Bahamas Committed To Place On Tax White List

by Phillip Morton, Investors Offshore.com

06 October 2009

The government of the Bahamas has underlined the territory’s commitment to concluding a further nine agreements for the exchange of tax information with Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) member states by the end of the year in order to gain a place on the OECD’s ’white list’ of territories.

The territory has currently concluded three agreements that are compliant with the OECD standard for transparency and information exchange, with the United States in 2002, and more recently with San Marino and Monaco. Since the territory confirmed its commitment to the OECD standard in March 2009, the territory has initiated negotiations with fourteen countries.

A progress report released by the OECD in September confirmed that the Bahamas is taking steps to achieve recognition as a ‘cooperative jurisdiction’. The report commended the jurisdiction’s strong legal framework already present through its agreement with the United States in 2002, and its anti-money laundering legislation, and urged the territory to continue negotiations to substantially-implement the OECD standard.

According to the Bahamas Financial Services Board, the body which promotes the jurisdiction’s financial services industry, the Bahamas “has a history of leadership and ongoing adherence to meeting international protocols.”

“The early introduction of regulation of trust companies in 1965, being the first to sign the United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, and its comprehensive framework to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing are hallmarks that reinforce The Bahamas' position as a leading financial services centre,” the Board stated.

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