The Tribune

By Fay Simmons

Tribune Business Editor

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

The deputy prime minister yesterday renewed calls for a body such as the United Nations (UN) to oversee global tax issues as The Bahamas has been “playing catch up” with the OECD and Europe for too long.

Chester Cooper said the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) and European Union (EU) have their own “self-interest” to protect and continuously shift the standards competing jurisdictions such as The Bahamas and other international financial centres (IFCs) have to meet.

He said: “I think this has gone on too long. For four years as the shadow minister for financial services, I spoke on these issues.

“We’ve been playing catch up too long. We’ve been on defence too long. And it’s now time for the international bodies to approach these matters fairly and practically, but also in a measured way so that there is not a consistent, continued changing of the goalposts.

“It is time that we get the international bodies like the OECD and the EU Commission to recognise that they have self-interest. Self-interest that may not be in line with international social justice.”

Last month, Michael Halkitis, minister of economic affairs, said there is “momentum building” among Caribbean and African nations, as well as international financial centres (IFCs), to ensure tax matters are dealt with under the UN - a forum they feel will be fairer and more attuned to their interests

Mr Cooper yesterday echoed the call for the UN to determine global tax regulations, adding that The Bahamas is a “mainstream international financial centre of high repute” that wishes to be compliant with global best practices.

He said: “We’re asking the UN, as a collective CARICOM, and in partnership with African countries and other right-thinking countries around the world, to make that pitch to the UN that they take this process over and implement a global regulatory framework for international financial services and tax management.

“We want to be compliant. We’ve built a very successful international financial services business over the years. We are not interested in playing around the edges on this industry. We are a mainstream international financial centre of high repute and we’ve done it successfully for many, many years.

“We have pivoted, we have been successful. We will continue to pivot in the best interest of our country to be able to offer international financial services in a sensible but fair framework.”

Mr Cooper added that The Bahamas must continue to collaborate with other countries to fight the “injustice” of the EU and OCED “whether we prevail or not”.

He said: “We must continue to fight what we consider to be injustice whether we prevail or not. We are confident, though, that with collaboration and in being proactive, and with us leading the charge…that we will be heard. And, over time, we will make progress.

“It’s a battle but, you know, it’s not the war. And that is why we will continue to fight every battle that we need to.”

Mr Cooper explained that developing countries are often “bludgeoned” into practices that are not suited for their economic interests by the OECD and EU. However, each country has a vote mandated by the UN, so the process would have a more favourable outcome if developing countries collaborate.

He said: “At the UN there’s one country, one vote mandate, and in CARICOM, we have 14. US has one but all of these countries would have a single vote.

“Small island developing states are often overlooked or bludgeoned into global practices that may not be in line with their economic interest. But we must continue to collaborate with other countries who are confronted with the same issues and speak with one voice.”