Prime Minister Perry Christie told this to a Harvard Class of CEO’s 2003 Reunion at Atlantis Resort & Casino, Paradise Island, on Wednesday night.
The Bahamas has no income tax, corporate tax, inheritance tax or any other form of taxation that would be a “disincentive” for legitimate foreign investment, he told the group.
Furthermore, he said, with the impending implications of a World Trade Organisation membership and entry into the Free Trade Area of the Americas, The Bahamas does not envision an income tax regime.
“You come to the right place at the right time,” the Prime Minister told the CEOs. “While not yet buoyant, our economy is sound, our monetary arrangements are on key and we have withstood the shock of September 11 and wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
“We are poised for unprecedented development and we invite you to join us,” he said.
Hailing the Harvard CEOs as story makers, pace setters and innovators, Mr. Christie said that his government looks to them for inspiration, ingenuity and gifted insights on the best way forward.
And, having been afforded the opportunity to speak to them, he told the group that they have chosen to re-write in a land of unlimited opportunities.
“Never before in the history of The Bahamas have the opportunities to invest been so ripe and so attractive,” the Prime Minister said, and “Whatever your line of business, you should as Orbitex and others here have done, consider expanding in The Bahamas.”
Painting a picture of stability, Prime Minister Christie noted that The Bahamas has over 270 years of unbroken parliamentary democracy, and is a world-class destination with a combination of old world charm and first world resort facilities, and a very educated workforce.
He also reminded the group that The Bahamas’ close proximity to the United States adds to the attractiveness of doing business here.
“It is a considered policy of my government that investors, both foreign and domestic, are invited to sit at the table of national development as full partners,” he added.
The businesspersons are involved in a wide array of businesses such as resort development, communications technology, manufacturing, merchandising, transportation, financial services, agriculture, fisheries, which The Prime Minister said is “good news” for The Bahamas.
“The Bahamas is open for business – clean, honest business,” he said.
By Lindsay Thompson, The Nassau Guardian
