Bahamian government taking steps to prevent black listing

The government of the Bahamas says it will table several pieces of legislation aimed at preventing the country from being placed on the European Union’s list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes, also known as black listing.

Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis in a brief statement said his administration will be tabling for debate the Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information (Amendment) Bill, the Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information (Amendment) Regulations and the International Tax Cooperation (Amendment) Bill. These bills are to ensure “we will not be blacklisted after enacting this suite of legislation.”

Minnis said that the Bahamian financial services industry has been under threat for some time. On assuming office in May this year, he recognized “some of our worse fears were realized when we found that this sector of the economy was in deeper trouble than anticipated because of negligence by the previous administration.”

He said despite the claims by the then Perry Christie administration “of being for the people, its lackluster and late-again approach to dealing with this very important part of the economy was about to land us in the very same position that caused a previous Free National Movement (FNM) administration to have to prevent the country from being blacklisted.”

Minnis said that since the election, his government has been working to get the economy back on track. “Strengthening and growing our economy will lead to better paying jobs and greater job security,” he said.

“The new pieces of legislation are extremely important to our country and our image on the international stage,” the prime minister said. “These bills will enable the Bahamas to satisfy the requirements to ensure that we meet various international standards.”.