The Government of The Bahamas and the Government of Japan signed an Agreement for the Exchange of Information for the Purpose of the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion and the Allocation of Rights of Taxation with Respect to Income of Individuals, during a ceremony on Thursday, January 27, 2011. Pictured from left are His Excellency Hiroshi Yamaguchi, Ambassador of Japan; and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Hon Brent Symonette, addressing the media. (BIS Photo/Kris Ingraham)

NASSAU, The Bahamas - The Government of The Bahamas and the Government of Japan signed an Agreement for the Exchange of Information for the Purpose of the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion and the Allocation of Rights of Taxation with Respect to Income of Individuals, during a ceremony on Thursday, January 27, 2011.

This made the 23rd TIEA that The Bahamas has signed and marked its second with a major Asian economy.  The Bahamas has TIEAs with 17 Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development member countries and nine with members of the G-20.

The signing took place at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs the Hon. Brent Symonette signed on behalf of the Bahamas Government and His Excellency Hiroshi Yamaguchi, Ambassador of Japan signed on behalf of his government.

Mr. Symonette said that the Government of The Bahamas welcomed the conclusion of this agreement with Japan, a fellow active participant in the ongoing work of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development Global Forum on Transparency and Tax Information Exchange, as well as in the previous Committee on Level Playing Field Issues.

“The Government is confident that with the continued strategic broadening and deepening of its tax cooperation network the country will continue to grow and prosper as an international business centre of choice for global citizens,” Mr. Symonette said.

This TIEA with Japan not only provides for cooperation in tax matters to the internationally accepted standards, Mr. Symonette said, but also provides for the allocation to each party certain exclusive taxing rights in respect of income from sources in the other contracting party, which is received by designated groups of students, pensioners and government employees.

The Government of The Bahamas and the Government of Japan signed an Agreement for the Exchange of Information for the Purpose of the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion and the Allocation of Rights of Taxation with Respect to Income of Individuals, during a ceremony on Thursday, January 27, 2011. Pictured from left are His Excellency Hiroshi Yamaguchi, Ambassador of Japan; and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Hon. Brent Symonette. (BIS Photo/Kris Ingraham)

“It is a first and by no means the last of its kind for The Bahamas and demonstrates the range and diversity of tax cooperation that countries have the opportunity to engage in, bilaterally, for their mutual economic benefits,” he said.

Within the international arena, the involvement of both governments in the international tax cooperation work of the UN and the OECD, as well as the conclusion of this TIEA “proves that there is mutual commitment to the effective implementation of accepted international standards for financial regulation and cross-border cooperation,” Mr. Symonette said.

He thanked the negotiators from the Ministry of Finance (Bahamas) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan for their cooperation in ensuring the execution of the TIEA.

Ambassador Yamaguchi said the day marked the culmination of years of ongoing negotiations and preparations based on an initiative proposed by the Rt Hon. Hubert Ingraham, Prime Minister during a courtesy call in September 2009.

“It is my pleasure to thank the leadership and a wide range of stakeholders within the Bahamian circles for initiating this deal with us and responding most favourably and warmly to Japan’s needs and requirements,” the ambassador said.

He deemed it an historic moment in the almost 36 years of diplomatic relations between both countries, which was established on March 11, 1975.

“This is indeed epoch-making because it is the first agreement which requires ratification procedures at Japan’s national diet, and which is different from an administrative arrangement exchange between our two governments in 1981 for reciprocal visa exemption,” Ambassador Yamaguchi said.

He said Japan remains deeply committed to the various initiatives being carried out by the G8, G20 and the OECD in a series of efforts to democratically promote the exchange of information on economic matters including financial and tax matters.