The tax, called the “community enhancement fee”, was proposed by Cayman premier McKeeva Bush at the end of July and would have involved charging a 10% payroll tax for foreigners who hold permits allowing them to work in the islands, if they earned more than $36,000 a year.
As reported, the proposal was met with fierce resistance by expatriates living in the Caymans, as well as from business groups which benefit from the jurisdiction’s traditional no-tax policy. A Facebook group called Caymanians and Expats United Against Taxation gained much local support in a matter of days, and also submitted a number of alternatives to the tax.
According to local media, Bush, who is known locally as “Mac”, said the “fee was officially off the table” as alternatives had been found. Although no details of these alternatives have been released, it is believed they will include more fees on the financial industry and property fees in tourism zones.
In its report on Monday, the Cayman News Service, which has been covering the story doggedly since it broke, quoted Bush as confirming that his "community enhancement fee", as he calls it, was "now off the table, as ‘robust and credible alternatives’ had been identified that did not impact poorer Caymanians, but he did not say what they were".
"I will give an update and confirmation on Wednesday evening at the Mary Miller Hall," Bush said, according to the CNS report.
