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5onDfloor wrote:zoom rader wrote:January murder rate is 46 and this government sit by and does little.
Meanwhile Maxi Cuffie spreads propaganda in a supermarket that prices cheaper.
Rowley out playing golf as usual
seeing we making crime a political football, here hold this volley to chest
http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2014-02-17/too-many-murders-left-unsolved-homicide-head-calls-training
zoom rader wrote:January murder rate is 46 and this government sit by and does little.
Meanwhile Maxi Cuffie spreads propaganda in a supermarket that prices cheaper.
Rowley out playing golf as usual
Habit7 wrote:5onDfloor wrote:zoom rader wrote:January murder rate is 46 and this government sit by and does little.
Meanwhile Maxi Cuffie spreads propaganda in a supermarket that prices cheaper.
Rowley out playing golf as usual
seeing we making crime a political football, here hold this volley to chest
http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2014-02-17/too-many-murders-left-unsolved-homicide-head-calls-training
Yip, I have been saying that since PP days. The responsibility for crime does not stop at government policies.
Yet there are men such as zr and others dancing on ppl's grave
hong kong phooey wrote:Zoom what you are saying is true
But while UNC was in power Did they try to root out the criminal elements.
and yes there was an initial drop in the murder rate when they came into power but it went back up again. because the elements see that they were serious.
403 murders in 2014
407 murders in 2013
379 murders in 2012
352 murders in 2011
473 murders in 2010
figures taken from
https://www.osac.gov/pages/ContentRepor ... ?cid=17795
No government want to do what is right because they so afraid it will affect they votes.
They will never take the right steps.
Simple things all these apartment complexes throughout the country would the pnm/unc try and collect the rent these buildings?. and would they try to get the correct rent for what it worth?
Every successive government leave these rodents in the society to multiply. Unc even was encouraging it with a baby grant. If you cannot afford to take care of a child then keep your leg closed.
They should have offered free castration instead so the people could had fun without having 10 kids that i have to pay for.
Police service. UNC government implemented the breathalyser test. good deal we will get some of the drunk drivers out the street.
You should look at the statistics of where the the tests are carried out.
Around the bars in south , Loads leading to beach, how much blocks was carried out around the Avenue, or coming back from the Western main road pubs? and the UNC government never did a sheit about it,
Look last year Carnival and all the fetes any road blocks for the people leaving the fetes but there were road blocks coming from Los Iros and Maracus on Monday and Tuesday.
I was even in a fete that had a police booth to test yourself, but leaving the fete no police any one could have driven home.
Corruption continues .
If you are so close with the UNC why don't you get a list of all the people who made donations /sponsors to them : and see how much was there returns at the end of the five year. See how many contracts was given out under the table . How much the country was raped during their tenure.
Every government continue to do the same.
I do hope that the PNM government privatise most of the state owned companies because with every government another set of idiots get huge salaries for putting the country more in debt.
How many of the state owned companies returned a profit. See how many of these UNC managers got bonus for failing
Dizzy28 wrote:^ Wasn't the purpose of VAT exemptions within the Yachting industry for the purpose of competing regionally as opposed to giving the local yacht owners a bligh?
This is no different from offering incentives under any of the existing legislation for the purpose of boosting exports. e.g. Freezones
Dizzy28 wrote:^ Wasn't the purpose of VAT exemptions within the Yachting industry for the purpose of competing regionally as opposed to giving the local yacht owners a bligh?
This is no different from offering incentives under any of the existing legislation for the purpose of boosting exports. e.g. Freezones
February 1 will go down in the history books as the day the PNM finally executed the booming yachting industry in T&T!
Redman wrote:February 1 will go down in the history books as the day the PNM finally executed the booming yachting industry in T&T!
So this booming industry is brought to a dead stop by a 12.5% tax.
yep makes sense.
Habit7 wrote:Oh no, I own a yacht and I can't afford VAT! The govt needs to do something for the poor 30ft owners like myself.
BTW I thought PNM owned by the evil Syrians? While Syrians suffering their yachts sinking off Puerto Rico, they shooting themselves in the foot by killing off their leisure industry? Somebody needs to teach these ppl how to run a business, they almost as bad at it as the Jews.
De Dragon wrote:Habit7 wrote:Oh no, I own a yacht and I can't afford VAT! The govt needs to do something for the poor 30ft owners like myself.
BTW I thought PNM owned by the evil Syrians? While Syrians suffering their yachts sinking off Puerto Rico, they shooting themselves in the foot by killing off their leisure industry? Somebody needs to teach these ppl how to run a business, they almost as bad at it as the Jews.
Not every single yacht owner is mega rich. There are many retirees who own boats that require the services as well.
De Dragon wrote:Redman wrote:February 1 will go down in the history books as the day the PNM finally executed the booming yachting industry in T&T!
So this booming industry is brought to a dead stop by a 12.5% tax.
yep makes sense.
Yes the letter writer is engaging in some hyperbole, but since 1989 we've gotten along without VAT on yachting services, and now when it is one area of diversification that is mentioned as potentially viable we make it VATable?
Yep makes sense.
Dizzy28 wrote:^ Wasn't the purpose of VAT exemptions within the Yachting industry for the purpose of competing regionally as opposed to giving the local yacht owners a bligh?
This is no different from offering incentives under any of the existing legislation for the purpose of boosting exports. e.g. Freezones
Reviving T&T's yachting business
Dixie-Ann Dickson
Published: Thursday, April 12, 2012
T&T’s yachting industry, which had its hey day in the mid-1990s, has been drowning for the past 15 years and is struggling to revive itself. There has been a steady decline of yacht arrivals from 2000-2011, where annual figures consistently fell from 2,500 to 1,030. One of the key stakeholders in the yachting industry, Donald Stollmeyer, chief executive officer of Power Boats, and president of the Yacht Services Association of T&T (YSATT), knows all too well what the issues are. Powerboats, which was established in 1991, was the first commercial marine in Chaguaramas. Stollymeyer said while the other Caribbean countries managed to keep their industry afloat, T&T pushed cruisers away due to increased crime, high costs, piracy sailing between Grenada and Trinidad, poor customer service, reduced skilled labour, service providers’ inability to meet deadlines, shoddy workmanship, oil spills, archaic Immigration and Customs laws and quarantine issues. But don't worry folks, no VAT will solve that
In short, Stollmeyer said T&T lost its overall attractiveness and competitive edge. In a telephone interview, followed by a visit to his office at Power Boats in Chaguaramas last Wednesday, Stollmeyer explained the main drawback to the yachting sector growing again is the archaic Immigration and Customs laws. “The immigration clearance procedures are long and tedious. Yachties have to fill out about four forms for both arrival and departures, which are multi-copied,” Stollmeyer said. “In Grenada and other Caribbean countries, there is only one form that is filled out for both agencies.” Yachties in Trinidad are prohibited from sailing freely from bay to bay within the peninsula unless they notify Immigration or Customs first. “It is frustrating. This is not the experience in other countries.” To compound the situation, Stollmeyer said officers from both agencies do not understand the value of the industry when they provide poor customer service and make it difficult for yachting arrivals. Stollmeyer explained that because T&T is located below the hurricane belt, yachties usually come to Trinidad during the hurricane season, which is the rainy season. They sometimes require an extension because the hurricane may last longer, but Immigration refuses their application.
Crime, piracy, rising costs
Stollmeyer said in 2008, yachties experienced piracy attacks travelling between Grenada and T&T. The industry has not yet recovered from the fallout from those traumatic experiences. “A spate of dinghy and other types of theft over the last two years, in particular, had a big negative impact as it discouraged cruisers from visiting T&T.” Quarantine of yachties pets is another obstacle. Stollmeyer said attendants have often refused to go to Piarco international airport when the need arises, but most times yachties’ pets are not allowed.
T&T’s loss is the region’s gain.
T&T has faced increased competition from other regional boatyards and mariners that worked hard to improve their attractiveness: Grenada, Curacao, St Lucia, Antigua and St Martin.
T&T’s yachting golden years
According to the Cruising World Web site, the yachting industry became very popular in the early 1990s. It stated that until the beginning of the 1990s, the foreign yachting sector was limited to occasional visits, often during Carnival. But this trend has changed Stollmeyer said. Yacht arrivals seldom visit at Carnival time. In 1991, the report said the first yacht haulout facility was established in Chaguaramas when Power Boats commissioned a 50-tonne marine hoist with an onland storage capacity for about 45 vessels.
Crusing World said T&T’s yachting sector took off due to:
• the increasing need for yachting hurricane shelters
• the escalating cost of marine insurance for yachts north of the hurricane belt
• quality workmanship
• and, the availability of skilled and unemployed labour following the 1970s oil boom
Another facility soon followed Power Boats.
T&T now had a thriving yachting industry.
The report said that Customs’ records showed 637 foreign boats came to Trinidad in 1990, which increased steadily through 1994 when 1,459 arrived. That number spiked in 1995 to 2,307 and nearly hit 3,000 in 1999. Trinidad yachting industry peaked in 2000, said a 2000 report by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (Eclac). However, from 2001, the industry trended downhill. There was a a 32 per cent drop in yacht arrivals from 2001-2002. In 2003, transient cruising boats contributed an estimated US$25 million to the T&T economy and employed roughly 1,400 people, the study found. External factors also affected the local yachting sector. One of them was the weakening global economies and the fall of United States and European stock markets.
Turnaround strategies
YSATT, established in 1993, had 100 members. Like the industry, its membership fell in 2005, though not as dramatically, to 96. More opted out. Today, YSATT has 64 registered members. Although small in number, Stollmeyer said Ysatt would continue to fulfil its mandate: promote the development of T&T’s yachting services industry. “The association works closely with Customs and Immigration and liaises with the Government. We also provide a forum for dispute resolution between yachting arrivals, boatyards and contractors and assist in cleaning oil spills.” Stollmeyer said YSATT plans to use its cluster of products and services to help rebuild the industry.
For example, Powerboats provides array of services and products: woodworking, welding, rigging, tank cleaning, upholstery, restaurant, rooms, engine repair, fibre repair, painting, marine store, chandlery, and painting. Other marinas and service organisations include Crews Inn Hotel and Yachting Centre, Budget Marine, Peake Yacht Services, Coral Cove Marina, Hotel Ltd and Industrial Marine Services. To preserve the yachting sector’s survival, Stollmeyer said his organisation provides superior customer service and offers competitive prices.
Power Boats has had to reduce its staff from 190 to 140. His boatyard once hauled 476 boats in 2002, but that number fell to 389 in 2010. There was an upturn in 2011 with 420 boats. “So the decline is not so disastrous that we can’t rebuild the industry,” Stollmeyer said. Wazir Martinez, procurement administrator at Budget Marine, said its business was also affected by reduced yacht arrivals. However, Martinez sad Budget Marine has expanded its range of products to lure local customers. Stollmeyer, who is also chairman of the Cabinet-appointed Yacht Steering Committee, is working with the Government and other stakeholders to turn around the industry. The committee, which was instituted by the Government is responsible for establishing the requisite policy and guidelines for the industry. The three-year-old chairman sain the committee is hopeful because most governments in the past were not very supportive of the industry, which was another issue. He said YSATT commissioned a 2011 study to determine the yachting sector’s annual contribution to T&T’s gross domestic product (GDP). The results: GDP fell within the last decade from $130 million to $116 million.
Trade Minister Stephen Cadiz: No easy fix
The Business Guardian spoke with Trade and Industry Minister Stephen Cadiz two weeks ago via telephone, who reiterated most of the problems Stollmeyer outlined. Cadiz said none of these issues are easy to fix. The biggest issue, he said, is that T&T is still operating under old marine law. He said T&T’s marine laws are being modernised and would presented to Parliament soon. To deal with security in and around the peninsula, there is now an increased security presence in the area. Skilled labourers, trade and craftsmen would now be upgraded to international standard through a new certified programme offered by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Tertiary Education. He said the Government is also working on securing accommodation for Immigration and Customs officers at Chaguaramas.
Stollmeyer said stakeholders have created a presentation for Immigration and Customs officers showcasing the value of yaching arrivals to the T&T economy and the potential of its growth. Cadiz said the Government would be looking at finding a solution to the quarantine issues. He said the Government will not only support, but also spend more to advertise and market the industry as its stakeholders have done for years. “They have been attending various cruisers shows. In May, they would be attending one in Florida and the other in England around September, which, in the past, has actively boosted Trinidad’s profile,” Cadiz said. Stollmeyer said the yachting policy has been updated and is before Cadiz to determine if a Yachting Act is required to take the yachting sector to a second boom.
http://m.guardian.co.tt/business-guardi ... g-business
ingalook wrote:Double digit inflation + recession
VII wrote:ingalook wrote:Double digit inflation + recession
Inflation is down at about 1.4%,and what 'double digit' were you talking about anyway?
I don't get it,what next the plague?
ingalook wrote:Double digit inflation + recession
Redman wrote:De Dragon wrote:Redman wrote:February 1 will go down in the history books as the day the PNM finally executed the booming yachting industry in T&T!
So this booming industry is brought to a dead stop by a 12.5% tax.
yep makes sense.
Yes the letter writer is engaging in some hyperbole, but since 1989 we've gotten along without VAT on yachting services, and now when it is one area of diversification that is mentioned as potentially viable we make it VATable?
Yep makes sense.
So"..an industry that was given a concession in 1989 so it can develop,hasn't matured yet and can't survive a 12.5% tax 27 years later.
The issue with the yachting industry isn't VAT...its crappy and corrupt customs and immigration.
It's our shoddy customer service culture.
It's the crime that is rampant,unreported and unsolved.
If we can't compete with Grenada...getting hit every weekend with hurricanes...then VAT isn't THE issue.
But it's easy to use it as a crutch for those so inclined.
you carry on.
De Dragon wrote:I doubt any of these people own a boat
Rather than go after these , we VAT the arse out of people who come here for a service? Yep makes sense. A more classic case of cart before horse if ever there was one! Increase taxes, THEN worry about enforcing collection/going after evaders, but PNM diehards on this forum people will swallow empty rhetoric that makes empty promises every time.
Also have you studied the product/life cycle of an industry of this kind? Do you know if it is in decline, or ascendancy. How exactly do you know where 27 years is in relation to an industry of this nature? Or do you just "feel" that that is enough time?
eliteauto wrote:De Dragon wrote:I doubt any of these people own a boat
Rather than go after these , we VAT the arse out of people who come here for a service? Yep makes sense. A more classic case of cart before horse if ever there was one! Increase taxes, THEN worry about enforcing collection/going after evaders, but PNM diehards on this forum people will swallow empty rhetoric that makes empty promises every time.
Also have you studied the product/life cycle of an industry of this kind? Do you know if it is in decline, or ascendancy. How exactly do you know where 27 years is in relation to an industry of this nature? Or do you just "feel" that that is enough time?
Are you saying don't tax the industry until it gets itself in order? If you haven't improved your customer service ethic what is supposed to happen the Gov't must beg you to? Adapt or die, if you're running a shitty business model that isn't the Gov't fault, incentives not capitalised on isn't the Gov't fault, even cyclic business is a moot point considering that currently other islands with less favorable hurricane belt advantages are investing in berthing and marina facilities, can't blame the Gov't if the private sector isn't holding up it's end, a 12.5% tax increase is absorbable in THAT industry if you're doing it right, if the industry dies it was destined to
16 cycles wrote:some customs officers on the night shift tell yuh come back at 6am / true story-chagterms
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