crtBurson-Marsteller is advising the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation as it fights a value added tax aimed to curb the country's $5B debt.

The Chamber set up the Coalition for Responsible Taxation in 2013 to urge alternatives and a longer implementation timeline for a VAT, a consumption levy that Caribbean governments like St. Lucia are turning to in order to raise revenue.

The Bahamian government, which has asked for recommendations from the business sector, is planning a 7.5% VAT that would begin in January 2015.

B-M's Miami office registered on May 19 a $62,500 contract for PR work from May through August with the Coalition. Burson's team include Lucas Silva Wood (manager), Robert Cadogan (director) and Santiago Fittipaldi (director).

The Bahamas, known as a global tax haven for corporations, has no corporate, capital gains or income taxes.

A VAT proposal for Turks and Caicos was postponed in 2013 after business opposition, according to the Caribbean Journal.