The Tribune

By Neil Hartnell 

and Annelia Nixon

Tribune Business Reporters

A CABINET minister yesterday sought to boost The Bahamas’ competitiveness as a domicile for wealthy investors to make their home by unveiling plans to launch a Tax Residency Certificate and one-stop-shop for approvals.

Jerome Fitzgerald, minister of economic affairs, told the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) Latin America conference that draft legislation to give effect to The Bahamas’ long-awaited Tax Residency Certificate has been completed and will “swiftly” be brought to Parliament for passage into statute law.

And he also disclosed that the Government plans to launch The Bahamas Invest Concierge Unit to give first-class treatment to high net worth investors seeking to domicile in The Bahamas, and help shepherd them through the approvals and permitting process, as part of a drive to encourage more of these individuals - as well as the family offices that manage their affairs - to relocate to this nation.

“Our reforms for the private client extend beyond corporate structures and solutions. We are looking to plan for the family unit itself. We understand that many of our clients are global, and many require certainty in tax status. We are implementing a tax residency programme to ensure that we meet this demand,” Mr Fitzgerald said.

“We have completed the draft legislation required to implement the Bahamas Tax Residency Certificate. It will soon go before Parliament, as we move swiftly to bring this new law into effect. 

“Ninety days in the country during a calendar year will make a person eligible to apply, and those 90 days do not have to be concurrent. A globally mobile family, or retirees, can live the way such families actually live, moving through the year across several countries, and still have the certainty  for tax residency in The Bahamas.”

Under the proposed regime, individuals who spend at least 90 days in The Bahamas during a calendar year would be eligible to apply for tax residency, with the days not required to be consecutive.

The tax residency certificate initiative has been mulled under successive administrations for more than a decade, but never been brought into effect. It would certify a resident’s genuine and legitimate physical presence in The Bahamas, confirming that they pay taxes in their nation, and thus affirming compliance with the tax laws of their birth country and others where they may have homes.

Pledging to, in effect, roll out the ‘red carpet’ for its targeted wealthy investor market, Mr Fitzgerald added: “We want to ensure that those who want to come to The Bahamas, to invest in The Bahamas, are given the attention and certainty that they deserve. Looking ahead, we are also preparing to launch the Bahamas Invest Concierge Unit.

“When your client decides to invest in The Bahamas, the Bahamas Invest Concierge Unit will guide them through the entire process - from the first inquiry to the final approval. Applications and approvals will be managed via a single point of contact.

“This concierge service will create an improved experience for investors making a genuine commitment to The Bahamas. This includes those investing in government bonds, which will grant economic permanent residency, as well as those who invest into real estate.”

Mr Fizgerald signalled investments in Family Island resort and other development projects may also qualify for permanent residency. “One area of focus in my mandate is to create the certainty and attractiveness for family offices to come to The Bahamas and experience the opportunities that exist,” he added.

“We want global family offices to better understand the advantages of the Bahamian experience. We will incorporate the family office experience into our Concierge Unit. But we know that to be the jurisdiction of choice, we need to ensure there is certainty for the family to establish their governance framework in The Bahamas. 

“We want to treat the establishment of a substantial family office in The Bahamas as a high-value foreign direct investment project, not another business,” he added.

“We will establish a framework where a family office will have a transparent and certain agreement, where expectations of the family office and the Government are agreed.  A single government-facing agreement where the process of approvals is transparent, expedited and a framework that can be relied upon.  

“Bring the decision-making centre of your family wealth to The Bahamas. Establish real substance here. Employ people here. Use Bahamian professional and financial services. In return, The Bahamas will give you a clear Iimmigration position, a known tax and Bbusiness Licence treatment, a defined regulatory perimeter, exchange control certainty, co-ordinated government approvals and a single point of contact.”

The announcements were part of a broader package of financial services reforms aimed particularly at meeting the evolving wealth-planning needs of Brazilian and other Latin American families. Mr Fitzgerald highlighted the expanded Bahamian products and tools available to international private clients, particularly Brazilian families navigating succession and wealth structuring.

The minister highlighted amendments to the International Business Companies Act at the end of 2023 that created a statutory mechanism allowing an IBC to demerge into two or more IBCs.

He said the reform gives families and investment firms greater flexibility to separate assets or business activities where ownership structures, investment strategies, transactions or succession plans change.

The Government also introduced the Segregated Accounts Company Act last year, expanding the use of such structures beyond regulated investment funds to areas including family wealth structuring and succession planning.

A key feature of the new regime is the ability to establish incorporated segregated accounts as separate legal entities, allowing greater flexibility for transactions and governance between different family investment portfolios.

Mr Fitzgerald also pointed to the Usufruct Interest Act, which was passed earlier this year and is designed to provide a legal framework for separating ownership of an asset from rights to use, benefit from or exercise governance over it.

He said regulations have been completed, and the Government expects the Bahamian usufruct regime to be fully implemented within the next month.

The reforms, Mr Fitzgerald said, can be combined to provide families with multiple succession-planning options, including the use of demergers, segregated accounts, usufructs and trusts.

“We haven’t stopped there,” the minister added, describing the reforms as part of an ongoing effort to adapt The Bahamas’ financial services offering to changes in the Brazilian market.

Mr Fitzgerald said the jurisdiction’s proximity to major markets, political and economic stability, common law framework and concentration of financial services professionals remain key strengths, but argued that continued innovation is necessary to maintain its position in international wealth management.

“Our stability comes from our willingness to innovate,” the minister said. “We change our laws and our services as conditions change, and that is precisely what has kept the industry steady for so long.”