THE BAHAMAS Trends and Developments Contributed by: Darron S Pickstock and Tammie T Knowles, Glinton Sweeting O’Brien
• a company incorporated in The Bahamas but any of its shares or capital are owned by non- Bahamians or controlled by non-Bahamians; • a company incorporated outside of The Bahamas; • an unincorporated association or body firm where any of the partners or members are non-Bahamians or the company is controlled by non-Bahamians; • a trust where the trustee or any person with a beneficial interest in the trust is non-Baha - mian. Hotel rental pool – defined in Section 2(2) of the Hotels (Amendment) Act, 2023 as any collec - tive rental arrangement by which properties not owned by a hotel form a part of the hotel’s bed - room inventory. Long-term lease – defined in Section 2 of the VAT Act as a lease of five or more years. Marketplace – defined in Section 2 of the VAT Act as a person or entity other than the homeowner that provides a platform for the accommodation of vacation home rentals and which collects pay - ments for the supply of vacation home rentals. Examples include VRBO and Airbnb. Registration threshold – defined in Section 2 of the VAT Act as the amount of turnover from a taxable activity obtained by a person on an annual or lesser basis which requires, or entitles, such person to apply for registration as a tax - able person under this Act. It is presently noted in the VAT Act and the Registration Guidance to be BSD100,000. Turnover – defined in Section 2 of the VAT Act as the total revenues in money and money’s worth accruing to a person from his/her taxable activi - ties during the preceding 12 or fewer months, or
such other accounting period as allowed under Part IV, including all cash, credit sales and com - missions, without any deductions whatsoever. Vacation home rental – defined in Section 2 of the VAT Act as a residence that is offered as a short-term rental for a continuous period not exceeding 45 days. Registration requirements for foreign persons Residential use VAT & business licence VAT on short-term & long-term rentals – a for - eign person supplying short-term vacation home rental for 45 days or less within The Bahamas must register for VAT, regardless of the VAT threshold. Long-term residential rentals of more than 45 days and less than five years are exempt from VAT. Business licence for short-term & long-term rentals – all foreign persons who rent residential property in The Bahamas must obtain a busi - ness licence, whether the foreign person owns the property solely or jointly with a Bahamian. This applies to both short-term (45 days or less) and long-term (over 45 days) rentals. Commercial use VAT & business licence VAT on commercial rental – a foreign person sup - plying commercial property within The Bahamas, must register for VAT if they meet or anticipate that they will meet the registration threshold of BSD100,000 within a fiscal period. Additionally, a business licence is required for foreign land - lords providing commercial rentals regardless of the turnover. Registration requirements for Bahamians Under the VAT Act and the Business Licence Act, 2023 (BLA) the definition of “Bahamian”
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