Grand Bahama could be placed in a "very attractive" position for investments, if it is able to escape the implementation of value added tax (VAT) come next July.
If that's the case, it's a move that is being welcomed by the business community on that island.
Given the current state of the economy, Barry Malcolm, president of the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce, said this would certainly be good news for Freeport.
"It would put the island in a position to be a very attractive place to invest in if the reports as indicated by Sir Jack Hayward that Freeport would be exempted from VAT are in fact true," he said.
On Wednesday, Hayward, the chairman of the Grand Bahama Port Authority, was the guest speaker at the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce's luncheon at the Pelican Bay Hotel.
"It looks as if we will escape VAT," Hayward said during the luncheon.
"It looks as if the draft white paper does exclude Freeport, which will put us in a tremendously strong position for (from) the rest of The Bahamas."
With an exclusion from the tax, Hayward said that Freeport will be at a great advantage for corporate growth over neighboring islands.
Though he said the idea is premature, Hayward did not dismiss the potential for businesses on other islands to move their main offices to Freeport to avoid the 15 percent tax that will be applied to a wide variety of goods and services via VAT next year.
Malcolm said the issue comes down to compliance with the Hawksbill Creek Agreement (HCA), which governs how Freeport operates, and by not applying VAT in Freeport the government could benefit the rest of the economy.
"My point is that Freeport is an asset to the economy and produces for the country on the whole and not just Freeport.
"Bear in mind that the majority of investors and licensees in Freeport are Bahamian and Bahamian business people. Any resident or business person that wants to live in and, or work, in Freeport and get the benefits of the (HCA) can do so," he said to Guardian Business.

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