West Bay, 10 February 1997
Let’s get this out in the open right off:
. . . The Cayman Islands are not a "cheap place to visit"!
There, I’ve said it, now don’t be surprised when you come here and discover it’s true.
I hear snippets of conversation and outright harangues from people visiting Cayman,
who were obviously not aware of this fact before they arrived and who are now complaining
to all and sundry about how Americans are going to stop coming here because their dollar
is worth less than the CI$ and on and on.
If you want cheap, go to Mexico!
Don’t worry about the fact that even little children will approach you in the street
attempting to sell you anything and everything, just to survive.
Don’t lose any sleep over the poverty of the masses there and the low standard of living
produced by the poor wages that enable Mexico to keep prices low and make the U.S. dollar
buy
so much more. Just enjoy your cheap beer, but don’t drink the water, and remember to
watch your purse or wallet!
(I really don’t mean to pick on Mexico; there are plenty of
other places with similar social conditions. It’s just that I’ve been to Mexico and can
speak from personal experience, and Mexico is the country most often thrown up to us as
having good diving for less money.)
If you want to visit a clean, prosperous island with 100% employment, a high standard
of living, and a low crime rate, it’s going to cost a little more!
Let me explain why.
"Tax" is a word rarely used in the Cayman Islands,
except in "tax free."
We have no income tax, no sales tax, and no property tax. How then does the government
generate the revenue to operate and maintain the infrastructure of this democratic society?
Primarily through duties, work permit fees, and licenses.
The biggie here that most
affects the prices we all (not just tourists) pay for things is
duty.
Duties are levied on almost everything brought into this country,
and since very little is produced here,
that’s almost everything that is consumed here or used to build and maintain structures.
The duty on the vast majority of imports is
20%,
which helps to explains the fact that the CI$
is worth 20% more than the US$. The idea is that something that costs a dollar in the
U.S. would cost one CI$ in the Cayman Islands to account for the 20% duty paid on that item.
Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. The government adds on the cost of the freight to get
that item to the Cayman Islands before the duty is calculated. If it’s very bulky or very
heavy or requires special treatment, such as refrigeration, freight can be very expensive.
I don’t personally know anyone in the Cayman Islands who is out to rip-off the tourists.
Most of us are just ordinary businessmen and women who are operating within the given
system and trying to make an honest living. It’s expensive for us to go to the grocery
store or out to eat, too, and although we may not be paying what you are per night for a
place to sleep, renting or purchasing property is not cheap either.
Nonetheless, we feel
that this is a better solution than levying taxes on everything. That one liter bottle of
soft drink may be CI$1.99 (US$2.49), but it’s not US$1.19 plus 6 or 7 or 8% sales tax,
like it is in the U.S., and no one is forcing you or us to buy it.
We can do without and drink the water that falls free from the sky into our cisterns
or comes from the wells in the ground or comes out of the faucet in your hotel, condo,
or guest house.
(See how much luck you have refusing to pay sales tax or income tax at home! The option
simply isn’t there, unless you want to go to jail!)
The folks who live in the Cayman Islands and those who come back to visit year after
year (or wish they could) have accepted the system and understand why things are a bit
more expensive here than they are in many other places and are less than others.
(There are places, I’m told, where the duties are 100-150%, so I count my blessings
every day!) We think it’s worth the higher prices to live in or visit the Cayman Islands.
I hope I’ve helped you understand and accept the system, too.
If not, enjoy your trip to Mexico, or wherever. If so, we look forward to seeing you
here in Cayman soon! I’ll give you a few tips next time on what to expect things to
cost and how to hold down expenditures, if you’ve a mind to.
Until then, live life to its fullest, laugh often, and enjoy life’s simplest
pleasures. Most of the time, they’re free . . .
In addition to these essays, the wench also posts frequent short writings about her
View from West Bay.
Check out the latest post!
