The European Union’s Economic and Financial Affairs Council’s today announced the complete removal of The Bahamas from its List of Non-Cooperative Jurisdictions for Tax Purposes. The decision was made in recognition of The Bahamas having implemented all the necessary measures to address the concerns identified by the OECD’s Forum on Harmful Tax Practices (“FHTP”) and the EU. It demonstrates The Bahamas’ commitment at the highest political level to ensuring that as jurisdiction we comply with international standards on information exchange, tackling harmful tax practices, dismantling artificial tax structures and prevention of financial crime which is critical to our value proposition as a well-regulated international financial center.
The Bahamas Financial Services Board (BFSB) and the Association of International Banks and Trust Companies in the Bahamas (AIBT), welcome today’s decision and the positive impact we anticipate that it will have on the financial services industry and on investor confidence generally. We commend the Government’s efforts that led to the Bahamas’ removal from Annex 1 of the European Union’s (“EU”) list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes. We look forward to our continued partnership with the Government on these issues and remain available to assist the Government in all of its efforts to ensure the country remains a leading international financial centre. Attached is a copy of the press release issued today by the Ministry of Finance.
