Business Barbados - 2023 Edition

Carmel Haynes Executive Director, BIBA, the Association for Global Business ince the global minimum corporate tax rate proposed by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) started to gain traction while the developed countries of the world tried to rebalance their budgets in the grips of a global pandemic, the spotlight has been cast on tax competitive jurisdictions such as Barbados. Some have questioned whether S this prospect of having to raise its tax floor to 15 percent from its current ceiling of 5 percent would cause Barbados to lose its advantage in attracting high- earning multinational companies from across the globe. However, this is based on a very narrow view of what Barbados has to offer. Barbados has never been interested in a ‘race to the bottom’ in providing tax concessions. Indeed, Barbados continues to maintain its rank among the top 10 captive insurance domiciles in the world. This is because captive managers are less focused on tax advantages when they choose a jurisdiction, but rather more interested in how Barbados maximises their strategic, financial and operational advantages. Among independent consultants who evaluate these areas, Barbados continues to rank highly for the stability and predictability of its business environment; the speed at which applications are processed; its history of regulatory experience; and how the jurisdiction is perceived (we have been consistently indexed among the lowest territories within the Americas for perception of corruption by the German- based Transparency International). Apart from captive business, these are high-value features for many investors Choose Barbados to Invest, Live, Work and Play Choose Ba bados and business leaders. It is therefore no wonder that Barbados is also the fourth largest recipient of Canadian direct investment in the world, with six of the largest Canadian banks maintaining a presence here, either through their retail banking, wealth management or reinsurance business units. Indeed, BIBA was formed a quarter-century ago through the amalgamation of several representative organisations for Canadian offshore banks, international business companies, and exempt insurance companies, which were domiciled here and still maintain a presence in Barbados to this day in many cases. Barbados continues to attract business from Canada, many other Commonwealth nations and the United Kingdom, because our legal framework is grounded in English Common Law and our corporate laws are modelled after the Canadian system. Home to a Westminster system of Parliament since 1639, Barbados also holds a solid reputation for political stability, while also enjoying an enviable record of social stability and security relative to many of its neighbours in the hemisphere. Barbados has a strong regulatory framework comprising the Central Bank of Barbados, the Financial Services Commission, the Corporate 17 BUSINESS BARBADOS 2023 C H O O S E B A R B A D O S