CHAPTER
379
PASSENGER TAX |
ARRANGEMENT OF
SECTIONS |
SECTION |
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Inspection of books, etc. |
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SCHEDULE. |
CHAPTER 379 |
PASSENGER TAX |
An Act to
levy certain taxes in respect of passengers and passenger tickets. | 10 of 1950
42 of 1954
39 of 1958
27 of 1959
G.N. 172/1964
43 of 1964
28 of 1967
24 of 1970
E.L.A.O., 1974
19 of 1978
10 of 1982
21 of 1984
5 of 1987
1 of 1989
30 of 1989
16 of 1990
17 of 1990
25 of 1991
14 of 1992
7 of 1993
15 of 1999
35 of 1999 |
[Assent 1st August,
1950]
[Commencement 1st November, 1950] |
1. This Act may be cited as the Passenger Tax Act. | Short title. |
2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires- | Interpretation. |
"child"
means a person of the age of 3 years and under the age of 12 years: |
"cruise
passenger" means any passenger arriving in The Bahamas from a foreign port
and leaving The Bahamas within forty-eight hours after arrival on the same
vessel by which he arrived; |
"passenger"
does not include the master, officers, crew or other employees, each and all of
whom are employees of any commercial vessel arriving in or
departing from The Bahamas; |
"resident
passenger" means a passenger who, for the purposes of the
Immigration Act is deemed to belong to The Bahamas, or who possesses a valid
and subsisting certificate of permanent residence granted under that Act; |
"vessel"
means every description of ship, vessel or boat and includes aircraft. |
3. (1) Subject to
subsection (3) there shall be charged, levied, collected and paid into the
Consolidated Fund towards the general revenue of The Bahamas in respect of
passengers arriving in and departing from The Bahamas the several sums of money
specified in the Schedule to this Act. | Passenger tax. |
(2)
The said sums of money shall be collected and paid into the Consolidated Fund
by the owner, master or agent of any vessel by which or by any person through
whom passengers are brought in or taken out of The Bahamas; |
Provided that no
such sums shall be collected or paid under this section- |
(a) in respect
of a cruise passenger who lands in The Bahamas on a second or subsequent
occasion in the course of the same cruise; |
(b) in
respect of passengers certified by the Minister for Tourism to be coming to The
Bahamas in connection with the promotion and development of the tourist trade
of The Bahamas; |
(c) in
respect of transit passengers who on arrival in The Bahamas by air, do not leave
the airport at which they have disembarked before proceeding to a destination
outside The Bahamas. |
(3)
Fifty per centum of the moneys paid into the Consolidated Fund pursuant to
subsection (1) in respect of taxes collected in any Family Island shall be paid
out of the Consolidated Fund and applied to meet expenditure for public works
in any Family Island. |
4. (1) There shall be charged, levied, collected and
paid into the Consolidated Fund the sum of [i]* seven dollars in respect of each
passenger over the age of three years whose name appears on a ticket sold
within The Bahamas entitling such passenger to travel outside The Bahamas: | Ticket tax. |
Provided
that in any case where any ticket as aforesaid is cancelled after purchase, the
said sum ofseven
dollars shall be refunded to the purchaser on the cancellation of the said
ticket. |
(2) The said sum
of
four dollars shall be collected and paid into the Consolidated Fund by the
person in The Bahamas under whose authority every such ticket
shall be sold. |
5. In any proceedings under this Act against any person
for contravening or failing to comply with the provisions thereof- | Liability for default. |
(a) the owner,
master or agent of any vessel shall be liable for the default of each other and
of their employees; |
(b) a firm
shall be liable for the default of any member or employee thereof; |
(c) a company
shall be liable for the default of any director, officer or employee thereof; |
(d) every other
person shall be liable for the default of his employee. |
6. All books and accounts kept by any person required
by this Act to collect and pay money into the Consolidated Fund shall be open
to the inspection of a person authorised in writing by the Minister of Finance,
and all such books and accounts or copies thereof may be used in evidence
against any such person in any proceedings under this Act. | Inspection of books, etc. |
7. Every person who contravenes or fails to comply with
the provisions of this Act shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine of
four hundred dollars in respect of each contravention or default. | Penalty. |
8. Any tax payable under this Act shall not be charged
or levied on any consular officer or consular employee or on any holder of a
diplomatic passport. This section shall apply to such consular officers and
employees only who are- | Exemptions. |
(a) not citizens
of The Bahamas; |
(b) not engaged
in The Bahamas in private occupation for gain; and |
(c) permanent
employees of the State in whose service they are or, if not permanent
employees, who were not resident in The Bahamas at the commencement of their employment
at the consulate. |
[ii]SCHEDULE (Section 3) |
Every passenger of or above the age of six years leaving The Bahamas other than by sea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . $15.00
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On and after the 1st day of January, 1992, but before the 1st day of April, 1992, every passenger of or above the age of six years leaving The Bahamas by sea . . . . . . . . . . . |
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . $10.00
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On and after the 1st day of April, 1992, every passenger of or above the age of six years leaving The Bahamas by sea other than a passenger leaving The Bahamas on the one day excursion cruises in which case the tax shall be $13.00 |
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . $15.00
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| Every passenger who is not a resident passenger of or above the age of six years arriving in The Bahamas by a pleasure vessel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . $15.00
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Every passenger to whom this item applies shall, on production of the passenger tax receipt received on entering The Bahamas, be exempt from the payment of a tax when leaving The Bahamas. |
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