Responding to an article in the newsletter of offshore legal advisors the Sovereign Society which suggested the Tax and Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) created an undesirable legal bond between the US and the Bahamas, Rowena Bethel, a legal advisor in the Finance Ministry, pointed out that the agreement was just that, an agreement rather than a legally binding treaty.
According Bethel, who was quoted by the Nassau Guardian on Wednesday, the recent tax agreements with the US were ﾓnot enforceable as treaties.ﾔ
Furthermore, she told the Guardian: ﾓTreaties are enforceable under the rules of international law…The executive agreement, which is what the TIEA is, is not enforceable under international law.”
“Basically, if one party reneges then the other one simply walks awayﾔ, argued Bethel.
By Amanda Banks, Tax-News.com
