Bahamas could gain $140m from 15% minimum taxation

• Minister: First step towards ‘one tax rate for all’

• OECD’s initial move just ‘a crack in the door’

• But won’t cause financial services to ‘flee’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas could earn $140m in revenue from the global tax crackdown on major multinationals, a Cabinet minister disclosed yesterday, while suggesting the initiative is the first step towards “one tax rate for all”.

Michael Halkitis, minister of economic affairs, told a panel discussion at the annual RF Economic Outlook conference that the G-7/OECD-led push to levy a minimum 15 percent corporate income tax worldwide by 2024 was merely “a crack in the door” that is intended to ultimately lead to the harmonisation of tax systems and rates.

“The reality we face, beginning in 2024, is that multinational enterprises with revenue of 750m euros or higher will be subject to a minimum tax rate of 15 percent or higher in jurisdictions in which they operate,” he said, explaining that the initiative was designed to prevent “a race to the bottom” on global tax rates while also halting tax avoidance and evasion by corporate conglomerates.

The Bahamas, despite having no history of income or corporate taxes, is among 138 nations that in July 2021 signed on to the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) inclusive framework that underpins the minimum tax drive and commits signatories to implementing it.

“The potential uptick for The Bahamas could be $140m annually,” Mr

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