Barbados says it is no longer regarded as a low tax jurisdiction after having put in place the global minimum taxes giving foreign investors the confidence that the island has undertaken the necessary reform.
Minister in the Ministry of Finance, Ryan Straughn, addressing the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes 21st Automatic Exchange of Information Peer Review Group (APRG) meeting, said the peer review would look at Barbados’ status in 2026
Minister in the Ministry of Finance, Ryan Straughn, speaking at the 21st Automatic Exchange of Information Peer Review Group (APRG) Meeting
The meeting brought together delegates from across the world working collaboratively to strengthen international cooperation, combat tax evasion, and advance global tax transparency.
Straughn said that the Mia Mottley government has been participating in reform under the Barbados Economic Recovery and Transformation (BERT) programme, initiated in 2018, to restore macroeconomic stability and drive inclusive growth.
The programme involved a comprehensive debt restructuring and fiscal measures, supported by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) through an Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and a Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF).
‘Barbados is no longer a low tax jurisdiction because we have the global minimum tax in place., that validation is important to give investors confidence that Barbados has done all the reform.
‘We, as small states, attempt to ensure that we can deliver on our development objectives, that the commitments that we’ve made with respect to tax transparency, as well as exchange of information on the Common Reporting Standards are key for us to be able to unlock investment.’
Straughn said that although Barbados is a small country from a capacity perspective, it is important to recognise that small states have peculiarities with being able to effectively monitor and maintain global standards.
‘How does a country ensure that it has enough resources to not just sustain its development effort, but as we have committed, to building climate resilience?
‘It means that our fiscal circumstance, our tax circumstance, must be relatively certain, given all that’s happening across the world, and therefore events like these help us to.share and understand the circumstances and the impact that these reforms will have on small states like Barbados’ Straughn said.
He said that there are ‘aggressive’ plans regarding the government’s intention to meet the BERT programme, which is hinged on the country’s ability to attract additional businesses in key sectors, and build an export-driven economy.
‘We are engaging in that particular space, that means collaboration with international companies and agencies to be able to help unlock those unique opportunities that help us to build resilience,’
Straughn reaffirmed Barbados’ dedication to the journey and stated that there have been significant improvements to metrics like improving transparency, better governance, investor confidence, better business and consumer confidence.
‘We remain committed to this process simply because the long-term sustainable viability of Barbados relies on us having a clean bill of health, because when disruption occurs you must be able to have a policy buffer within which to be capable of operating,’ he added.
The APRG comprises 30 members and is responsible for drawing conclusions on the legal frameworks of the Global Forum members who have committed to implementing the Common Reporting Standard and assessing the effectiveness of its implementation.