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-   -   May be heading south (https://britishexpats.com/forum/barbados-109/may-heading-south-424692/)

sooncome Feb 7th 2007 2:52 am

May be heading south
 
Folks,

My wife and I have read and enjoyed several threads on this site. Though we have gathered some info on schools and such, we need a few questions answered before we are able to determine our required earnings with a prospective job. Please answer anything you can and include web links if there are sites that will have our info.

1) People speak of Barbados as being in a "49% tax bracket". What does this mean? Everyone pays 49% income tax or is there a scale?

2) What kind of sales taxes are there on goods purchased?

3) How can we find prices for everyday things such as milk, eggs, chicken / beef, fruits / vegetables, diapers etc?

4) What would it cost for a used mini-van and some sort of economy car, perhaps 3-4 years old?

We would appreciate any help you can give us as soon as possible.

Thanks in advance,
M & C

mia44 Feb 9th 2007 12:39 am

Re: May be heading south
 
hey babe, I think you need to know nothing is cheap these days especially in the Caribbean, things like butter, eggs, bread etc, are about the same as UK prices, meat & poultry are a bit cheaper but not that much !!!! if you or your misses like wine then buy from internet site as this can be very expensiveos its all imported. Get used to drinking rum punch & malbu MMMM

sooncome Feb 10th 2007 2:06 am

Re: May be heading south
 
Thanks, Mia. I quite like Banks Beer (I have enjoyed a bottle or 20 in the past). The Rum Punches at the Accra Beach just floor me, but I like them too. I'm afraid that the comparison to UK prices, however, doesn't help me as I am actually in Canada. (It's okay... the queen is on our money too, so I think I can be here.) :)

Would you think a family of four with 2 young children (ages 2 and 5) would cost about US$600 per month in groceries / staples? $800? (The little one is still in diapers.) We do feed them a lot of meat and chicken, fruits and veggies and rice but also some packaged foods that are less healthy. My son loves Milo and my daughter loves milk, so we kill about 8 litres of milk a week.

Does this sound reasonable?

Does anyone have any clarification on income tax there?

Thanks again,
M & C

Bajanboy Feb 18th 2007 4:42 pm

Re: May be heading south
 
I live in Barbados so I will try to answer your questions.

1. Your first US$11,000 to US$13,000 of income is tax free (depending on deductions). Tax on the next US$12000 is 25% and tax on the rest of your income above those amounts is 40%. There is a sales tax (VAT) of 15% on most things and there are also a number of duties and other taxes of 20% to 40% but these are slowly disappearing.

2. Milk is about 90p a litre, eggs about 160p a dozen, chicken and meat is about 350p a kilogramme, fruit about 200p to 400p a kilo. Diapers would be expensive, espcially if you want to use premium brands. You should budget for US$1000 per month for food for four.

3. Cars are very expensive due to high levels of taxation. A new Toyota Corolla is about 16000 pounds. You should be able to get a used compact vehicle for about 10000 pounds.

Hope this information helps.

sooncome Feb 18th 2007 5:06 pm

Re: May be heading south
 
Bajanboy,

Thanks for the info. The taxation system doesn't seem to be much different than that of Canada, with the exception of the extra duties and taxes, which we reserve for vices (cigarettes, alcohol etc).

The groceries are quite a bit more expensive than here. The grocery budget was very helpful. Thanks for that.

I was aware that cars were quite expensive, but that helps me gage how much so. I will probably look to a used one. I trust furniture and household items will be subject to the same high duties, more or less, yes?

Cheers,
M & C

Bajanboy Feb 18th 2007 5:23 pm

Re: May be heading south
 
Sorry for the prices in pounds. Thought you were from the UK.

I lived in Toronto for five years from 2001 - 2005, so prices here are expensive compared to Canada.

The duties on imported items were higher at one time, to protect local manufacturers, but they will continue to fall due to Barbados participating in free trade. Barbados Customs may allow you to bring in items duty free if you are relocating here and if they are personal effects. Not a car, unfortunately.

One thing that high prices teaches you here is not to place as much emphasis on material things. And, when you are sitting in a beach bar watching the sunset and sipping a cocktail, the last thing on your mind is cost of living. :D Especially when it is -10C back home.


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