Budget 2011/2012 presented in the TCI
The interim government of the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) has produced its 2011/12 Budget, which includes major adjustments to the tax system, designed to pave the way to a successful implementation of a value-added tax in 2013.
Presented by Delton Jones, Permanent Secretary for Finance, on April 5, the Budget statement was due to have been delivered to the Consultative Forum on the same day. However, the Forum was cancelled the previous day due to the refusal of several members to attend, those members citing a lack of preparedness, having received Budget booklets only days earlier.
The statement was, nonetheless, published, and proposes a serious overhaul of the TCI's tax regime, as the country struggles to deal with its continuing financial crisis. According to Jones "Our aim is to restore and firmly embed the principles of sound financial management, sustainable development and good governance".
With a significant budget deficit and high levels of debt placing pressures on the economy, Jones said that, without the help it has received from the UK, the TCI would be bankrupt. The previous administration had failed to pay many of its creditors, damaging local businesses, yet also offered tax concessions at what Jones called an unsustainable rate.
Despite these difficulties, Jones stressed that the financial support provided by the UK has given the country the time it needs to tackle the crisis, and he regards this as a one-off opportunity to take the necessary measures to bring revenue and spending into line. "We have no alternative other than to balance TCIG's budget by raising revenues and cutting spending: like any household or business, the public sector cannot continue to live beyond its means".
Jones also provided a brief history of TCI's economic troubles, citing heavily the deficiencies in the country's tax system. While the economy doubled in size between 2002 and 2008, its growth was neither balanced nor sustainable.
Public sector spending increased threefold, outstripping revenue growth. Most problematically, the tax system was incapable of generating the sufficient recurring revenues required to fund such high levels of public spending. This problem was compounded by the fact that an already narrow tax base was systematically eroded through the grant of generous exemptions and concessions, and by poor administration, collection and enforcement, he said. Statistics show that tax revenues fell to 16% of GDP in 2010, from a peak of 24% in 2006. The government's priority is now to effect modernization of the system, improve the efficiency of collection, expand the tax base and increase revenues.
With this goal in mind, the government proposes a new, reformed tax system for the medium-term, the cornerstone of which is to be the introduction of value-added tax (VAT). It is felt that the imposition of VAT will provide the stable source of revenue the country so desperately requires, eradicate many of the system's distortions, boost the economy and ease the country's fiscal position. Although not specified in the Budget, it is widely expected to sit at a headline rate of 10% when introduced in 2013/14. However, given the existing deficiencies present in the tax system and the high levels of preparation required to ensure a smooth transition to the new regime, the government is also to implement a succession of temporary measures designed to pave the way to 2013/14.
The initiatives are as follows:
The introduction of an immediate 4% Customs Processing Fee, to be levied on all imported goods and importers, and expected to raise USD12m in 2011/12;
A series of changes are to be made to the system of work permit fees, which the government says have not been increased since 2001, and are complex and can lead to error and manipulation. The government is investigating a possible move to a percentage-based fee system, but, at the present juncture, proposes to radically simplify the employment categories under which permits are issued, and raise fees by September 1, 2011, increasing revenues USD5.2m this year alone;
Responsibility for business licensing is to transfer to TCInvest from July 1, 2011, with fees having been increased by an average of 35% from April 1, 2011;
A new carbon tax on electricity generators will apply by September 1, 2011, and raise an estimated USD1.6m in 2011/12, and USD3.4m in 2012/13;
A water sales tax on commercial customers and large residential customers will come into force by September 1, 2011, generating USD0.7m in 2011/12, and USD1.4m in 2012/13;
A 10% bank tax on non interest-bearing services provided by banks will have effect by September 1, 2011, replacing money transfer fees and stamp duty, and raise USD2.7m in 2011/12; and
A 2.5% insurance tax on gross premiums for general insurance (excluding life and health premiums) will apply by September 1, 2011, and provide USD5.7m in 2011/12.
TCI will not see the introduction of either a property or an income tax, the government has clarified.
It is expected that these measures should, by April 2013, allow for the introduction of VAT, and thus be followed by a drastic simplification of the tax system, which will include the reversal of many of the temporary measures outlined above, and of accommodation, telecommunication and vehicle hire taxes.
NEW DATE - LE REVE FOURTH ANNUAL GALA BALL
Organizers of the Le Reve Gala Ball are thrilled to announce that its “Mardi Gras” themed cocktail affair will be held on Saturday, June 11, 2011, at The Veranda Resort on Grace Bay Beach. “Due to circumstances beyond our control, we were forced to delay the celebration until June,” said Ms. Michelle Swann, President of the LeReve Gala Ball. “But I can assure you, this is an event you don’t want to miss.”
Guests will be transported to the drama of New Orleans’ French Quarter, and will have the luxury of enjoying a Caribbean Mardi Gras, complete with the masquerades, parade and theatrics of a carnival. The evening will be one of pure enchantment, combined with Cajun delicacies and Bourbon Street frivolity. “Boasting a street fair, singers and dancers, this Gala promises to be one of Le Reve’s most memorable events yet,” explained Swann.
Staying true to its motto: “Realizing one charitable dream at a time,” Le Reve has selected Crime Stoppers Turks and Caicos as this year’s fundraising beneficiary. The non-profit association - established in 1995, assists law enforcement agencies in the Turks & Caicos Islands with deterring crime and bringing perpetrators to justice through the confidential and anonymous provision of an intelligence gathering service. To this regard, the Le Reve Gala Ball Committee has elected to support this worthy organisation.
Trump: ‘I Have a Great Relationship With the Blacks’
Donald Trump said today he is troubled by President Obama’s high standing among African Americans, suggesting he probably wouldn’t get support from black voters that he believes he deserves.
“I have a great relationship with the blacks. I’ve always had a great relationship with the blacks,” Trump said on Talk 1300 AM radio in Albany, N.Y.
Trump has been flirting with a 2012 presidential run ever since it was time to begin promoting “Celebrity Apprentice.” He was responding to host Fred Dicker’s reference to recent polls showing Obama enjoys strong support from African Americans. The real estate mogul said the numbers were “frightening.”
More than eight out of 10 blacks support Obama, according to a recent Gallup Poll.
QQ denied entry into England
Young dancehall artiste QQ was recently denied entry into England according to his father and manager Joseph 'GQ' Dawkins.
He said QQ was supposed to tour some schools and meet with Kenyan ministers on Monday as hundreds of fans came to the airport to receive and welcome the young star.
The only problem was, there was no QQ.
Dawkins explained to The STARthe circumstances under which QQ was denied entry saying, "What really happen is that QQ was suppose to be in Kenya on Monday. We were refused entry into England based on my circumstances. I didn't do my community service so they refused him entry based on the fact that he's a minor and he was travelling with me."
He went on to say, "I pushed an officer when I was in England before, but I didn't know that he was a police. I went to court and pled guilty and I had to do 80 hours of community service. I didn't get to complete my service though and they said I never did anything like write to get a pardon or such. I had to work it out with some officials there for them to allow him to get on a next flight to New York."
QQ had to divert to New York, then to Dubai (his location at the time GQ was contacted) and then to Kenya.
According to GQ, QQ's absence caused some amount of commotion in Kenya as all wanted to know where he was.
"There was some confusion because when he hadn't landed in Kenya and people were asking why, others were posting on his Facebook page saying like he was in Jamaica. The hundreds of people who were there thought he wasn't coming. But the promoter did his checks and I also spoke with the promoter (Tuesday night) and explained that he had to stop over in Dubai. We're trying to arrange the tours and meetings which were disrupted to be rescheduled," he said.
However, GQ says he does not understand why the England officials would use his circumstance to affect QQ.
He said, "Dem a use my circumstances to affect this child. Why is it that dem a do dat? A the first time something like this has happened. Me nuh see why?"
Rihanna tops list of Billboard awards nominations
Rihanna has nominations in 18 categories at this year's Billboard music awards, with Eminem and Lady Gaga following close behind.
The singer is up for top female artist, hot 100 artist and R&B artist, while her collaboration with Eminem, Love the Way You Lie, is up for six awards.
Eminem has 16 awards nods, including top male artist and rap artist and Lady Gaga has 12.
They are up against Rihanna, Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber for top artist.
Bieber has notched 11 nominations and is also a contender for top new artist with Taio Cruz, Ke$ha, Bruno Mars and Nicki Minaj.
There are 46 categories at this year's awards and finalists are based on a combination of factors including sales, radio play, social media interaction, streaming and tour earnings.
The winners will be announced at a ceremony in Las Vegas on 22 May, which will include performances from Jennifer Lopez, Rihanna and Black Eyed Peas.
Catherine Zeta Jones treated for bipolar disorder
Catherine Zeta Jones has received treatment for bipolar disorder after dealing with the stress of her husband's battle with throat cancer.
Zeta Jones, 41, made a decision to check into a "mental health facility" for a brief stay, said her publicist.
Michael Douglas, who was diagnosed last year, said in January his tumour had gone and he was beating the disease.
Last September, Zeta Jones said she was "furious" that doctors failed to detect the cancer earlier.
Bipolar, also known as manic depression, causes severe mood swings, that usually last several weeks or months.
Zeta Jones's publicist Cece Yorke said the actress sought treatment for the condition following the stress of her husband's cancer fight.
"After dealing with the stress of the past year, Catherine made the decision to check in to a mental health facility for a brief stay to treat her Bipolar II disorder," said Yorke.
"She's feeling great and looking forward to starting work this week on her two upcoming films."
It is unclear when Zeta Jones, who is from Swansea, was diagnosed with bipolar disorder or where she received treatment.
Mark Davies, from mental health charity Rethink, said the actress had shown courage in revealing the disorder as there was still a stigma around mental illness.
"Although she'll be feeling pretty fragile and vulnerable, she will have - in a sense - given some comfort to a lot of other people who are probably suffering in silence and probably feeling a great deal of fear," he added.
Mr Davies said the disorder could be triggered by a range of factors and that no individual case was the same.
He said the star was likely to be given medication and talking therapy, recognised as increasingly effective in cases of serious mental illness.
About 1% of the population suffers from bipolar disorder.
Alun Thomas of the Welsh mental health charity Hafal said: "The important part of this news is Catherine has sought help.
"Many parts of the press can sensationalise this but I think it's important to discuss the issues sensitively and raise awareness.
"Many creative and famous people have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder... there are many people out there who have recovered and gone to be very productive in their lives."
Shortly after her husband was diagnosed with cancer, the actress revealed she was "furious" that doctors failed to detect the disease earlier.
In an interview with People magazine last September, she said: "He sought every option and nothing was found. I knew something was up. He knew something was up."
"It makes me furious they didn't detect it earlier," she added.
The star, who won a best supporting actress Oscar for her role in Chicago, was made a CBE by the Prince of Wales at Buckingham Palace in February.
She first found fame in the UK on the small screen in the 1991 comedy drama, the Darling Buds of May, before heading to Hollywood to star in Entrapment, Traffic and The Mask of Zorro.
New Pirates of the Caribbean to be screened at Cannes
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is to be shown out of competition at this year's Cannes Film Festival, organisers have announced.
Johnny Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow is joined by Penelope Cruz in the fourth instalment of the hugely successful Disney franchise.
Jodie Foster film and Scottish director Lynne Ramsey's film of best-selling book We Need to Talk About Kevin will also be screened.
The festival runs from 11 to 22 May.
The previous Pirates movie, At World's End, earned more than $960 million (£590m) worldwide in 2007.
The new film sees Depp's Jack Sparrow on the trail of the fountain of youth and sees him come up against the fearsome pirate Blackbeard, played by British actor Ian McShane.
The Beaver, which will also be shown out of competition, reunites Mel Gibson with his Maverick co-star Jodie Foster.
The latter both directs and appears in its story of a depressed toy company executive who uses a beaver hand puppet to communicate with his family.
Terence Malick's long-awaited The Tree of Life, starring Brad Pitt, is also to be shown during the festival as part of the main competition line-up.
So will Spanish director Pedro Almodovar's latest film The Skin I Live In (La Piel Que Habito), starring Antonio Banderas.
Cannes favourite Lars Von Trier, who won the prestigious Palme d'Or for Dancer in the Dark in 2000, will return to the event with his new film Melancholia.
Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Kiefer Sutherland feature in this tale of two sisters who find their relationship challenged as a nearby planet threatens to collide with Earth.
Sean Penn plays an ageing rock star in director Paolo Sorrentino's English language debut This Must Be the Place.
In all there are 19 titles competing for the Palme d'Or, with another 19 films showing in the Un Certain Regard sidebar.
This year's festival will begin on 11 May with a screening of Woody Allen's latest film, Midnight in Paris.
Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci is to receive an honorary Palme d'Or on the opening night, while actor Robert De Niro will chair this year's main competition jury.
NBA fines Lakers, Jackson $75K for coach's lockout comments
The NBA appears to have found its most effective revenue-sharing model.
And so long as the Lakers continue with their perceived missteps, the league's most successful franchise will just keep sharing the wealth.
A league source confirmed that Phil Jackson has been fined $75,000 and the Lakers fined a separate $75,000 for the coach's recent lockout-related statements. This comes one day after Kobe Bryant was assessed a $100,000 fine for aiming a homosexual slur at an official during the Lakers' game against San Antonio on Tuesday.
Jackson, who had a fireside chat of sorts with the team's beat reporters at hotel in Portland on April 7, spoke of the likely lockout and how it impacted his decision to retire after this season.
"It was really about the fact that there's going to be a lockout," Jackson said. "It's the perfect time to help the organization cover a gap if there's a lockout. My staff, all those guys who work with me. All those things played into it. I felt like an obligation.
"Who knows what the NBA is going to look like next year?" It's going to take on a whole different proportion. How long is it going to last? I think there are some people who are pretty convinced there's not going to be a year next year."
The league clearly didn't take kindly to the public assumption that there would be a work stoppage, especially considering the labor negotiations between the owners and players are approaching a critical stage with the collective bargaining agreement set to expire on June 30. The story was first reported by ESPN.com.
Source: sportsillustrated
Rafael Nadal cruises to win over Richard Gasquet
Rafael Nadal extended his unbeaten run at the Monte Carlo Masters to 34 matches as he reached the last eight with a solid win over Richard Gasquet.
Nadal was rarely threatened and two breaks in the first set and two in the second gave him a 6-2 6-4 win.
He will now play Ivan Ljubicic, who beat fifth seed Tomas Berdych 6-4 6-2.
Second seed Roger Federer beat Marin Cilic 6-4 6-3 and next faces seventh seed Jurgen Melzer, who was a surprise 6-1 6-4 winner over Nicolas Almagro.
World number one Nadal said he was "very happy" with his form against Gasquet.
"I think I played better than yesterday, easier. In general, I think it was a very positive victory against a very difficult opponent," Nadal continued.
"I feel when I'm playing well with the forehand, it is a very important shot for me, so I can have the control of the point most of the time.
"When I am playing well with the forehand, everything is a little bit less difficult."
After breaking in the first game of the match, Nadal found his first service game a tricky affair. However, after fighting off several deuces, he duly held and, even at that early stage, there was only going to be one winner.
France's Gasquet tried to be aggressive and produced some good shots but his opponent was a class apart and a second break at 4-2 helped Nadal take the first set in 44 minutes.
The Spaniard dropped only six points on his serve in the opening set and was equally in control for much of the second.
Gasquet fought off a break point at 2-2 with the help of three big serves in a row and continued to try to take the game to Nadal with some brave shot making.
But, in his next service game, he found himself facing two break points and, although he saved the first, a looping forehand on the run that just clipped the baseline gave Nadal a 4-3 lead.
It looked like being decisive but Gasquet was in no mood to lie down and after forcing a break point, a running forehand pass resulted in him drawing level at 4-4.
However, Nadal immediately earned two break points of his own and duly broke back before serving out to reach the last eight.
Federer cruised through his early service games but, although Croat Cilic struggled to get his first delivery in play, the world number three found it difficult to get to grips with his 6ft 6in opponent's high kicking second serve.
It looked as though the first set was headed for a tie-break but at 5-4 Cilic's steady form suddenly deserted him and a series of errors handed the break and the set to Federer.
The second set soon settled into a similar pattern as the first with service dominating until the sixth game, when Federer secured the decisive break with a fizzing backhand pass.
A couple of Federer errors resulted in him taken to deuce on his serve in the next game but the Swiss star refocused and eased into the last eight with no further alarms.
"Today was another solid performance, which I'm very happy about," Federer reflected. "I think I was consistent and didn't allow him to get into the points he wanted to on my own serve.
"The first set was close until he had that loose game. He can be dangerous, so I'm pleased to go through."
Fourth seed David Ferrer reached the quarter-finals with a 6-1 6-3 win over Milos Raonic but fellow Spaniard Tommy Robredo was leading Viktor Troicki 6-3 1-2 when forced to withdraw through injury.
There was another surprise when Portugal's world number 82 Frederico Gil beat French eighth seed Gael Monfils 7-6 (8-6) 6-2 to set up a quarter-final against Andy Murray, who defeated Gilles Simon 6-3 6-3.
Windies drop Gayle and recall Samuels
West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) CEO Dr Ernest Hilaire said that, while the Board has a policy of exposing more players to international cricket, there has been no move to axe any player permanently from playing for the West Indies.
“The selectors have a selection policy and are moving forward and building a broad pool of international players. The first action is to expose more players. And that does not mean that the WICB is abandoning older players,” Hilaire said as he participated in an exclusive interview with regional commentator Andrew Mason for the Mason and Guest radio show on the Starcomm Network.
“Having established in your mind what the core of your team is that you will build around, you now need to find the other players who will fit into the squad and that is what the selectors are seeking to do and in the application of the policy we expect that players will be rotated from time to time,” Hilaire said.
“I have read sensational stories in the media about players being sacked and axed but I would appeal to the public to understand that this is about building a pool of players for the future. We are exposing players at the international level to see how comfortable, competent and capable they are.
“If you go back to October 2010, the Board had set out a selection policy to guide the selectors moving forward. We had set the 2015 World Cup as a target for when we should have a team which will challenge as World Champions,” the CEO outlined.
“The selectors have not said that they are axing, dropping or dismissing any particular player permanently. They are pursuing a policy of exposing newer players and giving other players an opportunity to play. I would not go down the road of saying that any player will not play for West Indies again,” Hilaire clarified.
“We expect that there will be public criticism because we are a diverse region and there are always some people who believe that some players must always play and there will be some people who believe that we need to try new players,” he said.
“But there is no indication that any player has been axed or will not play for West Indies again. The selectors will speak to each of the players to explain what the plans are and how they fit into the plan. The players will not always be happy but there is a bigger picture which is West Indies cricket and we expect that confidential discussions between players and selectors will remain as such,” Hilaire added.
Speaking specifically about opening batsman Chris Gayle, Hilaire explained that Gayle has not yet undergone a fitness test following his injury sustained during the Cricket World Cup.