Free National Movement (FNM) Chairman Darron Cash yesterday called for Coordinator of the Value-Added Tax Unit Ishmael Lightbourne to be fired or resign from his position after The Nassau Guardian revealed that he failed to pay real property taxes over the past 10 years.

Cash described Lightbourne as a "flawed messenger" who is unfit to carry the government's torch on the VAT campaign.

"Mr. Lightbourne's decision to not pay property taxes for 10 years suggests a willful refusal to pay," said Cash in a statement. "Consequently, he has lost all legitimacy as the principal spokesman and advocate of VAT." 

The Nassau Guardian revealed that Lightbourne has not been paying real property taxes even though his beachfront residence on West Bay Street is only assessed at $321,000 and as such his real property tax bill has only been $534 per year.

Lightbourne, who is one of the chief advocates for VAT, told The Nassau Guardian that he is experiencing some financial hardships and could not pay.

However, he admitted that he "recognized the hypocrisy and contradiction of this". Cash said the admission is enough for Lightbourne to "tender his resignation with immediate effect".

"The resignation should be non-negotiable and if he refuses to resign he must be fired in order for the government to preserve what little integrity it has left on the issue of tax reform," Cash said. He said Lightbourne's claim of not being in a financial position to pay evokes "strong doubts".

"Bahamians will recall that in the previous Christie administration, Mr. Lightbourne served as alternative executive director of the World Bank, a high-paying Washington, DC-based position," he said.

"His ability to pay would not have arisen as an issue during that time. The issue appears to be his lack of a perceived sense of obligation to pay and lack of desire to pay."

Cash noted that Lightbourne has on several occasions called on people to pay their taxes and to be held accountable for failing to pay.

In his two-page statement, Cash also called the value of Lightbourne's house into question.

"Mr. Lightbourne's neighbors on West Bay Street whose houses have been valued upwards by the government in excess of $321,000 are scratching their heads and wondering which tax fairy valued Mr. Lightbourne's waterfront home at such a low and undervalued amount," Cash said.

"The level of skepticism is very high." FNM Leader Dr. Hubert Minnis said he will address the issue substantively on Monday during his contribution to debate on the mid-year budget statement in the House of Assembly.

However, he told The Nassau Guardian that Lightbourne should no longer represent the government on the VAT front.

While Minnis did not directly call for Lightbourne to be fired or to resign, he said he will wait to see how the government will handle the situation.

We want to see if the government is true with their words or whether they will only talk," Minnis said. "The decision is theirs.

"We will see whether the government truly governs. This is an opportunity for them to do what they think is right. The public will judge and see what the government does."

Minnis said, "I think when you're dealing with any sensitive areas in government there should be some form of due diligence." The government intends to implement VAT on July 1 at a rate of 15 percent.

VAT is expected to add an additional $200 million in revenue in the first year of implementation, officials estimated.

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