Source: Date: Updated: |
TheBahamasInvestor.com
Friday, December 7, 2018 Friday, December 7, 2018 |
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Peter Turnquest said five progressive pieces of legislation tabled in the House of Assembly recently, will establish new regulations to govern the financial services sector and bring it in line with international standards and domestic law as it relates to substance, equal tax treatment, ownership registration, reporting and fee requirements.
Those five pieces of legislation are: The Commercial Entities (Substance Requirements) Bill, 2018; The Removal of Preferential Exemptions Bill, 2018; The Register of Beneficial Ownership Bill, 2018; The Non-Profit Organizations Bill, 2018, and The Penal Code (Amendment) Bill, 2018.
The new regulatory landscape is taking place in a context of rapid change in G20 countries around the world and global upheaval in the financial services sector, DPM Turnquest explained in the House of Assembly December 5, 2018.
He said this has led to a new round of efforts by the European Union and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries to further tighten international financial and tax transparency standards and cooperation protocols to further combat tax avoidance and harmful tax practices or, to put it in simple terms, the movement of capital (money) from high tax jurisdictions to low tax jurisdictions, without the need for real economic substance or physical operations in the offshore financial jurisdiction.
The DPM noted that The Bahamas has consistently maintained its right to establish domestic law and to set its own tax policy and foreign policy.
“We have asserted and continue to assert, that our record of cooperation in tax matters with our international partners through mutual legal assistance treaties, TIA and other bi-lateral cooperation agreements, has demonstrated our commitment to transparency standards and international best practices, and they have worked though we acknowledge the need for better efficiency in the processes.”
He said as a small island state, however, there are limitations to the influence or force in which The Bahamas is able to assert its position against these global initiatives.