Tuesday, April 07, 2009PM Dismisses OECD Scare

Sasha L. LightbournePM Not Concerned With Bahamas 'Grey List' Status

Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham is not immediately concerned with the Bahamas being placed on the ‘grey list’ by the G-20 countries. He announced on Sunday, however, that the government will move forward to engage in a tax information exchange agreement (TIEA) with Canada.

The prime minister said as much to members of the press when asked about the country’s position with the Organization for Economic and Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The Bahamas was named on a list of "tax havens" last Thursday that have committed to international tax standards but have yet to implement them by the OECD which may apply some pressure on the financial sector in the country.

The list was divided into four parts: jurisdictions that have implemented the internationally agreed tax standard; tax havens that committed to the international tax standard but have yet to implement it; financial centres that have committed but have yet to implement it; and jurisdictions that have not committed to implement the internationally agreed tax standard.

"We will do what we have to do," the prime minister said. "We will do it in a timely manner and we will act in the best interest of the Bahamas. We will not do it faster than it should be done or slower."

"The countries that I am aware of that specifically asked us to be apart of the TIEA over time would be the Canadians and we are probably going to deal with them first but the others would be the British, the French, the Germans, the Spaniards, the Nordic countries- there are seven of them, Australia, Turkey and the Seychelles Islands.

As for the G-20s ‘grey list,’ the prime minister said he was not surprised and the country is exactly where he expects it to be.

"When there was great panic by some as to what we ought to do and not do, we knew exactly what we were doing and needed to be done and we did it," Mr. Ingraham said. "We are where we wanted to be at this stage and we will do the other things that are necessary to ensure that we are in compliance with international best practices and standards.

"I note the headline from the G-20 that says the era of bank secrecy is over and that may well be so; but privacy and confidentiality can not be outlawed by the G-20."

The prime minister explained that all persons have a right to privacy and confidentiality of their business unless there is a good reason why that ought to be breached.

"No pronouncement to the contrary will change that reality," he said. "The Bahamas is on a list that includes all of the others that were being promoted in the Bahamas and elsewhere as having done this and that. They are in the same position we are in."

"We must have known something. Still tongue sometimes keeps a wise head."

Following a meeting in London, the G-20 nations said in a communiqué: "We agree to take action against non-cooperative jurisdictions, including tax havens. We stand ready to deploy sanctions to protect our public finances and financial systems. The era of banking secrecy is over.

The OECD has published a list of countries assessed by the Global Forum against the international standard for exchange of tax information."

Host leader, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, said, "We have agreed that there will be an end to tax havens that do not transfer information upon request. The banking secrecy of the past must come to an end."

United States President Barack Obama stressed the G-20 leaders’ position by pledging, "We’ll identify jurisdictions that fail to cooperate, including tax havens, and take action to defend our financial system."

There have been growing concerns that so-called tax havens have substantially contributed to the global economic crisis that is still unraveling, according to the OECD’s report

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