Barbados has been advised that its signatory to the Global Minimum Tax does not lessen or eliminate the value or importance of Barbados’ extensive Double Taxation Agreements (DTAs) and bilateral investment treaties (BITs).

This has been outlined by Pascal Saint-Amans, partner with the Brunswick Group, and a former director of the Centre for Tax Policy and Administration at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and presently a tax advisor to the Barbados Government.

Saint-Amans was among the panellists at the Global Business Week Conference 2024 addressing the Global Minimum Tax. He joined the discussion along with La-Tanya Phillips, a Partner at EY Services Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean with responsibility for Tax; and Grant McDonald, the Head of Tax and Office Managing Partner for KPMG in Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean.

In the session moderated by Connie Smith, Managing Director, Vistra Barbados, Saint-Amans underscored the critical importance of DTIs and BITs in providing continued tax certainty in the face of an evolving tax environment. “You cannot do without tax treaties; at 1%, it’s nice to have; at 9% or 15%, it’s a must to have. . . You have tax treaties, but you don’t have enough.”

Commenting on Barbados’ adoption of a higher tax rate to preserve its status as a legitimate global business hub, Phillips noted there was a mixed response by international clients. Some, she noted were re-evaluating their footprint in the island, but on the other hand, some multinationals were expressing an interest in investing in Barbados.

While addressing this area, McDonald complimented the Barbados authorities for speaking directly to markets in Canada, in particular, to provide insight into the Barbados position on its tax structure and to offer certainty to investors.

He assessed that it was companies with greater substance that were more committed to not disrupting their operations on the island.

GBW Conference 2024 sponsors included Concorde Bank Limited, Seaco SRL, and VM Wealth Management Ltd.

The Global Business Week corporate backing included Diamond sponsor Invest Barbados; Platinum sponsor, the International Business Unit of the Ministry of Energy and Business; Gold sponsors were the Central Bank of Barbados, CIBC Caribbean Bank, and Nuvisual Media. The Silver sponsors were RBC, Lex Caribbean Attorneys-at-Law, Vistra (Barbados) Ltd, EY Management, PWC East Caribbean, Scotiabank, Trident Trust, Clarke Gittens Farmer, and KPMG.  (BIBA)