Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance the Hon. K. Peter Turnquest said that he wanted to “state categorically” that business is being conducted in The Bahamas in a fair, transparent and competitive manner, as per the usual and expected standard.
“As a country we reject the label that we are a tax haven. And I commend the (financial) industry for its own initiatives to adapt, realising a long time ago that we cannot rely on out-dated notions of being low tax or no tax to differentiate ourselves,” DPM Turnquest said.
On Wednesday, March 21, the DPM addressed financial industry officials on the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers’ decision at their regular monthly meeting Tuesday 13 March 2018 to endorse the decision from the Council of the EU to include The Bahamas on the list of Non Co-operative Jurisdictions for tax purposes.
DPM Turnquest said The Bahamas competes as an international financial centre on the quality of its services and the strength of its professionals. “So once again, I commend the professionals in the industry for leading the way.”
He said, “It is important to emphasise that this is not about The Bahamas’ willingness or ability to meet the obligations set by the EU Code of Conduct Group (COCG), governing business taxation.
“The Bahamas is completely on schedule to meet COCG’s December 2018 deadline for full compliance, having already taken concrete steps.”
The DPM explained that in the Government’s assessment, there was in fact no basis for The Bahamas to be recommended for inclusion on the non-cooperative list.
“The Government has been communicating in good faith with the EU on a consistent basis. It has been absolutely transparent and absolutely engaged.
“In this instance, there was a regrettable misunderstanding in Brussels about the way communications are handled at the technical level versus the ministerial level in The Bahamas, and a misunderstanding over a fine technical point in the use of contractual language.”
He added that “active discussions were underway between technical teams when we learned indirectly of the news, and we had every expectation that these discussions would be satisfactorily concluded.
“It was therefore disappointing that the COCG made its recommendation in spite of this ongoing dialogue.”
The DPM said, “Given the seriousness of the matter, I personally led/joined a senior delegation along with the Minister of Financial Services, Trade & Industry and Immigration, the Hon. Brent Symonette to have a face to face intervention with EU Officials in Brussels.
“We left with verbal and written communications stating The Bahamas has no outstanding correspondences or deliverables that should prevent it from being delisted in the near future.
“In the words of the representative of the Chair of COCG, The Bahamas has done everything it needed to do and now it is the EU’s time to act. The Bahamas expects the EU Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) to make this a priority when it meets.”
He said as an important takeaway, the Government will act earnestly to strengthen its diplomatic presence in Brussels, as direct diplomatic relations are just as vital to advancing the interests of the financial sector as engagement and coordination at the technical level.
Besides The Bahamas, other jurisdictions that are on the list of Non Co-operative Jurisdictions for tax purposes include: America Samoa, Guam, Namibia, Paulau, Samoa, Trinidad and Tobago, U.S. Virgin Islands and St. Kitts and Nevis.
By:Llonella Gilbert
