NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The government expects to have preliminary results of its tax study by year’s end, according to State Minister for Finance Kwasi Thompson, who noted a white paper on the findings of that study will be published.

While making his contribution to the 2021/2022 budget debate in the Senate yesterday, Thompson said: “Our Resilient Bahamas plan laid out and executed a strategy that has kept the government solvent, that has allowed for hundreds of millions of dollars in direct support to Bahamians and that has ensured that our Bahamian dollar has remained as strong as it ever has been.

“Because we confront the gravity of the situation with resolve and resilience, we have indicated that this administration will continue on tax reform efforts, as was recommended by the Economic Recovery Committee (ERC).

“We have accepted their position that tax reform must continue and that we must improve our framework to move toward more fair and more equitable taxation across the country. We also agreed with the ERC that any future significant reform should be preceded by an in-depth empirical assessment regarding the efficiency of our tax systems and the relative burdens of taxation in the country.”

To that end, Thompson noted preliminary work has already begun.

“By September of 2021, the study will be in full swing and we will likely have preliminary results by end of the year,” said Thompson.

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