Bahamas Could Allow Tax Payment In Digital Assets This Year
Residents of the Bahamas, might be allowed to use digital assets – including the world’s first central bank digital currency (CBDC) – for tax payments.
In a white paper on the future of digital assets, the Prime Minister said the government will begin to “enable payment of taxes using digital assets” by working with the country’s central bank as well as the private sector. The government also plans to work on giving citizens access to crypto with the Bahamian dollar and encourage greater use of the country’s CBDC, the Sand Dollar.
According to the white paper:
“The Government will endeavour to ensure that digital assets are not used for the evasion of taxes or sanctions, and will seek to ensure compliance with all applicable Tax information exchange agreements (TIEA) and domestic laws and agreed OECD standards.”
Bahamas will form a digital asset policy committee as well as a digital advisory panel, or DAP. The former will be chaired by the current prime minister, Philip Davis, with the Financial Secretary, the Central Bank of The Bahamas governor, the executive director of the country’s Securities Commission, and the DAP chair serving as members. The advisory panel will consist of experts from the digital asset space “to keep digital assets and related digital developments, emerging trends, and associated risks constantly under review.”
Davis commented:
“We have a vision to transform The Bahamas into the leading digital assets hub in the Caribbean and a global leader in the progressive regulation of businesses in this profoundly innovative space. While we recognize the extraordinary opportunities afforded by digital assets, we also recognize the risks, and thus we emphasize the importance of effective regulation.”
Prime Minister Davis released the government's White Paper on The Future of Digital Assets in The Bahamas. This White Paper sets out a vision and a framework to guide Bahamian digital asset policy between now and 2026.
— Office of The Prime Minister The Bahamas (@opmthebahamas) April 21, 2022
The Bahamas became the first jurisdiction to fully roll out a CBDC in October 2020. The digital currency, the Sand Dollar, was aimed at driving greater financial inclusion within the archipelago nation of more than 700 islands, roughly 30 of which are inhabited.
