Thanks for the link Simon.....looks like after I read it I can put it next to the "Internal Revenue Code" for those sleepless nights! Didn't go to the SP meeting on GST the other day b/c I figured it would be like herding cats. Seems rather ingenious timing by the powers that be, considering that they may be on the "outs" after the election. Best to get yer coffers and pockets full now for slim days ahead.

Seriously, can anyone tell me the reason.....I'm sure there is one, somewhere, that we are not to tell the consumer that the government has added a 10% tax? We are just supposed to add it to our price? So it appears as if we are just jacking up our prices? Or, better still, do we just eat the tax and charge the same rate we have been? Seems as if it is a lose-lose situation for everyone, businesses, residents and tourists alike.

Psychological, if you can't see it then the government didn't put it there. Something really does need to be done but I don't know if this is the answer. Hopefully it will be fine tuned in the end in such a way as to not hurt one of our most important resources - tourism.

They really need to look at the real estate side, driving away investment will trickle down and affect all sectors of the economy. Better to have a transparent fixed percentage tax on real estate that covers all existing fees and at an amount that the market will bear along with providing benefit to the goverment coffers. Won't happen though, too hard to take the toys away from the kids.

It used to be that" If You Build It, They Will Come." Now , You might not be able to say that because, if taxes get so high, Why would we want to build it there? All the rest of the talk means nothing to me, except... We love it there, but if it becomes to costly, we'll go further south!!

Well, perhaps:

People stop buying,
developers stop building,
visitors stop visiting,
stores stop delivering,
condos stop selling,
timeshares stop selling,
taxis stop running,
barges stop running,
dredges stop dredging,
mangroves grow back,
ex-pats move back,
home,


and San Pedro returns to a quiet sleepy fishing village.

hmmm???

Think you can take the "progress" away without reprocussions? The quiet sleepy fishing village sounds great except when you insert "poor". While the prospect doesn't seem all that bad to some of us, me thinks the San Pedranos have become used to a certain level of economic affluence, which, of course, would be gone....

perhaps what a few may want:

no bridge needed
no paved roads needed
no illegal workers
no timeshare marketers
no crime
no need for a road up north
no need for so many docks
no large amount of vehicles needed
less boat traffic
less dust
less mud
less drugs
less police
more fish
more clean beaches
more palm trees
more quiet

Ya' know, thanks to the local islanders for welcoming us and letting all this development happen in the first place.

Merry Christmas!

SIN

The thing is shuffles, "poor" in material assets may result in being "rich" in: family, health and happiness.

Personally I'm not sure. Just a different perspective, that some may not share.

SIN

I often miss the days when there were only 300 people here, all happy and smiling, going about their business in bare feet. Nobody on the streets from the hours of noon to 4 pm - everybody to bed by 8 or 9 except for the occassionally celebration which the whole village attended. No tv, no phones, no jealousy or keeping up with the Jones'. No vehicles, few outboard motors. Folks cooking on coconut husk fires, and fish drying everywhere. The movie theatre was the highlight of the weekends for the kids, yes, we watched Bruce Lee!

Those were the good old days.

But times do change, and we can begrudge the changes or do our best to control the changes and adapt with them. There is no going back.

I suppose if the taxes become prohibitive foreign investors will stop visiting the Caribbean in the winter time :rolleyes:

I don't want to pay higher taxes, or levy them onto my clients. I am lobbying the tax dept., not just sitting here whining about it on the board. The world of politics and government are not ideal, hopefully a tax system that appears to be fair will prevail. Let's all hope so.

I totally agree about the "rich" vs. "poor" perspective, and I too miss the days when I first vacationed here several years ago....but my concern is that now there is a generation of locals who have become accustomed to the "affluence" if you will of their particular lifestyle. And while I cringe when "progress" happens, and would be content without a bridge, or taxis or hourly flights from the mainland, I wonder about that new generation of San Pedranos, who have 'basked in the light of tourism', and who may not want to step backward. Besides the pain in **s for business owners, I do wonder about the effect on the locals........

Taxes, Roads North, Bridge, and 4 Story building permits, increased Development.
Have read a lot on this post, concerning these issues, and find it very unprofessional, and would like to hear from those who have the real answers, and not rumors, as this hurts both tourist, and those who want to bring much needed money to this country. I try and get my answers from those pros's who know what is going on, and are connected, to the truth.
Quite scaring people, into staying away.