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Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM |
 Nassau, The Bahamas – Attorney General, Senator the Hon. Allyson Maynard-Gibson addressed the topic of “The Importance of Legislation” during the Industry Briefing on Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information Act 2016 and the Common Reporting Standard at the British Colonial Hilton, Friday, January 20, 2017.
The Attorney General remarked that the successful enactment of the Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information Act (2016), affirms the Government’s commitment to meeting the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) Common Reporting Standard (CRS). She explained that the Act provides for the implementation of the CRS, which was approved by the OECD in 2014 for the automatic exchange of financial information in tax matters.
“Through the collaborative work efforts of the Office of the Attorney General, the Ministry of Financial Services, the Ministry of Finance, the Bahamas Financial Services Board, international legal counsel and other members of the financial services industry, and a deep level of commitment from all involved, we were able to do this in a relatively short period of time.
“The Government of The Bahamas understands the importance of The Bahamas being able to meet the implementation deadline of 2018 to which it has committed,” she said.
The Hon. Michael Halkitis, Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance, and the Hon. C.V. Hope Strachan, Minister of Financial Services also gave remarks at the event organized by the Bahamas Financial Services Board and the Ministry of Financial Services. Other presentations included “Legislative Updates” by Kenrah Newry, Office of the Attorney General; “Negotiations Update/Country List” by Adrianna Knowles-Rahming and “Financial Institutions Preparations and Next Steps” by LaTonia Symonette-Tinker, the Ministry of Financial Services.
According to the Attorney General, CRS is an international framework developed by the OECD, working with non-OECD G20 countries, to tackle and deter cross-border tax evasion.
“This continues the global trend towards greater reporting and transparency in financial information that began with the introduction of the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act,” she said.
From a legal perspective, she advised that a country’s implementation of CRS involves the following steps:
1. Translating the CRS financial account information reporting and due diligence standards into detailed rules and procedures under domestic law;
2. Selecting the legal basis for exchanging with other countries the financial account information received in the reporting, and;
3. Entering into agreements with counterpart competent authorities in other countries at the administrative level to activate and provide the mechanics for the automatic exchange, including what, how, and when information is to be exchanged.
© Copyright 2017 by thebahamasweekly.com
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