Forever indebted to, not forever in debt to

It has been said that when making legislation and policy alike bad cases make bad laws. This statement has great relevance to one of the Government’s most recent laws: The Motor Car Amendment Act 2013.

The recent amendment now means that a senior car owner who is granted an exemption from paying the full rate of duty shall be liable to pay 50% of the amount set out in Part B of Schedule 2 for a car of the relevant class. The Minister of Tourism and Transport, the Hon.Shawn Crockwell J.P. M.P. has stated that as a result of alleged abuse within the system, in regards to the benefit of seniors not having to pay for licensing of their vehicle, seniors will now be required to pay.

The Progressive Labour Party stands strong on the fact that, in the interest of fairness, a Government should not attempt to address the abuse of some with a penalty to all. If the Government is able to give examples of alleged abuse of the current system that would suggest that they are able to identify those alleged abusers. It is disturbing that the Government’s response to the abuse is to tax Nana and Papa instead of implementing efficient measures by introducing and passing legislation to eradicate the abuse within the system; leaving Ma and Pa to be nickel and dimed.

Seeing this Government be so adamant on pushing this amendment through and passing this law begs the question that if the Government knows or just does not care that Bermuda’s typical senior citizen is a 72-year old retiree residing in a home with a median household income of less than $36,000 a year - why do they insist on taxing them? We as the opposition believe that the best way forward would have been for the Government to recognize the contribution to the economy made by all seniors (over time) and the fiscal hardship that some are currently facing, rather than focusing on eliminating the “loss of revenue” within the system before tabling a bill that negatively impacts the quality of life of members in our community in this case our seniors.

This is why when the Progressive Labour Party reviewed the above amendment drafted by the Government, we immediately saw how unfair it was towards our seniors and as such we drafted and tabled the following amendment: “A senior car owner is granted an exemption from paying the full rate of duty as set out in Part B of Schedule 2 for a car of the relevant class” Unfortunately, none of the OBA MP’s voted in favor of this proposal. In the Upper House, the PLP senators also proposed a clause which would have allowed for seniors who are unable to afford the licensing fee for their vehicle to have the option of applying to the Minister for an exemption. This proposal did not get the support from the Government senators either.

The OBA promised us change that would have a positive impact on this country. All I see is a bad case resulting in a bad law which will have a negative impact in the form of additional taxes on a demographic that we should forever be indebted to and not have them forever in debt too.