The fee hikes, which affect everyone in the Cayman Islands who holds a work permit or permanent resident status, range from $60 extra per year for attendants in the tourism industry – to a nearly $8,000 per year hike for trust officers and administrators.
Work permit fees for non-Caymanians are paid by their employers; fees for permanent residents can be paid by employers or by the individuals themselves.
The rollback was proposed in a private members motion filed by George Town MLA Alden McLaughlin and (to be) seconded by Mr. Miller, according to a copy of the motion provided to the Caymanian Compass.
“Whereas recent government statistics show a marked decline in the number of work permit holders in the Cayman Islands since the said increases were imposed, and…many businesses in the Cayman Islands are under financial pressure,” the motion read, asking that work permit fees be reduced to levels prior to January “to stimulate the economy”.
The Cayman Islands government recently cut the one-time fee companies pay for the grant of key employee status in half, but the cost of yearly work permit payments were not reduced.
Any member of the house can bring a private members motion, but the mere consideration of such a motion does not force the government to do anything with the issue.
Premier McKeeva Bush’s government has previously refused to roll back fees introduced as revenue measures to support government’s operations. Those included work permit fee increases and a number of hikes on fees paid by the financial services industry.
Please see more on this story in upcoming editions of the Caymanian Compass….
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It’s about time someone in our government is paying attention to the harm being done to our businesses. While we can all appreciate that the government needs to make money, it shouldn’t be done on the back of the people who make commerce work. There are other, more creative ways, that government can raise money without penalising business owners.