The Negative Impact of Vat in the Bahamas

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How Value Added Tax Decrease Economic Growth Introduction The Bahamas consist of 700 islands and 2,400 cays with an area of 5,358 sq. miles. Although The Bahamas has 700 islands, only 30 of the islands are inhabited. The Bahamas is a mixed economy, so therefore there are private own businesses and also government own enterprises. The lack of money has been one of the greatest problems faced by the Bahamas, but not only the Bahamas but the entire world. In an ever shifting world money has been the powerful force for the advancement of technology, health care, education and culture. When the world goes into recession the Bahamas also feels this state. In this state many governments fall into the implementation of some sort of taxation. Currently the Bahamas is suffering from unemployment and major deficit that needs to be paid back by the government to banks and countries around the world. But does taxing an already struggling economy where there are customs duties increase economic growths? Or does this leave the economy of the Bahamas to struggle even more? The Bahamas government has now imposed The Value Added Tax (VAT) to increase the government revenue. The investopedia says that value added tax is “A type of consumption tax that is placed on a product whenever value is added at a stage of production and at final sale.” VAT on imported goods is collected by customs, the first port of entry. VAT on domestic goods and services are collected by businesses that are registered to collect VAT on behalf of the Government. VAT is collected at each supply point in the production and distribution chain rather than at the final stage of supply. But was this decision wise of the government? Value Added Tax will cause an increase in prices for consumers, increase in unemployment and loss in revenue for the government. VAT and the Impact It Has On Price Level Value

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