Unusual duty waivers granted
Posted on Tue, 07/03/2012 - 18:51 in FOI
(CNS): An open records request has revealed an array of unusual duty waivers granted by government over a period of six months, including T-shirts, souvenirs, guns, heavy equipment, an elevator and even fireworks. The duty waivers have been granted not just to charities or schools but to a number of private companies and retailers, according to the partially redacted list supplied under the freedom of information law following an application by independent MLA Ezzard Miller. The list also shows that 26 of the waivers have been granted directly by the premier. Close to $200,000 of duty was waived, the document shows, between 1 July and 31 December last year.
Miller pointed out that this was just a snapshot of the waivers that appeared to be getting pushed through, not just because of government policy or at the discretion of the customs department, but also at the request of the premier. The independent member questioned the validity of waivers, at least on some of the items, at a time when the public finances are facing such dire consequences that government has been unable to produce a budget for the next financial year.
“I can’t see why we would be giving duty waivers on imported fireworks,” Miller said as he noted a more than $7,000 waiver for Cayman Firepower. “I find it incredible that, at a time when government is so short of revenue, it can give away so many duty waivers, some of which are for significant amounts of money.”
The MLA also noted that, according to the Public Management and Finance Law, McKeeva Bush can only give the duty waivers in his position as finance minister and not as the country’s premier.
Miller said that while they may be one and the same person, it was important to remember that the offices are two separate and very different entities in the law.
He also raised concerns that not all of the names on the request had been revealed, so the public could not be sure exactly who or what was in receipt of the waivers, in particular those given by the premier, and why.
Many of the waivers are given as part of government policy, such as solar and other eco-friendly equipment. Some on the list also cover equipment being bought by government itself or statutory authorities and government owned companies, but a considerable number of the items on the list have been waived without an obvious explanation.
Given that the list only covered one sixth month period, Miller said that considerable revenue could have been lost over this financial year if similar waivers were given over the last six months.
| Attachment | Size |
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| Duty Waivers.pdf | 337.33 KB |
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can you imagine? I'll bet
can you imagine? I'll bet there are some lucky people that get free gas, no duty, and unvetted contracts .... the TRIFECTA!
Once again... Mr Bush abusing
Once again... Mr Bush abusing his power. Surprise Surprise.
ok, seriously I'm going to
ok, seriously I'm going to start a list of the funky-smelling actions taken by McKeeva and his UDP MLAs - kind of a report card before elections
cuz you know how short-memoried Caymanians can be
to be thorough and fair, I will do one for PPM too but they have been vocal on a select number of issues and otherwise quiet
...I weep for my country
the quality of candidates are so poor - and then the naive electorate loves personal attacks, soap opera antics, scriptures and rhyming slogans, follows like good sheep and "vote straight"
The headline should
The headline should read:
"Usual duty waivers granted"
This has been going on, in many different forms, for a long long time.
Maybe "the usual behind the
Maybe "the usual behind the curtains waivers" would be even more accurate. And "the corruption large and small has been going on a long, long time."
That us why the country is
Medical supplies and medical
Medical supplies and medical wear are not excluded. My daily existence depends ot it, and I can't buy it here on island. What a shame.
yaaahooooo! thank you mac
yaaahooooo! thank you mac for the fireworks... can't wait to see ezzard at camana bay enjoying the mac-dart spectacular events :))>)
My only question, what is the
My only question, what is the ass of Karen Griffiths building now that it needs a duty waiver?
With the country in such an
With the country in such an economical turmoil, why would firearms to anyone have the duty waived. I want someone to explain a company that is making money with the contract for CCTV's should be waived their duties...this is plan insane and everyday that the governor doesn't come up with why the premier has three investigations against him, Cayman is going to go into a bigger and bigger hole!!!!
I can see waiving duty on
I can see waiving duty on forearms imported for lawful law enforcement purposes. Not much point in Customs charging duty to its own Customs enforcement or the RCIP. Possibly waive duty for the airport personnel who do shoot to scatter the birds - better a few blasts to scare the birds away than a jet going down.
And perhaps... maybe... possibly... waiving duty for importation of firearms for Olympic level competitive shooting. That would be a political policy judgement, but one I could support.
But any such waivers should be clear. There shouldnot be any blacking out of information. It is no secret that law enforcement have firearms. There is no justification to hide a legitimate waiver.
As to CCTV - there is no point. The customer is government. The full cost of any duty will just be passed directly on to government. Paying the left hand with the right does not leave us with more money overall but does waste administrative time and resources.
Suppose there is no duty waiver. Customs bills Security Centre the extra $7618.50 for camera equipment for the national CCTV system. Security Centre installs that equipment for the CCTV system and bills government a higher price, reflecting the duty paid.
Remember, their bid on the contract to begin with was with the understanding that duty would be waived. They, and every other bidder for the contract, would have adjusted their bids upward if they knew duty would not be waived.
The Portfolio of Internal and External Affairs has to give the 911 center the extra $7618.50 to cover the duty. The 911 center pays the invoice to Secuirty Centre reflecting the higher duty with money it got from PIEA. Where did PIEA get the money? From general revenues, mostly customs duties.
As has been said by others,
As has been said by others, the elephant in the room is corruption.
Funny thing though, is that
Funny thing though, is that EVERYBODY is talking about this elephant. Signed, Donkey Face #45239
PS - Ugliness is in the eye of the beholder, XXXX. I lke my face.
I don't see a huge amount of
I don't see a huge amount of abuse here, most of these items look like either charity imports, the bleachers and stuff along with products that were bought by companies for the C.I. Goverment in the first place, why should we pay duty on or own purchases, the only thing that would happen in that case is the supplier would have to mark it up more to resell it back to the goverment.
We need to be looking at other overspending issues, and the many local indivuals not able to get jobs, the treatment of the locals in the jobs they hold, of low wages, roadblocks been placed aginst them getting a better education, the unfair compensations of one class of employee compared to another just because of their origin and the many discriminations taking place in the workplaces in these islands.
That is what all these politions need to look into.
Caymanians Fedup we want to live the Cayman Dream too.
And your Premeir does not see
And your Premeir does not see ANY abuse here. Most of your fat and lazy but rich MLA's also see nothing wrong here. No big secret that any of the many who are benefiting from the NOT SEEING are also not seeing. We all see this.
Then why hide the names of
Most of the hidden names are
Most of the hidden names are for the weapons imports - doesn't it occur to you that perhaps publishing these would be a road map for thugs and theives to break in and steal them???
I like the item on the list
I like the item on the list called calibrated "termometers' Is this used to indicate that the politician is cooked and his term is up?
11:04 sorry to say but this
11:04 sorry to say but this is just the usual digging and throwing up mud looking for gold and finding cow dung. Where is the problem. Read the information and tell me.
Its the names that you cannot
Its the names that you cannot read that is the issue!
It really is such a crying
It really is such a crying shame that we NEED to dig considering the reports we have been getting from people who KNOW what is going on such as our Auditor General, and although this is certainly not the UDP's first term that we are getting these reports it does seem to be growing steadily worse. Keep digging Ezzard. God bless you.
Cow dung is right. That is
Cow dung is right. That is exactly what we're getting from our precious gowerment.
I can't read.... can you?
I can't read.... can you?
I don't see anything
I don't see anything concerning in this particular list. All consessions appear to be either charity / art / tourism / education etc related or for the government themselves. The blacked out names are because you would be risking the chance of left of the fire arms and valuable sporting equipment if you named the buyers. Come on people, I'm all for making government accountable but let's not make a mountain out of a mole hill for this particular list. I would however like to see the last 2 years worth of waivers to make sure they are also legit.
then make the FOI request
then make the FOI request yourself. lazy-bones: stop expecting people to do the work for you AND to convince you if its a problem of government accountability or not...tsk!
Agree that this should ALL be
Agree that this should ALL be open to the public - every year.
Even AvComms waiver is propbably equipment for the RCIP. Not much jumped out as naughty (except 3M products?)....but again, these local businessmen will just have to show good cause for the waivers if indeed for a good reason.
Good job and let's keep the pressure on! Big Mac needs to realize the years of cronyism are over. This goes for you too PPM. I don't care WHO is in power, I will not stand for another dime of waste or favourtism.
"With great power, comes
"With great power, comes great (financial) responsibility"
There is always corruption
There is always corruption but this is another RED Flag. As a small business owner and trying to make my business survive, I could not get ANY waivers. It didn't matter if it was a $1.00. And as Premier should not be giving waivers to anyone, shame@! Cayman is going down and very fast, sad to say.......But if nothing is done and soon CAYMAN will not be a place anyone would want to go to.
If you want waivers, go live
If you want waivers, go live in West Bay. If you are a voter, just ask and you shall receive.
It also helps to go to the right church.
I can guarantee that this has
I can guarantee that this has been going on since the dawn of time for customs collection. Many are justified but many more are 'back scratchin' (you scratch mine, I'll scratch yours)
Not fair for those of us who don't know the right people or who just have higher morals. Personally, I'd rather pay than owe that man anything. Would feel like I was selling my soul...
But GUNS??? And fireworks?? WTH? And the redacted bits just make you curiouser and curiouser.
Ezzard, and anyone else so
Ezzard, and anyone else so inclined, please take note that the Constitution provides at s.19 that:
19.—(1) All decisions and acts of public officials must be lawful, rational, proportionate and procedurally fair. (2) Every person whose interests have been adversely affected by such a decision or act has the right to request and be given written reasons for that decision or act.
It is clear that whenever a duty waiver is granted then the rest of us have to pick up more of the burden and are thereby adversely affected. Some of us import things and pay duty while others are granted "special favours". That is not procedurally fair.
All of us therefore have a right not only to the redacted information but also to written reasons for each of the questionable duty waivers. Please demand both the unredacted information and written reasons for each waiver.
If it walks like third world
If it walks like third world and talks like third world..............
Why are automatic and
Why are automatic and semi-automatic weapons being imported by anyone in a clandestine manner let alone duty free. Guess someone is getting really prepared for garrison politics.
Why is it all firearms where
Why is it all firearms where the names are redacted?
Also, gotta love one of the final ones for "Karen Griffiths Ass"....too funny.
So the villains don't know
Well perhaps that just shows
Well perhaps that just shows how valuable it is to have a good real estate consultant.
Real estate fees are
Real estate fees are calculated as a percentage right?
Thank you Ezzard. Please
Thank you Ezzard. Please appeal the redactions to the Information Commissioner and bring the hidden names to the light of day.
These waived fees are what is
These waived fees are what is bringing our country down financially. We need to look at what needs our people are requiering locally before giving more breaks to companies who walk in the door with 10 dollars and walk out with 10 million plus pocket change.
The misallocation of public
The misallocation of public resources is not limited to duty waivers, but they do share a common denominator. The $10mln in "Nation Building" and reams of other predictably opaque 7-8 digit line items all originate from the chair of one "beyond reproach" Finance Minister.
seems there may be another
seems there may be another $30m in the new budget for "nation building"?
Its not the waived fees that
Its not the waived fees that are brining our country down financially. To generate business concessions are given by many countries. However, I will grant you this, it should be policy and not the Premier's personal doing. Having said that, the real reason our country is declining financially is that we spend more than we earn. All the nice new buildings come at a cost. I don't want to here these are capital expenses and don't count as spending. These capital expenses cost money to own, insurance, electricity, maintenance, etc. In contrast, had we purchased gold, many years ago, there would be little to no recurring expenditure on this capital purchase. Plus it would have appreciated significantly. Can we say that about our real estate ever since the introduction of the rollover? The bottom line, every fiscal problem we have is created internally. Lack of accounts, lack of understanding, lack of wanting to make sacrifices, lack of accountability. We have no one else to blame but ourselves.
I don't get it. You need duty
I don't get it. You need duty waiver grants to stimulate the economy. If you just increase duties on everyone, that will increase the cost of living. Here folks, Ezzard appears to be correct, but appearances is all that is.
Based on your post, why not
Based on your post, why not waive duties for all?
How much does a Duty Waiver
How much does a Duty Waiver cost? Is it a flat rate or is there a percentage that needs to be paid? Whatever it is, this article is great advertising for the seller.
Dear Mr. Lazy, the report has
Dear Mr. Lazy, the report has a column (D) which sets out how exactly much $ duty waiver was valued.
Thank you!
Thank you!
is that you Mac?
is that you Mac?
You gettin cash or an extra
You gettin cash or an extra big frig to submit this cr@#?
You're right you don't get
You're right you don't get it. He is giving duty waivers to special friends, rather than setting and applying Government policy on duty across the board.Why the special treatment? Are you really so dense you cannot see this is wrong?
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