“We Can’t Even Get Exemptions on Materials”: Bahamas Churches Ask for Tax Breaks to Repair Storm-Hit Buildings

• The Bahamas Christian Council asked for broader tax breaks for churches
• Its president said duty exemptions did not cover materials to repair storm damage
• Churches in Abaco, Grand Bahama and Exuma had been hit by hurricanes
• He also floated VAT relief and help with power bills for churches used as shelters

The head of the Bahamas Christian Council called in January 2022 for a fresh look at the tax treatment of churches, arguing that the rules had not kept pace with the work congregations were doing. Bishop Delton Fernander, the council’s president, raised the issue at a press conference with Michael Pintard, leader of the Free National Movement, The Tribune reported.

His central complaint concerned building repairs. Churches in Abaco, Grand Bahama and Exuma had been damaged by hurricanes, but the list of religious goods that could be imported duty-free was narrow, covering items such as candles, and had last been updated under former prime minister Hubert Ingraham. “We can’t even get exemptions on materials coming in to repair those churches because the list is so restrictive,” Bishop Fernander said.

He linked the request to the services churches provide on the state’s behalf. “One of the yearly things is that we use churches for hurricane shelters,” he said, adding that churches were also being used as safe spaces for students during school hours. That extra use brought extra utility and operating costs.

Bishop Fernander suggested several options: widening exemptions for churches that offer community services, modernising the exemption list, introducing faith-based grants along the lines of programmes in the United States, and easing costs through VAT or electricity bills. “Even a VAT reduction on something or if we’re gonna pay the power, let it be the power that the churches use,” he said. “The church is just simply saying we’re progressing as a country and we must progress in how we think.”

The argument will sound familiar in Jamaica, where churches serve as hurricane shelters and faced heavy repair bills after Beryl and Melissa. The Bahamas case separates two things that are often lumped together: tax relief on a church’s land and buildings, and relief on the cost of repairing them. For Jamaican congregations and diaspora supporters shipping building materials home, knowing exactly what duty concessions apply, and lobbying for clear rules before the next storm, could save real money.

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