The Bahamas was removed from the European Union's (EU) list of Non-Cooperative Jurisdictions for Tax Purposes following a positive technical recommendation from the EU Code of Conduct Group (CoCG), which was formally adopted by the Council of European Union Finance Ministers (ECOFIN) this morning.

This is the result of excellent coordination and cooperation by Ministers and their technical teams, especially the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Financial Services, Trade and Industry & Immigration and the Office of Attorney General & Legal Affairs, who worked along with the Bahamas Financial Services Board and the Association of International Banks and Trust Companies and other financial services industry partners, forming a high level technical working group dedicated to addressing this issue and the continued challenges to this important sector of our economy.

The Bahamas remains committed to constructive engagement with the ECOFIN and the CoCG technical committee to meet or exceed global standards of conduct and cooperation in tax matters and to the timelines set for technical compliance and legislation to effect the same. The Government of the Bahamas remains committed to the financial services industry and to the success of the Bahamian professionals who form the foundation for its continued viability.

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