Bahamian appointed to OECD committee on global tax standards

A Bahamian has been appointed to be part of an international advisory committee on global tax standards for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), representing the first time that a no tax or nominal tax jurisdiction will have a seat at the table in this committee, a press statement from the Ministry of Finance (MOF) revealed yesterday.

Attorney General Carl Bethel said the appointment of Stephen Coakley-Wells, director of regulatory and international affairs in the Ministry of Finance, represents the “seat at the table” The Bahamas has been looking for, especially given that the jurisdiction has been on the tax compliance seesaw with bodies like the OECD, European Union (EU), and Financial Action Task Force.

“Indeed it is a seat at the table,” he said. “The devil is in the details and it’s at these tables that these granular details are worked out. So to have a Bahamian who is there and able to contribute at that level is critically important, because it is the technicians who determine how the policy is implemented. 

“It speaks well about the expertise being developed by a whole cadre of young Bahamians in these matters, both as a result of their own education and the opportunities that have been afforded to them in various government positions to not only interact with the world to represent issues of The Bahamas, but also to contribute to the ongoing global dialogue.”

The MOF statement said no tax or nominal tax jurisdictions like The Bahamas have been “underrepresented or completely absent” from groups like the Steering Group of the G20/OECD Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) that Coakley-Wells has been appointed to.

“Mr. Coakley-Wells, who is trained as an economist and lawyer, was elected by the 137 members of the Inclusive Framework on BEPS, out of a field of 12 other international financial regulation experts from around the world,” the statement noted.

“He is internationally recognized as an authority on the regulatory and governance standards underpinning global financial markets. The steering group consists of 26 Inclusive Framework member states.

“It is responsible for policy making in respect of standards and guidelines related to the 15 thematic BEPS actions and sets out a variety of measures ranging from new minimum standards, the revision of existing standards, as well as common approaches to facilitate the convergence of national practices and technical guidance drawing on best practices in international financial systems.”

According to the statement, Coakley-Wells will have direct involvement on the steering group and will “play a strategic role in advancing the viewpoint and concerns of The Bahamas and other no tax jurisdictions” in global financial watchdogs’ mandate to root out tax practices developed nations deem harmful.

The statement noted that this country has been part of the framework on tax matters since 2017.

Bethel called Coakley-Wells “our go-to man” in matters relating to the framework.

“He has been so capable and efficient in his interactions with all of these international organizations that I believe they have developed a real respect for him,” he said.

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source https://thenassauguardian.com/bahamian-appointed-to-oecd-committee-on-global-tax-standards/