The Ministry of Finance has embraced a software solution from Vizor AEOI Software to help meet its automatic tax information exchange (AEOI) commitments.
The Bahamas will use Vizor's solution to meet its obligations under the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD)'s Common Reporting Standard (CRS), and its Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) agreement with the US. The first CRS exchanges of information by The Bahamas will occur in September 2018, and continue each year thereafter.
"The Ministry of Finance is upgrading its digital infrastructure in a number of areas to strengthen its international compliance activities," said Marlon Johnson, acting financial secretary. "This new software platform will enhance substantially our capacity to meet our local and international reporting requirements, and commitments consistent with global standards of efficiency and efficacy."
The Bahamas signed the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters on December 15, 2017, making this nation the 116th jurisdiction to join. On the same date, The Bahamas also signed the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA), and joined the inclusive framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS).
Vizor's solution includes an online portal, accessible by Bahamian financial institutions (FIs), which can register and report the required account data - either via a manual entry option or XML - to the Competent Authority. This is intended to ensure maximum compliance by financial institutions in their first year of reporting.
The Visor solution was selected through an open bid process in December last year. The value of the contract is $1.745m for a period of five years. Vizor's solution is already used by Competent Authorities in ten jurisdictions to meet their FATCA, CRS and other reporting requirements.
Comments
Well_mudda_take_sic 6 years, 5 months ago
And what benefit does the Bahamas get from borrowing to fund the costs of enforcing the tax collection systems of OECD countries? Neither Hubert Minnis, Peter Turnquest nor Marlon Johnson will never have the stature necessary to standup to the OECD and say enough is enough.
Well_mudda_take_sic 6 years, 5 months ago
"never" should read "ever"
Well_mudda_take_sic 6 years, 5 months ago
It certainly does not take much to connect the dots in the following announcement by Vizor.
Vizor Software Appoints Mary O’Leary as AEOI Business Development Manager
Dublin, Ireland, May 1, 2018
Vizor Software, the global leader in cross-border information exchange solutions for tax authorities, today announced that Mary O’Leary has been appointed to lead the business development of the company’s solutions for Tax Authorities. Having most recently worked in the OECD’s Global Forum for Transparency and Sharing of Taxpayer Information (Global Forum), Ms. O’Leary brings a wealth of expertise in the area of exchange of tax information to the Vizor team.
Responsible for product oversight and account management of the Vizor AEOI software solution, Ms. O’Leary will assist jurisdictions with their Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) obligations for the purposes of Common Reporting Standard (CRS) exchanges and the Foreign Account Tax Compliant Act (FATCA), as well as Country by Country (CbC) Reporting and Exchange of Tax Rulings (ETR).
Conor Crowley, CEO of Vizor commented, “We are very pleased to have Mary join Vizor. Her work with the OECD, extensive industry knowledge as well as her business development background makes her an exceptional addition to our team as we continue to lead in the provision of technical solutions for cross-border information exchange. Mary’s background as a Tax Analyst with the OECD, combined with her vast knowledge of AEOI, FATCA, and CRS make her an extremely valuable addition to our team.”
Ms O’Leary said, “Once I identified Vizor as the market leader in cross-border information exchange solutions for tax authorities, I immediately wanted to be a part of its dynamic growth and development. With another three jurisdictions having recently chosen Vizor to meet their 2018 CRS commitment, the momentum in this area continues to build and it is very rewarding to continue to assist jurisdictions in the implementation of information exchange.”
Ms O’Leary was most recently with the OECD where she served as a Tax Analyst with the Global Forum from 2012 to 2017, during which time she managed peer reviews, provided technical assistance to developing countries and led a number of training seminars for tax officials on exchange of information. Previously, Ms O’Leary was an International Tax Consultant with KPMG in Australia.
You can learn more at vizorsoftware.com
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