salary.
"build $100m dollar monuments…"
And how much will the 2 new ports cost?
At least the two new ports will generate revenue and they would be done properly not like themess we find ourselves in with the schools. PPM’ers talk about Dart but the should go take a look at the school Dart built which houses PreK2 through Grade 12 unlike just a high school that they decided to build. It’s cost a fraction of what even one of the new schools if going to cost us and is state of the art. Just goes to prove when you don’t know what you are doing you should surround yourself with those who do.
Where was the planning for these schools done? Over the Edge? Somebody had to have been drinking or smoking something?
two new ports will generate revenue and they would be done properly
Ya right – like Boatswain Beach, and the existing port expansion.
ur right ppl complain about the beautiful schools that Mr. Alden built, yet a school for turtles was built costing govt 98 mil and no one finds that to be a problem?
Schools and the worlds best teachers would improve education a great deal more than "Beautiful schools" with the poor teachers left in them, when there is no money to left pay them.
well the JGHS students had the best exam resluts ever this past year hmmmm!
"best exam resluts ever"
freudian slip?
and the best results in Cayman ever you mean, compared to other countries with the same sylabus they were still poor.
34% is hardly anything to boast about!
In fact it is a national disgrace.
I’m stilll asking you PPM’ers, Where is your plan? Where is your leadership? Kurt couldn’t keep a business alive selling pencils. Good luck with him or anyone else in the PPM coming up with an alternative plan to save us from this horrible financial mess they put us in.
Stop bitching and moaning and tell us what you would do differently to save the country!
the whole world is an economic mess…revs went down expt is still up what do you expect for the first time we have improved roads etc…it’s not like the money is gone and we have nothing to show for it
say what you want KT ain’t a sell out if that’s what you call a leader, cos that’s all Mac ever did sell us out..that’s fact baby
KT will be making his voice heard today
If you had been paying attention for the past four years you would have known all about the PPM’s plans for this Country! Obviously you’ve been asleep! Good luck to you following Mac and his crew so blindly – if you are now listening to their plans you should be damn scared. So there! Quit bitching and moaning about the PPM and open your eyes to see that UDP plans will go a long way in destroying this Country!
Guess I have been asleep. What are/was the PPM’s plans? Everyone keeps asking, nobody seems to know! Can anyone enlighten me?
Come on! Remember, we need to accomodate the mega yatches and the bigger cruise ships for all the tourists who aren’t coming and for those who don’t buy anything when they come here. We dig up the sound- destroy anything worth looking at in the big blue sea and hope for the best!… makes perfect sense!
now you must be on some serious stuff if you really believe that the cargo port in EE..will generate revenue… along with the increase in duties..move the dock to EE will only hike prices more…ahhh boy poor UDP supporters..can’t expect anything better from them..
~PPM 2 d Bone
Amen to that! CIS in Camana Bay cost a fraction of what the new public schools with a poor design are costing us. Besides, the focus should be on churning out literate students instead of new buildings. I say cut the overstaffed government workers, take that saved money,and recruit the world’s top teachers by setting the benchmark for teacher’s salaries and give all teachers "status" after six years to stay if they succeed in improving our education system.
Without improving our youth, we will simply be putting more simple minded uneducated adults into power and jobs.
Wake up, wise up.
Of course, because it is being run like a business, by people who know business.
Just think of how successful Cayman would be if government worked like that??!!!
PPM’er, you missed the point! Where and what is your plan? Show me and this country what you and your party can do to bring us out of this mess that you caused in the first place. Until then, stop your moaning and knit-picking!
Caymanians, we should be truly ashamed of this proposal to tax the poorest members of our society. Remember our forefathers went to sea in order to send money home to Cayman to help us build our country. Many of you will recall the stories of how they scrimped and saved to be able to send as much home to us as possible.
We should be proud that Cayman has grown to the point where we are now able to offer employment opportunities to nationals of other poor countries. However, this budget will burden the poor labourers among us, who are doing the same as our forefathers, (ie. working here to send their money home to their families), by an additional 2% tax!!
Shame on us! These are the people who look after our children, tend our gardens, repairs our home. They generally take very little from our society, but are among the most vulnerable in that they have no mechanism by which to complain of this unfair treatment.
Surely the mark of a civilised society is that we strive to look after the poor and vulnerable among us……… even if they are not Caymanians!
Many expats and Caymanians send amounts of one thousand dollars and more out of this country on a monthly basis. If contributing twenty dollars for each thousand they send out of the country to help maintain our civil service then I say you can contribute it to direct taxation.
If you find 2 percent too burdensome then maybe those expats should not be here in the first place and the Caymanians who contribute to second homes overseas should give them up. Most of the money sent out of this country end up being taxed at their destination supporting other governments anyway.
You cant have your cake and eat it too, so put up or stfu.
The trouble is that Caymanians do want their cake and eat it too. Or should that be they want someone else’s cake to eat. Some sections of the budget hit all people here, but others are aimed directly at non-Caymanian sources, such as the 2% charge on fund flows overseas and all of the fee increases aimed at the financial service sector. I’m not saying that all the fee increases are unreasonable, but they are not equitable.
If I recall correctly, the Civil Service were asked to accept cuts in salary etc. that would have yielded savings of $2.5m per year. One of the key arguments against the cuts was that the saving was too small to be worth the trouble, yet there are a number of new or increased fees which are identified as producing revenue increases of less than $2.5m. So not too small to matter then, as long as its out of someone else’s pocket.
If I had seen any concessions from the Civil Service or any sign that Government was prepared to tackle the problem of it’s own overspending, then my position would be different. But I haven’t and I don’t expect it to any time soon. That would require BigMac to do the right thing, not the politically expedient thing and that’s something else i won’t be holding my breath over.
You don’t recall correctly. The civil service offered up the pay cut to help out and Mac said no, not the other way around.
I suggest you take a look at the CNS article of September 20. You can still find it on this site.
This is an extract from the article" The proposal which would have reduced expenditure by only $2.5 million had been rejected by the Civil Service Association, who said they had put forward a considerable number of other options that would generate revenue and reduce government expenditure without burdening civil servants alone."
Are we revising history already?
The proposal was rejected by the Civil Service Association not by the Civil Service. The Chief Secretary (Head of the Civil Service) proposed the cut. The President of the Civil Service Association rejected it.
Even if I were to accept that somehow the Civil Service Association did not reflect the wishes of its members ( and I’m struggling to do so ) what is the practical difference? There was no reduction in a major expense of Government.
I will watch with interest the future election of officials for the CSA to see if their blatant disregard of the wishes of the Civil Service majority leads to their replacement.
My point was that the Civil Service itself and the Civil Service Association are two different organizational bodies. All of CICSA’s members are a part of the Civil Service, but not all members (employees) of the Civil Service are members of CICSA. Therefore your posting about checking out a CNS article for the facts was incorrect because you misinterpreted the fact that they are two separate bodies.
A furtherpoint is that the Civil Service voice more often represents views from the upper echelon of the service. The Chief Secretary meets with his Deputy and Chief Officers to discuss solutions, but how often do are the views of the average civil servant represented?
This is ayes/no question.
Did Civil Service employees have their salaries or benefits reduced in the latest budget?
My answer is no.
This is a yes/no question back to you:
Are you correctly placing responsibility on the individuals who trashed the idea of a salary cut?
My answer is no.
You’re not wrong in bemoaning the outcome, but I think you need to shift targets instead of scapegoating the civil service as a cohesive entity (95% of which is made up of regular people who have no power or say over these situations). Keep in mind they’re not even allowed to speak up (because then it could be seen as political posturing). You’re right to be upset, 2% isn’t asking much at all, but direct your frustrationto those who deserve it, have the power to change it and should be held accountable.
And my answer to your question is yes, I am placing responsibility correctly.
Here is an extract from my first post : "If I had seen any concessions from the Civil Service or any sign that Government was prepared to tackle the problem of it’s own overspending, then my position would be different. But I haven’t and I don’t expect to any time soon. That would require BigMac to do the right thing, not the politically expedient thing and that’s something else i won’t be holding my breath over."
So I hold the CSA responsible for fighting the proposed cuts, but more importantly I hold BigMac responsible for not doing the right thing and pushing it through, despite opposition from the CSA.
I think what you want me to accept is that the bulk of the Civil Service membership was at odds with the CSA and really were supportive of a salary cut. If this is so, I’m afraid I don’t buy it. Go and look at the comments on this site when this issue was being debated. Many are obviously from Civil Servants and almost without exception they are against any salary cut.
I retract my comment, to resubmit that we are both wrong. The civil service agreed to a 2% pay cut, only for CICSA to reject it and Mac to confirm the government will not pursue it further. So while most in the service were willing, the leadership and union were weak. Fair enough?
Any new tax or levy should meet the following tests
Is it fair
Does it have a low adverse economic impact
Is it easy and cost effective to enforce and collect?
The tax on leases fails to meet the criteria of Mr Ridley. The rich that own the buildings pay nothing but the local businessman that requires premises subsidizes further the landlord. Watch more people work from home.
Government must also collect the property taxes that are being seriously avoided by persons using companies. They need employ a forensic accountant to go collect. They need also collect hospital fees that are a disaster.
The additional taxes on the financial industry is a bit of a laugh. Government readily admits that the increase whilst being good for the coffers, will reduce the number of companies and mutual funds. That means less clients, less fees for the owners, less employees and less income into the economy.Brilliant.
The competition are rubbing their hands with joy.
Just enter into a commercial occupational licence agreement. No tax.
Please explain further….really!
There won’t be a lease to be taxed.
Where are the cuts in the bloated civil service
Ok let’s get this right!
Free education
Perfect infrastructure
And we have a problem with a small increase in fees!
I know there are those of us who would love for expats alone to pay income tax and foot all the government bills.
Thanks Mr. Bush good budget. If you need some more money I would be happy to pay $200 for my driver’s license for three years. Why? It cost me $50 a week on gas. I would not mind the $200 dollar and I know it cost a lot to run the licensing department. If I can’t afford it there is always the bus.
Hope UCCI and UWI might consider giving you an “Honorary Degree” you are a true leader, and to think you didn’t go to college. Continue the good work I know you have the Cayman Islands at heart.
Last time I checked UWI did not offer degrees in flushing countries down the toilet but given that UCCI is controlled by government they could certainly invent one.
Never has so many payed so much for so few.
ok I know the Gov’t is in a bad state of affairs, what do we expect when they employ over 5000 people, most of which are very well paid. Gov’t is top heavy and they need to go back to central Gov’t! We do not need a CFO, HR manager for each department, much less their help. These are Caymanians that are qualified and should go out into the private sector and get a real job!
This proposal does not encompass Gov’tcutting their largest expense, payroll. They cannot continue the way that they have in past years. The money has run out, we have already lost part of the financial sector (income), rolled out people (income). So can we assume that a new department will be set up to collect the various fees….more employees, more space, more money.
The tax on business owners that lease is criminal and will put any small to medium business out of business (these are mostly Caymanian owned). If they could afford to buy, don’t you think they would? So, the rich one’s who own the building(s) that they operate out of, just get richer!!!!!
I agree with the posts above, the 2% for the money transfers affect the lower paid daily worker, very sad that this is part of the plan. What about the rich folks that own the money transfer business, why did we not tax them?
We are on our way to eliminating the middle class….not good. When you have a bigger gap between the rich and the poor, crime will continue.
I could go on……bottom line, Gov’t needs to change the way it does business, stop the waste, cut the dead weight and be more responsible to the people!
A rose by any other name. Does anyone know the difference between a fee and a tax? Ill tell you, a "Fee" is a service based cost that pays for a particular thing (or is supposed to), you want your garbage picked up? Garbage FEE. Now a tax is a broad based concept that isnt based on any particular thing and the money goes into a general pool of money. So when you pay your business premises FEE, what service are you getting for that? you can call it what you want but it is a TAX.
The Cayman Islands is now a rudderless ship.
The Captain is drunk and passed out, The Chief Engineer is blind, The Chief Officer has fallen overboard and we are headed for the Rocks.
Our ship is steaming full ahead, the helmsman cant steer because we have no rudder, The chief engineer cant find the engine controls because he is blind, the chief officer has been lost overboard and the captain continues to sleep like a dead man.
"PUCKER" where are you? We need help fast. Here is your opportunity to earn your National HeroStatus.
May the good Lord help us because the battery for "PUCKERS" radio has gone dead.
Give the Caymanians every right, every choice, every chance, every job , lots of money,free education, healthcare , etc.,etc,etc, for how long now? Where has that got them? Give a caymanian a fish and he is happy till its gone. Then he wants your money, your job,you gone and your respect. How about instead Give unto Caymanians that which is Caymanians. What exactly would that be besides the right to live and work in Cayman? Would that be the right to every job on Cayman requardless of their ability to do said job? How about the right to spend all the money that comes in from the financial sector (all made by someone else) on only themselves? Even the honest hard working Caymanians don’t have a chance unless they join the gang.
A lot of negative things have been said on here about the Financial Secretary recently. And while I will be the first to put up my hand and say that he could certainly step up a bit more in his role, I have to give credit where its due.
Him and his team in Finance did a good job pulling this budget together and showing us hope against what seemed to be insurmountable odds.
You just have to keep it up now Ken, you can do it
Ah! excuse me, wasn’t Ken the one who had oversight over the finances under the previous government that got us into this mess in the first place?
In a decentralized Government, Ken’s job is to compile a Budget based on the policies of the Government and then subsequently compile the results of operation. He presents these information on behalf of the Governnment, but they are not his creation.
He does not control spending since spending powers have been delegated to Chief Officers and Chief Officers and their Cheif Financial Officers report to the Chief Secretary.
In the same way you can’t blame the newspaper for the contents of the news, in a decentralized Government, you cannot blame the financial secretary for the contents of the budget or the results of operations.
All i was giving him credit for was putting the thing together after all the back and forth and flip flopping that went on.
Let Mac empower him to be accountable and responsible for Budget execution and then you can hold him to it and hang him out to dry. However, thanks to FMI, he’s been relegated to simply being the messenger and will have an even lesser roler under the new constitution.
Don’t know if it ignorance or just hatred, but seems like a Caymanian cannot recognize another Caymanian in a positive light without you vultures swooping down. The bunch of you ought to be ashamed of yourselves.
Who will be awarded the MBE or OBE for this piece of crap?
Isn’t this the same Financial Secretary who was in office (and responsible) when the PPM so say made such a mess of the finances of this country? Amazing, in that in 5 months, he is now doing such a good job? I may be stupd, but can someone explain this to me?
Wow!
It amazes me that the native people of a country with such a high average salary are still in actuality the sector that makes up the lower levels of earners and empowered.
Some ofthese increases are draconian.
McKeeva, many Caymanian owned businesses are already under water – what do you think these new measures will result in?
I understand we all have to give a bit more but many of us have NO MORE to give! To make things worse we are being hit from EVERY possible direction.
Start-up costs, (extra) RENTAL costs, and now work permit costs (yes, some of us do NEED outside specialisation) – not to mentionthe extra 2 % on all imported goods and raw material.
Did I miss somewhere in this article where they mentioned for what period of time these increases will apply? Or are we doing it in the traditional ‘indefinite’ Caymanian way once again?
Thanks a lot McKeeva / UDP (and I am NOT a PPM supporter!) – you just shored up "inward investment" – because many Caymanians will be forced to close up shop or cancel all entrepreneurial hopes altogether. But, have no fear boys and girls – there is always that foreigner with money longer than rope, ready to jump in at a moment’s notice.
Folks, Cayman is officially a country for the RICH!
If you are not – you are SH*T OUTTA LUCK!!
So sad to see us steaming ahead to a situation that out of which every great metropolis of today is desperately trying to climb.
"Another new fee on transfer through money remittance companies of 2% will be charged on cash leaving Cayman via money transfer entities, which government estimates will yield around $4.6 million."
Disgusting …
The people who will pay are expats, mainly blue collar workers (domestic helpers, gardeners,
construction workers, etc.)
In many cases they are exploited by their greedy employers (i.e. domestic workers working from very
early morning to late at night and being payed peanuts).
Health insurance premiums are deducted from their "salary", but some employers see it fit to pocket the money.
Worker needs medical attention and discovers that they have no health insurance.
Most of them can not open a local bank account, and have to resort to those "money transfer entities" (which by the way already charge a fee for the transaction!)
This transfer-fee will be used to support services mainly available to Caymanians only.
Caymanians? "God-fearing"? or "God-loving"?
You know what is digusting: the 340M yup that is 340 MILLION that left our country last year!! Government did not make a dime from it.
Some countries has an absolute restriction on money transfers and high fees for funds flowing outward. Our country introduce a 2% fee and you cry foul.
There are many things that you get for nothing. Your income tax free, roads without tolls and the likes.
So guess what…spend locally more now. Contribute to the country that feeds 20,000 of you guest workers. Add your families back home and I would say this small rock feeds many hundred of thousands and a 2% fee is a small price for that.
If you do not like it then go home and pay your income tax, corporate taxes, sales taxes, death taxes, syn taxes, death taxes, saving taxes and all the other taxes you pay whereever you are from.
Let me explain:
I am not one of those who will suffer from the 2% "fee" on remittance.
Those who will are not likely to have a computer and internet access.
The target is the lowest paid workers, who are more often than not unfairly treated.
This 2% fee on remittances is an INJUSTICE.
And for your information:
We bought a house here, importing all our savings for the deposit and are now paying the mortgage.
We have no property anywhere else.
The house was renovated, materials and fittings were purchased locally, small local contractors benefitted from the work.
("house" … because you would not allow me to call it "home")
We don’t transfer money abroad.
Quote: "If you do not like it then go home …"
Thank you, a not unusual comment.
All are welcome with open arms in your islands?
Is it only our money you want?
I agree. Helpers especially don’t make a lot of money so what little they make they send home. That’s sad to take 2% from them after all they pay 1/2 insurance too.
Don’t bother explaining. Those who get it, get it. Those who don’t, never will – and no amount of explaining will rectify that…
And our permits and imports help keep YOUR income tax free and pay for YOUR roads. Without us, your country would have no meaningful financial services industry and a third rate tourist industry. Cayman would have nothing without us. It will have nothing 15 years from now, but that will be your problem not ours!
"…go home…"
On one hand your leader is trying to attract businesses and investors to this Island to try to keep it afloat financially and keep all the Caymanians (who actually want to work) employed in the Civil disService, and on the other hand there’s the very Caymanians that he’s trying to help being busy working away with the "go home" rhetoric trying to drive off businesses and investors.
You people are hard to figure out. Good luck with all of this.
We only suggest going home to those who seem terribly unhappy here! After all why would anyone want to stay someplace that makes them so angry and sad. We know full well that for every one of you that we invite to leave there are at least two more ready and waiting to come here. So we can afford to suggest you leave when you make it clear you’re not happy here…..and if that ever changes, well, we will cross that bridge when the time comes. We have no problem with expats living and working amongst us as long as they have respect for our Country and our people….that is all we ask of you yet it seems to be an impossible task for so many!
Who is going to be the new chief officer of the ministry of finance? Could it be another Mac cronie from the GT turncoat family?
We are entering a depression. Trillions have been spent to prop up the collapsing tent worldwide. It has only helped to temporarily stabilize the world at these lows. We have not raced back to recovery, on the contrary, new problems threaten to unstabilize us again. These fee increases are pushing our local economy to threshold of what it will bear without an adverse reaction. The real concern is that our Government is modeling it’s budget on flawed numbers. If Government is factoring a "recovery" into its revenue projections then in 8-12 months the headlines will read "Government Runs Out of Money Again". The sober truth is there will be no bounce-back recovery. This is our new economic reality for the next 5-10 years. Like any household or business, we absolutely need to CUT EXPENSES when revenue falls. Continuing spending alt all cost may work in the US (for a limited time) while they simply print money and debase their reserve currency but we do not have that luxury here. Too many people on this island are sucking on the teet of Government and are living in an illusionary world that this is sustainable without consequence. Government absolutely, positively needs to plan to cut people. To fire people. It will be incredibly unpopular. But this is not a time to worry about ego and how your party will look in the next election. This is a time for courage. The courage to face reality and to place our Country on a sound footing for the future.
There were lots of cuts. Also, I do hope you realize that if there are any cuts it will be to the guest worker in government.
Great news!!! my car is now worth more than what I can now sell my house for!!
And when all of this dosn’t work and all expat workers, their skills, experiance, and spending leave who then will pay the Caymanian royals so they can have their big houses and free airplane rides? Come on take a guess.
Cayman Airways will likely file for bankruptcy or dramatically shrink itself in the next 6 months.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but before you see Cayman Airways file for Bancruptcy, either the Government Sell it (which I think would be faced with alot of opposition from those Caymanian you want it to stay under Government) or continue to subsidize it. Cayman Airways is a very important part of the Cayman Islands, does anyone remember Hurricane Ivan? which Airlines was moving people to and from these Islands for two months after the blow we got, when American Airlines and others were no where to be found? Just last year alone, Cayman Airways came in very important when Paloma hit our beautiful Sister Islands. They were transporting workers, food, water and other essential to Cayman Brac and for that, people should be grateful for our Airline. Other Countries in the Caribbean would love to have their own Airline, just take a look at St Lucia I think it is, where American Airlines is being substidized by their Government and at anytime, if the Government doesn’t pay up, they will stop flying in there. It’s a saying, don’t bite the hand that feed you and you don’t know what you have, until it gone. So for those who are strong supporters of Cayman Airways like myself, please continue supporting it and with our help, Cayman Airways will be here for another 41 years and beyond.
Subsidizing a fleet of aircraft for the purpose of "hurricane insurance" is a foolhardy business strategy and not CAL’s purpose. For a fraction of the cost, the CI gov’t could simply charter jets in a time of crisis (much like they do when one of CAL’s planes breaks down). Many companies and private groups chartered crewed planes before and after Ivan with little difficulty (albeit outside a reasonable and short term "no fly" window). CAL has never made financial sense, so, enjoy CAL for what it is, a utility for political vanity.
And the civil service gets to keep their pay, their free medical and pension! Oh dear, some of them will lose their cell phones- maybe. And look out for more highly paid for sleepwalking "strategic advisor" type appointments. Mac announced Leonard Dilbert and Kenneth Ebanks yesterday. Yes, you heard right.
hey small mind…..civil servants will have to foot all the increases like everyone else!! So no further contractions through job loses which would have been a very bad decision, but everyone pays their share.
This is a consumption based tax system so civil servants will pay like everyone else….now wha?
For Sale: Everything. No reasonable offers refused.
We all knew the elevated "fees" were coming but it is fair for the business sectior to question what improved services will be delivered for the huge increases! One example is how the business sector is paying, with good faith, for work permit applications but it appears that the new Business Staffing Plan Board is doing little to deal with them, especially applications for key employees. Rumours are circulating within the business community that there could be a strong bias against key employee applications which is very worrying and unhelpful but we are nevertheless being required to pay even higher for this kind of unprofessional service!
You are expecting incompetance to turn into something else because there is more of them? Or maybe its because you will have to pay more for their (dis)service!
Its not all incompetance! I think its 1/3rd incompetance, 1/3 ignorance, and 1/3rd we hate expats.
So which of the 1/3 let your sorry a** stay here since you identified yourself as UKmanian?! You ungrateful creature should go back to the UK where you will be one in a million (unnoticed and unheard in your town/city), pay your taxes, eat shepperd pies, wear your winter coats under the grey, cold, gloomy and rainy skies and catch your soot filled tubes to work.
Bet you glad we are incompetent, ignorant and hate expats and I guess that is why you here. You are full of ca-ca, ungrateful and full of yourself. You should thank the Lord you found such a warm friendly people that put up with your sorry a++.
Tired of unna. Yeah, give unna a status and unna true colours come out. We can see where your loyalty is at – about ya UKmanian. Probably never had a good meal until you came here. If you going to be caymanian then be caymanian and stop jacky-both-sides.
And another thing here is what we think of some of the status-holding traitors – (not the guest worker) 1/3 – sell out and fake (involved with every service club to gain brown nose points 1/3 – desparate, greedy and think they are a gift to the islands 1/3 – cut-throats, unloyal and would steal your eyeballs out of your head.
You want to play nasty well you got it now….now wha?
Thankyou for your reply,
Actually I am an American who came to Cayman to help after hurrican Ivan. I then had to go through the Cayman immigration situation..Very rude and hatefilled people (not all of them) lost paperwork. Hours lost because of incompetance(told I had overstayed so I had to show up and wait wait wait all day with my boss then told it was a mistake and we could go) After 2 years of helping out and work slowed down My wife and I bought land and started to build a home for us. I know Caymanians don’t have the problems expats have in Goverment so you could not know all the terrible customer service we have to put up with. Planning dept. Once again rude pissed off service. Once again lost plans. All the things I was told would happen to an expat. Then after 5 months of constant bikering I was given over to an expat officer and had my permit within the week. We are now gone but have planned to return again sometime in the future. I have meet some very nice and friendly Caymanians and I even meet some great workers but they were few and far between. My sorry a$$ was happy to have good Cayman friends but even they said they would never hire a Caymanian to work for them. Try putting yourself in an expat on Caymans shoes. Oh and Thankyou for proving my point.
By the way my whole point was that a lot of your govermment expenditures pay for this terribly incompetant and rude service. Lots and lots of money spent for nothing much in return but feeding the unemployable and unessasary. Good luck on your Leader just being able to get rid of all of them.
You got it goin on!! Da right….let it rip! Sometimes you just have to say what’s on your mind about these damn status-holding traitors and let it all out….and i sure like the way you split them up! Hit da nail on da head….mek um eat dat bulla fa suppa!
Its not a rumour. What more proof is needed that it is fact?
You are asking Caymanians to act like expats. Give it up and take it like a man. Expats have always been asked to bend over if you want the privlege to work here. Now you have to bend over and pay more. The problems of Cayman can not be fixed without changing the system. But eventual failure can be hurried up and thankfully that is now starting to happen. Just wait it out and then when the UK takes over things will get better.
We know that is what you want…UK to take us over. Yeah they will run it as good as they run the UK.
All bets off…it nah going to happen.
SOLUTION : Hire Caymanians. Train Caymanians. Make caymanians key employees. Sorry to introduce such a "foreign" concept. You should try it though…I assure you it works for me.
More taxes in a depression? Well it probably doesn’t make any macroeconomic difference since the Cayman economy is entirely dependent on what the US does. On the other hand a 10 % increase in duty is going to reduce sales at all local wholesalers and retailers because the man on the street will not be able to afford what he otherwise could. A 10% tax on leases? That will make sure that all local service companies are hit as well. At this rate Caymanians will not be able to afford to do business with each other much less attract "inward investment". As the recent purchaser of a lot, I expect that building a house will now cost about 20% more. Guess what that means? It means my house will be 20% smaller, the builder will get 20% less gross revenue, and he will pay the government a larger piece of the 80% he does get.
Ever heard of cutting spending? It’s what everyone buying goods or operating a business in Cayman will be doing. Mark my words; we will be facing a massive budget shortfall again real soon. When your boat is sinking you patch the holes and get rid of the dead weight!
Not if the "dead weight is Caymanian Royalty.
"the introduction of a 2% remittance fee on all money leaving the islands through money transfer
a "Macaymanian"(status holder) told me she would be saving her money and taking home on the plane as much as she can..before she give a cent to our government….
No worries! only the smart people will will be doing this.
To the macacayamanian that dont want to pay the tax or duty on transfers, this shows your true colors, if any of you are here truly for the love of the country and the people, then you will want to see the Island prosper so that we can all enjoy it. However to have this kind of mentallity just shows how STUPID some of you are.All for self and Christ for us all.
No country in the world can suffice without a tax of some kind, so I cant see why you nittys are getting all stirred up and crying foul, the taxes are fair, money transfers of course there should be some sort of tax on it, incoming duties on personal items why for heavens sake do you all want to deny the country of what is justly theirs. In other countries you pay taxes and as the saying goes, when in Rome do as the Romans do, so this is Cayman, do as the Caymanians do, pay for what you get.
Try for once to be at peace with each other, Caymanians love your fellow man, be he whoever they maybe. Expats do like wise and respect the people, you are not showing it and that is what is driving this feud the arrogance and dislike that you show for the locals.
If you accept that this Budget is in fact a prudent Budget which is realistic and achievable, then I believe the key measure for the UDP administration will be whether or not they are able to execute it.
My advice to them would be to appoint a team to monitor Budget compliance going foward and ensure that the plans are followed and there are no unpleasant surprises come next spring.
These should not be new people, the Government already has a Budget Management Unit, if this is not already a part of their job, they should give them a new mandate, transfer some existing staff into it and hold them accountable for compliance.
Please people this is a hard pill to swallow, but a lot easier than bringing in direct taxes.
Yes Caymanis going to lose some of it’s competetive advantage, by the cost of business increasing, but many jurisdictions are or will be following suit, everyone is hurting. I even heard that Bermuda has limited it’s "No corporation tax certificates" to 2014, IOM banking reputation is damaged, Jersey just got nailed in an expose into tax evaision by the BBC
These are trying times, we all need to pull up our socks and work on improved service to our clients, being as courteous as possible to tourists.
Most of all we must support each other.
Cayman will prevail, Cayman must prevail
You are totally right. This is the best of a bad situation. But Government must at the very least plan for the possibility that we are entering a longer term era of pain, plan for the worst and hope for the best.
We will all be millionaires! We can then… spend this money in the local economy. The massive amount of stuff we will import (I want a Porsche) will stimulate local business. I’ll need a car alarm and a garage.
And… the increased duties on all the stuff will pay for the loan!
There will be no need to downsize the Civil Service because they will all be millionaires too!
With careful planning…there should be enough for a big party on the beach!!
There will have to be a means test because there are millionaires here already. They shouldn’t get anything but they can come to the party.
Those guys just don’t seem to get it. In virtually every Western economy, at least 90%-95% of the income is received by just 5% of the people. The remaining 5%-10% is left for the lower paid staff to share. That means when you have a flat tax across the board such as duty increase, that little 5%-10% becomes even less. The rich pay the same for a slice of bread and milk as the poor man does but the rich have alot left after paying for that slice of bread and milk. That’s how the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Thats why they have income taxes in Western economies because the rich know how to use the freedoms, laws and resources of an economy to increase their wealth, so they are expected to give something back to the economy. That’s what creates mobility in society because tax monies can go to help the poor educate themselves and remain healthyand move into a middle class. That’s what allows the middle class to finance their businesses through low rate loans so that over generations they too can become rich. But the rich don’t want to see social mobility. They will never create an income tax system because they would be hurting themselves, thats why they would rather influence govt. to fight against it. England knows what is happening here so they are trying to helpus in spite of our lack of knowledge but we just don’t seem to get it.
And it worked sooooooooo well for England. They are broke. They are a laughing stock. They have inflicted mortal damage on their financial system by raising taxes to prohibitive levels and chased their best, brightest and most wealthy, to tax loopholes and different jurisdictions. England is at this very moment facing an even greater exodus of wealth than you can imagine. And ‘you’ think they are reaching clear across the planet with a nurturing hard to save us from ourselves???? My dear friend, they are trying to crush us. It’s a miracle anyone as dumb as you even got to this island. Did your parents bring you, or did you float in on the SS Naivete?
Hmmmm i’m sure he will get UDP’s projections right but sure did a sloppy job when he was working with PPM
Stop with the BS.
It is a 10% increase on duty – 2% added to 20%. If it were a 2% increase, duty would be going to 20.4%.
So, before you start bitching at the retailers, realise that government has just hit you for an automatic 10% increase in duty, which means you will see prices rise ACROSS THE BOARD by almost 2%, or more.
Your $5 item becomes $5.10. Does not sound like much?? Wait for the grumbling…
And then remember – work permit fees are going up. So the guy that cost $500 to stock the milk shelves last year might cost $750 this year – who is paying for that? Simple – YOU IS PAYING FOR THAT!!!
Like I said before, The leader will not make his Tribe pay for their living expenses. He must then make other people pay for this. Once again good luck with this. And also like I said this system of making the OTHERS (thats you and me if your not Cayman royalty) pay for something that you get nothing back for will cause a totall failure of the system.
Still don’t think so? Have you been watching what is happening? Watch what happens next.
To All the The educated, hard working and honest Caymanians that are not of the ruling class. You will soon be called on to fight your own rulers or perish like it or not.
The duty increase from 20%-22% will translate to approximately 3-5% increase in goods at the retail level. There goes the cost of living again.
If you think that is bad, just wait until the 100% increase in cigarette duty goes into effect. That increase was not mentioned in the article.
Hopefully that will be an incentive for people to quit smoking. We could do with a lot less smoking on this island.
Dear prospective offshore investor, do you know what they charge for a company registration in Cayman? Annual fees? Did we mention how much costs the firms pay as taxes on rent and employing top quality staff? Oh your usual contact has left Cayman? Yes they kick out the ones with experience after 7 years now. Have we mentioned the Court fees? All these charges can be passed on to you if you want to pay them. Or you could come to [insert competitor].
They must be raising a toast or two in Tortola, St. Helier and elsewhere.
Actually, we only kick out experienced staff if they do not train Caymanians in any meaningful way or their employer fails (often intentionally) to make a proper key employee application for them.
I have a lot of concern about the lack of meaningful cuts in expenditure, but at least what Ken Jefferson presented was coherent. I have no idea what the he!! Mac was talking about or why it took so long to say it.
Is deferring the Bill of Rights a cost cutting measure?
The shame lies with the previous administration who did not have a clue about the management of public funds. Now the UDP has been left holding the bag.
Give me a break….please!!!
I am glad my money is gone already and my resume is ready. These fees are going to make Cayman businesses uncompetitive.
Its a shame the government were not as rigorous in cost cutting as they were in fee raising….
You noticed that as well. I would almost say to the point of excessive but …
The way I read it all imported goods receive an increased duty — that’s going to hurt trying feed a family of four!