Writing in response to a Financial Times article which suggested that companies located in the Bahamas are likely to suffer under US moves to reduce the tax benefits of offshore reincorporation for American firms, and block them from receiving federal contracts, the Minister of State for Finance in the Bahamas, James H. Smith explained that:
‘You may wish to note that the Bahamas does not impose taxes on corporate income, nor does the country have a double taxation treaty with the US: two essential features of a tax structure that are necessary for a US company to benefit from locating offshore.’
He continued: ‘While Bermuda and Barbados have such arrangements in place and a number of US companies have located in those jurisdictions (presumably for the reasons stated in your article) the Bahamas is not home to any of those companies since there would be no such tax benefit.’
Meanwhile, the jurisdiction’s Minister of Financial Services and Investments, Allyson Maynard-Gibson on Monday announced the launch of Financial Services Week in the Bahamas, and revealed that she intends to release plans for a five-year overhaul of the financial sector by the end of September.
