John Howard elected as 2009-2010 BIBA President
Thursday July 02 2009 | 05:07 PM

As major changes are being proposed to tax legislation in Canada and the United States, with potentially significant impact on the way that offshore financial centres in this region operate, the Barbados International Business Association (BIBA) is positioning itself to rise to the challenge.

This was one of the commitments made by new BIBA President Mr. John Howard as part of his focus for the organization over the next 12 months of his tenure.

Other Caribbean islands have been under pressure to live up to their previous commitments to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) following the release of the latest list by the OECD of offshore jurisdictions which have not fully implemented  internationally agreed upon tax standards. However, Barbados is the only independent island in the region to have achieved a place on the so-called “white list” by being already compliant with the 2004 standard. Mr. Howard said that BIBA, through its recently formed Tax Committee, would be seeking to leverage Barbados’ enhanced reputation to identify new business opportunities.

He noted that these could come ‘sooner rather later’, as the U.S congress is already considering legislation co-authored by President Obama to clamp down on tax havens (Stop Tax Haven Abuse Bill). Mr. Howard stated that whilst Barbados is currently named in this draft Bill, there could be a wealth of opportunities if we successfully explain how Barbados, with its top OECD ranking and Double Taxation and Tax Information Exchange Agreements with the U.S., is not a tax haven and should therefore be removed from the final Bill.

Mr. Howard assumed the leadership position from the immediate past president, Ms. Lisl Lewis, at the BIBA annual general meeting on June 25. 

Along with his stated overall objective of protecting and growing international business in Barbados, the chartered accountant also pledged BIBA’s assistance to Government agencies in implementing the short and medium term plans developed in response to the current economic crisis. Mr. Howard noted that with the changes expected internationally, including the fact that Canadian businesses will soon have a real choice of jurisdiction, Barbados will no longer be the “only game in town” and he stressed the need for International Business to be totally embraced at every level of society. 

Mr. Howard said his tenure would also be devoted to raising awareness of the benefits, decades of economic contribution and strategic importance of the sector to all Barbadians. The President of Summit International Bank Ltd. noted among the initiatives planned to achieve this are the launch of a BIBA-sponsored charitable foundation and a public celebration of the sector planned for later this year.

Commenting on the challenges ahead, Mr. Howard observed that whilst we may have little control over the policies of other countries, we do have the ability to set and control service standards, policies and procedures within Barbados. As such, Mr. Howard saw opportunity for immediate improvement in Barbados’ competitiveness simply by working with the government to ensure timely execution of the excellent ideas and recommendations that have come from the many private and public sector strategic planning exercises. He promised a greater emphasis on business facilitation and helping to make sure Barbados ‘works’ for international business.

Mr. Howard was previously the finance director of Barrick International Bank Corporation. The CFA charterholder has also held the position of Vice President of Business Advisory Services at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Barbados. Mr. Howard is a former director of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in the Caribbean.