$1.745m Software Deal To Facilitate Tax Exchange
The Ministry of Finance has embraced a software solution from Vizor AEOI Software to help meet its automatic tax information exchange (AEOI) commitments.
The Bahamas will use Vizor’s solution to meet its obligations under the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD)’s Common Reporting Standard (CRS), and its Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) agreement with the US. The first CRS exchanges of information by The Bahamas will occur in September 2018, and continue each year thereafter.
“The Ministry of Finance is upgrading its digital infrastructure in a number of areas to strengthen its international compliance activities,” said Marlon Johnson, acting financial secretary. “This new software platform will enhance substantially our capacity to meet our local and international reporting requirements, and commitments consistent with global standards of efficiency and efficacy.”
The Bahamas signed the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters on December 15, 2017, making this nation the 116th jurisdiction to join. On the same date, The Bahamas also signed the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA), and joined the inclusive framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS).
Vizor’s solution includes an online portal, accessible by Bahamian financial institutions (FIs), which can register and report the required account data – either via a manual entry option or XML – to the Competent Authority. This is intended to ensure maximum compliance by financial institutions in their first year of reporting.
The Visor solution was selected through an open bid process in December last year. The value of the contract is $1.745m for a period of five years. Vizor’s solution is already used by Competent Authorities in ten jurisdictions to meet their FATCA, CRS and other reporting requirements.