Qualified Jurisdiction (QJ) Status is Secured

The Bahamas has secured further approval by the US Treasury of its Know-Your-Customer rules and its qualified jurisdiction status under the Internal Review Services program, through the signing of an agreement for the provision of information with respect to taxes and for other matters between the two Governments.

Under the agreement, The Bahamas has made a commitment to provide as of 2005 (i.e, for taxable years which begin in January 1, 2004) information that may be available in The Bahamas that is relevant to a particular case, where the United States Government has exhausted all measures within the United States, and the Ministry of Finance in The Bahamas is of the opinion that sufficient evidence exists to support criminal tax evasion of United States federal tax.

It is noteworthy that any information obtained through this agreement cannot be shared with other countries. Further, in addition to the burden to prove wrongdoing, strong anti-fishing provisions are an integral part of the agreement.

Similar arrangements are slated to begin in 2007 with respect to civil tax offense of United States Federal tax laws. However, The Bahamas has continued to seek a level playing field by referring to the terms of similar agreements that the United States may negotiate with other countries over the upcoming years.

On January 1, 2001, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service established a QI withholding agreement to simplify withholding and reporting obligations for payments of income (including interest, dividends, royalties, and gross proceeds) made to an account holder through one or more foreign intermediaries. For example, if the foreign intermediary is not a QI and the payor does not receive the Form W-9 (indicating the tax identification for the...

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