Tax breaks on duty, licenses
(CNS): The finance minister has managed to find a little bit of room in his 2014/15 spending plan to help everyone out with a cut on the fuel duty paid by CUC, which should cut electricity bills by 4.3%, and on duty for goods bought by licensed traders that he hopes will be passed on. In addition, Marco Archer revealed that there will be some significant cuts in the cost of trade and business licenses for small business in the districts and to provide for payment in installments across the year. He said he hoped the reductions would make a difference across the whole community with cheaper fuel bills and a cut in prices, as well as giving small businesses a break.
The tax breaks were revealed by the premier in his policy statement and detailed by Archer when he delivered his budget address.
Premier Alden McLaughlin said the fee cuts were aimed at helping small businesses because they are key to Cayman’s economy, with 60% of local businesses classified as small, employing under 11 people. Alongside the cut in fuel duty for CUC, which should see bills come down for commercial and residential customers starting on 1 January next year, the cuts include a reduction in duty for licensed retail traders only on most goods from 22% to 20% starting on 1 July. Trade and business license will also be cut starting in July and a payment scheme will be introduced for those fees.
McLaughlin said these were just the start and there would be additional cuts as government revenue strengthens. He also pointed to the possibility of Sunday trading, which he said would be subject to public discussion, and the introduction of daylight savings to help tourism and financial sectors coordinate with the North America.
Detailing the tax breaks, Archer said the 75 cent duty on fuel imported by CUC will be cut by 25c from 1 January. Although it cost the public purse more than $8 million, the anticipated beneficial knock-on effect in the economy would outweigh government’s revenue loss, the minister stated. Aside from the essential direct relief to customers, Archer is hoping it will also improve local spending power.
That too should be assisted by the cut in duty to retail licensed traders. Archer said that government plans to cut duty for merchants from 1 July, and although government will lose some $4 million in revenue, again the spending boost that government hopes will be triggered will help alleviate that loss. He said that government would also be watching prices closely to ensure the 2% reduction on goods is reflected on the store shelves.
Archer is also giving all small businesses a break with a cut in trade and business license fees. Business in George Town will see the fee come down by 25% while in North Side, East End, Bodden Town and Little Cayman license holders will get a 50% reduction. In Cayman Brac, licenses are being slashed to 75% and other breaks on that island include 100% duty free building materials, a duty cut for Cayman Brac and Little Cayman Power and Light Co. and a 75% stamp duty waiver on land developed within two years.
Archer said that the multiplier effect of this fee reductions should help boost the domestic economy and help address what he saidwas the worrying problem of a shrinking middle class.
For full budget documents and details of the 2014/15 spending plan see related story on CNS: Archer exceeds his targets.
Category: Politics
Shrinking middle class in Cayman… Meanwhile, The World Bank's view of the prospects for the Caribbean and Latin America: forecasting growth of 2.9 per cent this year, accelerating to 3.7 per cent in 2016.
“For the first time ever, the number of people belonging to the middle class now surpass the number of poor, a sign that Latin America and the Caribbean is progressing toward a middle-class region,” the World Bank said in the report.
This is all good but means very little with the current restrictive immigration policies. Turning down excutives permits and essential mid office roles is only reenforcing that Cayman is not a internationaly business friendly place.
Hire Caymanians. problem solved. Oh, I forgot you would have to pay them wages, pension and health insurance unlike the work permit holders.
Free T&B and 2 Permits for new businesses for the first 3 years would cause new business
here is the math
I want to open a painting company is the example
T&B license $400
2 work permits $5000
old truck with insurance $2000
some painting supplys $300
I guess i wont open a new business because i just cant afford it allready
Why do you assume you need permits for painters?
I am sure there are many painters available.
Why do you need two work permits?
Hire 2 Caymanians and your costs would be $5000 less.
So 07; 51
Why dont you come out and say it clear? they need to remove the law for small businesse to mandatory pay for work permits.
Leave this up to the two parties to decide.
Government has punished the businesses for too long. They blame the business for their own lack of foresight, to establish training instituations. To prepare the people that lack the ability to work. that is why businesses have to import labour.
These fees are ridiculous, and need to be cut in half, that would help the small businesses.
Have you ever considered opening a business that did NOT depend on importing cheap (permits) labour?
If you can't afford those basic costs you should nto be in business.
Why is it that Cayman Brac and Little Cayman coninue to get the best breaks of all the islands.?We have been doing this for years with no significant results except for a few of the richer families in Cayman Brac buying up all the land..
Why not drop all the islands to the same level as they do on CaymanBrac and Little Cayman? More people will spend and more businesses will prosper.. Throwing us a few cents here and there does absolutely nothing.
I hate to be pessimistic but I seriously don't think this is going to make a dent in our current economic situation.
Instead of trying to find ways to ensure the government has enough money for all the crap they do, they should be cutting taxes and with a sharper knife and really stimulate the economy. This country could reallyuse some help.
I am confused. At first you say that cutting taxes has not worked on CB and LC, and has just resulted in the rich getting richer, while not havinga trickle down effect.
But then, you go on to advocate doing the same thing here, even though you just claimed that it does not work.
BTW, I agree with the former. We now have 40 years of evidence that trickle down does not work, which is why wealth inequality is growing exponentially and the middle class is being decimated.
17:30, because we feed you – haven't you figured that one out yet? SMH
omg
i have been showered with rose peddles and honey !!!
what a bunch of BS 2% MAYBE off on my cuc bill ?
that is a joke
this whole budget is joke !!
17:23 Come on 17:23 read the entire article.Not only should your CUC bill be less ,but also the CUC bill of every business in Cayman should be less,including your grocery store etc.which means your grocery bill should be less.In addition with duty reduced by 2 percentage points on most retail items,you should see a reduction in the cost of these goods as well.
"Should" being the key word here, i never seen prices go down here after merchants receive duty breaks, except my pay cheque
Make that "Duty reduced by 10%". Do the math.
14:00.Actually the 2 percentage points reduction equates to 9.09% in this case.
Mickey Mouse rides again, show them a big plan that will cut your utility bill by 60 % not a call back!
This is it???? Really there is nothing here for me save the few dollars I will get back from CUC which in my case amount to little more than about $12…thanks Alden!
Wow so a small retail store owner whose annual T&B fee is $200 will save a whopping $50. Exciting stuff. How about spending more time enforcing payments from the T&B holders who haven't paid their annual fees in years.
Give small businesses a break by discounting their work permit fees when a qualified Caymanian is simply not available. The Mom & Pap Shop should not be paying the same price for their Manager (over $10,000/year) as the CostULess's of the island. Why not a sliding scale for permit fees based on the number employees? Or even discounts to those employers who hire a higher % of Caymanians.
The exorbitant work permit fees are deterring if not prohibiting new small businesses which could be hiring more Caymanians. Make them relative to the size of the business and increase them as the business grows.
What good is a discount for T&B fees when people don't pay their renewals anyways and there are no penalties for this.
Just my two cents.
Don'teven get me started on the Sunday Trading Law.
Wow, I will save $15.00 on my CUC bill every month. I going out tonight to celebrate..Thanks Marco….not!!!!
Celebrate? yu lucky. Read again. You have to get through another New year first.
Gas prices rise or something affects the value by 1% and next day its added onto your bill. Prices drop or remove the small bit of duty, and it takes 7 months for it to be in effect.?
We can bet that goverment fee on the CUC bill will be replaced by a new or higher fee on one of those charges they have.
Remember there is a case of a fight or incident happened at CUC and we still do not know if CUC will charge the people the legal fees to handle that case. Since after all it did cause them some unforcasted expenditure. Lets see what they will call it on the bills moving forward.
By the time this fee is in effect a lot would have changed and the equation would be more and not less on the CUC bills. Lets consider inflation and COL or whatever else we can invent.
It is a good intention by Goverment, but CUC dont have to abide until they can figure out how to get more Gas at the old price. Do they have that much storage and stored that it will not be depleted until New year? Good thing George Bush is not president in good ole USA. Alden would have to be hiding in holes. But knowing the way it works, poor ole Mac house would be invaded first. The Brits would invade first. Or did they invade already? an anada ting.
If you will save only $15 then you already have a very low CUC bill. Be grateful. If it had increased by $15 you would be screaming bloody murder and blaming the govt for it. Some people…
Why do we have to wait until January next year for the CUC tax reduction? We need that in time for the summer, dang place is heating up like an oven and we can hardly afford to run air conditioning!
exactly.
Well you can't say they na trying. Gents food is the substance of life (apart from water of course). Given Thant we are seeing marked increases in comestibles, why isn't there a look at reducing food costs. You all say yo have the brains and the solutions to our woes( sold us on dat election ship8) now leys see you government figure it out.
Oh Man, how do I miss the UDP with their fuel duty hikes, their company fee hikes, their business licence hikes – I wish they would hurry up and retunr to power…
NOT!!!!!
Sunday trading sounds good
Smoke and mirrors is what we seem to get government after government here and they seem to believe that the people are stupid.
I love to hear politicians talk on the radio about how smart the voters are and how they cannot be fooled, what rubbish.
Politicians treat the people like we are fools and know nothings but we get who we vote for.
Politicians feed off their own peoples' ignorance, worldwide. FACT.
Cayman is no different.
Daylight savings would have significant business benefits for those working in the offshore industry. Every year when there is a change in the states we lose a couple of calls no matter how careful we are. And when the difference between a 6/7 hour difference with Europe and a 5/6 hour difference is more significant that you would think as it cuts down the amount of overlap of the working day.
Daylight savings is a total no brainer for many obvious reasons – financial services, tourism, flight schedules etc. but not least of which is health. Pay close attention to the individuals/families that walk/play together after dinner from 6pm to after 7pm in the summer months and compare that to the winter when that extra hour of sunlight is gone. I still have to work until 5pm regardless of the month but havingan extra hour in the summer to get some exercise with my family outdoors is fantastic. It would be great to get opportunity that year round. You can always find an excuse to not do something but in this case the true benefits are easily identifiable.
I coiuld not agree more. I want to add that the economic impact would be beneficial indeed, but also the well being and tourism impact that will also generate a better economy.
How?
The well-being impactof having the sunset tonight (6:56PM) an hour later would open the doors for locals to ENJOY life an extra hour a day. Just think about it, if you cam home from work this afternoon and had until 8:00PM for sunset, families would go for walks or play football (fight childhood obesity) I could work in my garden without mosquitos, and even some time to go fishing. = Well being and happy people are more effective in all aspects of work and life.
How? Tourism: "New!! One extra hour of Cayman Islands sunshine added -" Free!"
I'll start the (Caymankind) campaign. Do we really think our tourists are happy getting up to see the sunrise this morning at 5:46AM!?! ugh. 5:46AM pul-ease…..
How about the restaurants? They would be thrilled to have 2 dinner seatings instead of 1? 6PM Early bird specials…8PM sunset seatings? Watersports… wow, extra sails, rentals, and rides!?
Cruise ships spending and extra hour here? Don't tell me that won't impact the economy…
Back to the numbers: Well done Elected Ministers- your cuts show you went deep to look for ways to help the people. Now, let's finally implement Daylight Savings Time as we have been promised for a decade!!
CUC savings?, I know I would save an extra hour a day on electricity. I'll be OUTSIDE playing with my kids and getting a little vitamin D before the sun goes down.
Who else has ideas on how DST will make money for our economy?
– 09:26.The idea that somehow Daylight Savings Time is going to add an additional hour to the day is just a myth;there will still be 24 hours in a day ,nothing more nothing less.It reminds me of the story of a lady who wanted to make her bedsheet longer .Her solution was to cut six inches from the top of the sheet and add that six inch piece to the bottom of the sheet ,thus making it six inches longer.Guess what it was not longer ,in fact it was a little bit shorter after taking into account the amount taken up for the seam.
It adds and extra hour of DAYLIGHT at the end of the day – that's why it's call DAYLIGHT SAVING
Your story reminds me of the old adage that somewhere there is a village missing its idiot (although I guess we are a village, and you are still here).
It does NOT add tothe number of hours in the day. It DOES add to the number of hours in which we are up and about and the sun is still in the sky. It DOES add to the number of hours of the standard working day that overlap with our primary financial sector client markeets. That my friend is the point.
Staff your office appropriately and you may not miss those calls. Why do we need to change time just for you? My business runs just fine on Cayman Time as would the majority of other tourism businesses I think.
It is the people on the other end of the call that are the problem, dufus. Your business would have no negative effects on it. My business would benefit. So what is your problem? Pure belligerent dogmatism?
Hope you enjoy your bigger CUC bill. Why do we have to follow every other country? Cayman is not unique anymore. No one wants to go to places that is the same as every where else. You know what they say, "Folla fashion bring broke neck."
Arguably your tourist business would benefit from an earlier start – there would be an extra hour of daylightto use.
Not to mention the CUC bill.
Why is it that the relevant persons cannot simply start & finish hour earlier during this time period?
Yes, announcing a move to a 7am start would go down well with everyone. Especially those with school kids.
You do understand how it works, right? They change the clocks – so you are still getting up at the same time relatve to when you went to bed and when school starts, just that its an hour earlier relative to sun rise and sun set.
OMG are you that dumb? the actual start time wont change, it just means we will sync our clocks to the rest of the developed world so that cruise ships arent sitting in the harbour waiting on us to wake up, financial institutions in NY arent waiting on us to get to the office etc etc. Nothing will change here except that twice a year we jump ahead an hour or jump back an hour. i.e. your 7 oclock either comes an hour earlier or later but its still 7 oclock..
All of these tax breaks will simply lead to more profit for business owners and not a lower cost of living for the people.
Growth of economy will only come from more spending power of consumers, not from reducing cost for doing business.
Maybe, but as small business owner who for. The last 4 yrs has not made any profit and have had to reduce our prices already to compete with larger companies at least now with any extra revenue we will make I hopefully will be able to get some of my 300k investment back.. As an FYI I reduced my prices between 25 to 30 % over the last few years..
14;42
What you need to do is lobby the government to stop issuing T&B license to foreign owned companies. This is where the local builders are being pushed out of business. The island is swamped with too many business licenses.
07;43
You tell us what to do to ease the burden on small businesses.
I know you not speaking for the small builders in these Islands!
I will no longer shop at any store that does not reflect the tax breaks in their prices. Simple. If you (& others) do the same they will all get the message very quickly.
We will all have a bit more money to spend so the economy will grow.
Expect a price increase. The duty cuts will save me $500 a month on my imports, but the overtime I will have to pay to process the new duty forms will be $1500 a month. Sorry, no savings for you!
Sounds like you may be on to a great new diet plan. You should patent it quickly.
Blah blah blah, I'm not seeing any major waves created by this budget. Gimme audited financials for the whole country and then we can sit down and talk. I just dont see how smart leaders can think they can just peddle nonsense and we will drink it down every time. Why not say you goin to make a $ 500 million surplus this year. I will beleive that as much as your 108 million surplus which is really a deficit in disguise.
It's not a deficit how ever much you would like it to be for political reasons. It is a real surplus which will fund capital expenditure, a substantial reduction in public debt and an increase in reserves.
At least unlike the UDP self serving parasites, this bunch are trying to put something back in our pockets, not take it out into their own.
I hope Fosters will take steps to decrease the cost of food as the cost of fuel will be lower. I hope ohers is watching, but has anyone seen the major increase in food cost at Fosters and other local supermarkets? It is shameful they do not drop prices when savings are handed over from government cuts, instead they go up in price the month after. Shame on them!!
Your Joking, Fosters is less expensive than Publics in florida Winn Dixie , target, whole foods market the only one they dont beat is Walmart.
If you can read overseas news you will know that pork is way up also is beef and poultry. It is a worldwide problem not just cayman.
That said it is your choice to shop at a store that is paying for the defence of a drug dealer rotting in puerto rico jail or not to shop there
Ouch, hard talk – real talk….not usually welcomed in these islands. People like to be fed BS here. But yes, you are right the Merrens' business will suffer because of Bryce, big-time. Guess where their "loyal" customers will go? To Fosters or Kirks depends who's cheaper.
Please do not leave Kirks out of it. They are the worse right now -Hurleys have always been very high so no surprrse there.
Costs are up on some items as the purchasing costs are higher overseas. Fosters are very in tune with the cost of living and do pass on savings to customers. Pretty much every governmet fee affects the cost of your food.This is a good start but more needs to follow.
Fosters, Kirks, and Hurleys … I'm looking forward to see reduce food prices as well. And CUC? They need to cut their cost by half!
Is this some kind of freaking joke about the possible institution of daylight savings time???!!!! And, Sunday trading??? What the hell is wrong with these damned poloticians? Is there anything about the Caymanian way of life as we know it that they won't cave into pressure and change? Aren't we already enough of a satellite of America? Tourists already complain about that very thing! Seven Mile Beach they lament has become akin to South a Beach.This is very vexing to say the least. I really wonder who put what in the koolaid !
As if all of thst wasn't idiotic enough I read in the same story about the ignorant manner in which the reduction in business license fees are to be applied! Is this a sneaky way to avoid more than a 25% reduction,seeing that there are few small businesses in the outer districts? It is really an insult to businesses in George Town and I hope that those affected speak up!
And That great 2% reduction in the ridiculously high import duty? Oh we are grateful for thst big amount.
Tell unna wa, let's all move to Cayman Brac. Seems all the whining and complaints worked and they are the golden spoons at the moment. The best thing in this story that might be of real, tangible assistance to all of us is the electricity tax breaks.
Sunday trading has always been banned since it is a day of rest and we respect that. I agree that businesses that want to trade on Sunday would exploit blue collar workers so unless a guaranteed overtime wage for Sundays or a community need (like the pharmacy) keep Sunday trading closed.
However, the upside for Daylight Savings time is not just American:
Bahamas, Bermuda, Cuba, Haiti, and the Turks and Caicos Islands ALL USE Daylight Savings Time, and my dear: these are tourist dollar competitors!! our sunset tonight is at 7PM, but lovely Havana gets to enjoy a relaxing 8PM sunset.
Did you LIKE waking at 5:46AM for sunrise this morning? Wouldn't you rather NOT have to run your A/C until 8;00PM tonight? This has nothing to do with the USA, it has everything to do with how close we ARE to the equator and when the sun sets!
Bahamas& Bermuda: Ahhh, now this is a more important economic question. Our Financial competitors are enjoying an extra hour or 2 each day with New York and London!! Yes, 2 hours of business each day with New York and 1 hour with London UK. wow…..that does have an edge on business.
Please tell me one good reason not to go to DST? Your argument that it is American (pretty weak since 50% of tourist income is from there) Other clever Caribbean islands, "Saw the light" so why don't we??
Light it up please…..sunset at 8?
Still better than a knack in the kickers…
22.07-there are a lot of traditions that should be respected and maintained, however Cayman also needs to catch up with what is happening elsewhere in the world to allow it to grow. Most tourists are "amused" by our opening hours on bars/shops, but at the same time find it irritating as they have to remember when to go shopping, not something they are used too.
More opening hours, should also mean more money being spent, which i do not think is a bad thing, we all need it.
10:26.Tourists have to be reminded of a lot of things while on vacation,(because they are trying to relax and not crowd their brains with a lot of details) but that is why we have alarms and wake up calls.
I was never taught the proper use of the multiple question mark "???" or the multiple exclamation mark "!!!!". And I certainly have never worked out when one is meant to use the multiple question mark, multiple exclamation mark super combo "????!!!!!". But what I have deduced from those on CNS that do use such things is that these esoteric punctuation devices might have been taught in remedial English classes.
11:07. Or maybe they were taught by the remedial English class.
Please define the "Caymanian way of life as we know it".
I guess you went to the UDP school of spin and economics. But you need a brush up.
Yes, UDP raised the duty two percentage points… they said. Now PPM have reduced the duty by two percentage points they said.
But hold on… What you really need to be saying is that the UDP raised the duty 10% and the PPM have gone and only lowered it by 9%!
Teeves!!!
Hey, dipsquit… the 2% they talk about is actually nearly a 10% reduction in duty. Sad part is, you cannot see it and neither are they touting it as such… Taking 22% duty to 20% duty is actually nearly a 10% cut in the actual duty rate… Shaking my head again…
For who certainly not the poor ppl. This budget is a BIG JOKE
Amazing! Whilst I welcome the proposed cuts in trade and business license fees I wonder on what basis the decision to stagger the percentages across the districts was made. Is the government telling us that businesses in George Town are of less value to the economy than those in the Eastern Districts and the Sister a Islands? This is the heights of discrimination and as a small business owner in George Town, I have taken serious note! This is very disappointing.
21:29.Here is a hint for you. Maybe it is an attempt to stimulate growth of business in the outer districts.
"Archer is also giving all small businesses a break with a cut in trade and business license fees. Business in George Town will see the fee come down by 25% while in North Side, East End, Bodden Town and Little Cayman license holders will get a 50% reduction. In Cayman Brac, licenses are being slashed to 75%……"
Is this a clerical error, or is West Bay being left out (as seems usual) of the T&B licence fee reductons? As a West Bay resident seeking to establish a business shortly, I'd really like to Know!
We are actually planning to put a tall fence around West Bay to stop the Bayers from coming to Georgetown…
And you are going to have to eat stew turtle for breakfast, lunch, and supper…
– 20:57.I believe that should read "George Town and West Bay".
I heard it was left to Capt Eugene to propose an amount for West Bay. So unna got… Yeah same representation as usual.
All of this gloss over. Where are the audited consolidated accounts for 10 years? Sorry disclaimer audits do not count. Revenue $600+ million – ok and when the US crashes number might be adjusted to 100m in revenue? And big increase for next year?? What happened to global economics and the cold hard fact that Cayman is tied to the US and its success? Marc Faber/ Peter Schiff and others are saying that the BIG crash which was supposed to happen in 2008 was only postponed. Will it happen in 2014 or 2015? We will see but will certainly hit the bottom line for Cayman. With a US correction taking place wonder what will happen to depressed price of gold? Europe which is being kept back because of the almighty money printing taking place in the USA? My guess is that EU will bounce back and so will gold and EU leaders judging by leftist camps making up grounds in local elections have to take heed and get with the New World Order which is going to showcase EURO ZONE. Where will Cayman fit into this??????????????????????????? This is the big question. Lots of debt to pay off, lots of civil servants to take care of, lots of unfunded pension liability, now dump going to cost $100 million or more. Where are the new revenue streams coming from when Finance and Tourism dry up? Better buckle up- the real ride is not going to be smooth if you DRINK this Kool Aid about our state of finances. I'm looking out for my children and grand kids and sad to say Cayman is staring at the abyss and most folks dont realize what's going on behind the scenes. I shall pray for the UK as it will be left holding the deflated bag. Applies not only to Cayman but all UK- OFCs. Time to innovate and create those new revenue streams and new partnerships around the globe vs. drinking from the same pot we have been drinking from 500 miles away from our shores for the last 40 years !
20:52.Come on Chicken little ,easy on the pessimism
Daylight savings in Cayman is a ridiculous follow-fashion idea. Especially in this day and age. Utterly ridiculous.
Ha Ha Ha "Follow-Fahion?" Then we would be going by a 230 year old "fashion". DST was started by Benjamin Frankilin in 1784 and I don't find his fashion very hip.
Bahamas, Bermuda, Cuba, Haiti, Turks and Caicos, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay, all use Daylight Savings time.
Up to you. 2 hours of extra business per day trading with New York, 1 extra hour of business with London UK…..or we can continiue to let Bermuda and Bahamas have this $$$ business?
Wait and turn on your CUC at 8PM or 7PM? You tell ME the economic benefits. I'm still waiting for some good reasons.
– 09:54.Should you need to do business with these time zones just arrange your staffing hours accordingly.No need for me to change anything.
Wow. Talk about small bore.
These fees are peanuts. What every business, small and large, needs most of all is more customers. Local businesses need boots on the ground and the retrograde immigration policies introduced by this government have done far more harm than these trifling fee reductions can undo.
What baffles me, is the 2,000 small businesses never utter a word to their elects, to banish the the law for the work permit fees. Which states that all businesses MUST BY LAW, pay for employees work permits.
The UDP government was asked to remove this law, but they of course, thought it would let them lose votes from one particular durisdiction…they lost any way.
What UDP failed to acknowledged, these same business from this durisdiction are now voters and are also business owners.
This is the most burden some expense on all small business. For example, should a small builder have to import 5 masons, the cost for these 5 masons is $10,500.00
If any Governement wants to help small business, thats where they have to make a start.
The percentage reduced on T&B license for small business is nothing compared to paying for work permits.
Remove the forced savings for expats, for these small businesses.
The Government is not going to lose a dime in doing this. let the two intities work out who will fund the fees.
It will never harm the so-called elite businesses (Bank, Law firms, accountant firms, Health clinics, Financial instituations, communication companies ) They mark up their own profits and can afford these fees.