The attorney who played a key role in drafting the Foundations Bill said the Bahamas must move to enact the legislation and ensure it establishes a competitive adantage over rival common jurisdictions with both the Cayman Islands and Barbados working on similar laws for this product.
Anthony Thompson, an attorney with Graham, Thompson and Co, told a Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) Bahamas luncheon that the financial services industry wanted to offer foundations ahead of competitors.
He said he understood the Foundations Bill should be passed by Parliament in early 2004, adding: “Foundations are a product whose time has come, infact came several years ago, for a common law jurisdiction such as the Bahamas, and we would like to be able to offer this product to our clients before Cayman Islands or Barbados, who I hear, are presently working on their own foundation laws.”
The Foundations Bill is among six Bills the financial industry believes will, once passed, provide it with a product menu equal to that of its offshore rivals. It would further aid the sector on its efforts to refocusitself following the implementation of 2000 financial laws, US and Canadian tax law changes and alterations in the global regulatory environment.
Source: Neil Hartnell, The Tribune
