AIBT & BFSB Joint Response The Bahamas Off The EU Blacklist – Mondaq News Alerts

21 February 2020

Bahamas Financial Services Board

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BFSB and AIBT welcome the news of The European Union'sEconomic and Financial Affairs Council's complete removal ofThe Bahamas from its List of Non-Cooperative Jurisdictions for TaxPurposes, at their meeting in Brussels today. This was done inrecognition of The Bahamas having implemented all of the necessaryreforms to meet the EU criteria on tax governance and taxcooperation. The move by the EU underscores The Bahamas'commitment to adhere to global regulations and international bestpractices as a premiere international financial centre. Thedecision acknowledges that The Bahamas has implemented all thenecessary reform to address concerns regarding economic substance,removal of preferential exemptions and automatic exchange of taxinformation.

Industry stakeholders welcome today's decision and thepositive impact we anticipate that it will have on the financialservices sector and on investor confidence generally. We commendthe Bahamas government, in particular the team at The Ministry ofFinance, for its collaborative approach, steadfastness and ongoingdialogue with industry bodies such as BFSB and AIBT to ensure thatpractitioners understand the nature and reasoning for the variousreforms and have a say in the implementation process. Thisevidences commitment to public private sector partnership.

Throughout the entire process of reform, The Bahamas hasdemonstrated commitment at the highest political level to ensuringthat as jurisdiction we comply with international standards oninformation exchange, tackling harmful tax practices, dismantlingartificial tax structures and prevention of financial crime whichis critical to our value proposition as a well-regulatedinternational financial center. We look forward to continuedstakeholder engagement on these issues, the development of astrategic plan for the sector and other emerging internationalinitiatives to ensure that we persist in repositioning thefinancial services sector for long term viability.

The Bahamas was one of sixteen (16) jurisdictions that the EUdetermined had passed legislation to meet EU tax good governanceprinciples, while four (4) new jurisdictions were added to the listof non-cooperative tax jurisdictions.

Reference:https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2020/02/18/taxation-council-revises-its-eu-list-of-non-cooperative-jurisdictions/pdf

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AIBT & BFSB Joint Response The Bahamas Off The EU Blacklist - Mondaq News Alerts