MPs voted in favour of increasing the personal duty-free allowance for residents returning to the Cayman Islands by $300 with a seasonal further increase for summer months and for Christmas.
While the vote in Parliament was non-binding, government said that it backed the proposals and would be preparing to implement them.
A private member’s motion proposed by George Town West MP Pearlina McGaw-Lumsden and seconded by deputy opposition leader Kenneth Bryan proposed increasing the allowance from $500 to $800, saying that the cost of living was putting strain on Caymanian families and residents.
Pressure on budgets
McGaw-Lumsden said she’d had “countless conversations” with people about the struggle to make ends meet, saying the proposal “is about providing practical and meaningful relief to the people of the Cayman Islands during a time when the cost of living continues to place significant pressure on household budgets.”
The current $500 duty-free allowance was introduced in 2018 when it was increased from $350, she said, adding, “What was considered an appropriate threshold eight years ago has been eroded by inflation, rising living costs, and the increased of price of everyday goods.”
The 2018 increase was, at the time, said to encourage people to tell the truth on customs forms and allow customs officers to focus on genuine security concerns and she said those principles remained just as valid today.
McGaw-Lumsden said that increase was designed to help young families and single mothers, saying, “We all know residents who save for months to take a short trip overseas. They’re not traveling to purchase luxury goods. More than that, they’re looking for ways to stretch their whole household budgets and make their hard-earned dollar go a little further.”
She added that an additional $300 might not seem a lot on paper, it could make a “meaningful difference” to a household budget. She added that the move was not intended to disadvantage local businesses but to strike a fair balance between supporting commerce and supporting consumers.
Government support
West Bay West MP Julie Hunter said that government was happy to support the measure in principle and proposed an amendment to increase the allowance to $1,000 for July, August and December, which would mean “two family members traveling together would be able to purchase $2,000 of merchandise instead of $1,000, essentially doubling their allowance during the busy travel months.”
Nickolas DaCosta, Minister for Customs and Border Control, said, “A clear and realistic duty-free allowance can support better compliance. When the threshold is reasonable and better aligned with modern costs, residents are more likely to understand the rules, comply with the rules, not evade, and make proper declarations where required. It can also assist with smoother processing at our ports of entry, particularly during peak travel periods.”
While some MPs had claimed that the move would help parents who had been travelling overseas to buy school supplies, DaCosta clarified that school supplies were already duty-free under the Customs Tariff Act.
Finance Minister Rolston joined the debate, saying, “The government accepts the motion [and] the minister is, as we speak, ready to prepare the orders and we are going to move forward. This is critically important in our cost-of-living attack.”
The motion was passed unanimously.
Customs form
As reported in the Cayman Compass on 24 June, Customs and Border Control has confirmed that passengers bringing items into Cayman within their duty-free allowance are not required to fill out a customs declaration form.
The clarification comes after some returning residents reported recently being asked for the form by customs officers at Owen Roberts International Airport, despite carrying items valued at under the $500 limit.
In response to queries from the Cayman Compass, following complaints from travellers, Customs and Border Control said, “Passengers with nothing to declare and who are within their duty-free allowances are generally not required to complete a declaration card.”
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