By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

ECONOMIC Affairs Minister Jerome Fitzgerald says the government wants more extremely wealthy permanent residents to bring their wealth to The Bahamas and use the country as their tax home, as it pushes to expand its appeal to high-net-worth individuals and family offices.

Mr Fitzgerald said some of the people the government hopes to attract are already connected to The Bahamas through the global 15 percent top-up tax and that the proposed Tax Residency Certificate would extend the country’s appeal to permanent residents.

“Some of them, of course, are extremely wealthy,” Mr Fitzgerald said, “as we know from the top-up tax, the global 15% tax that a lot of big companies are now paying taxes in the Bahamas, and we want to open that up for permanent residents as well, and so that's something that is critical.”

The proposed certificate would allow permanent residents who spend at least 90 days in The Bahamas to establish the country as their jurisdiction of tax residence and pay taxes locally rather than in another jurisdiction where they may spend part of the year.

Mr Fitzgerald said legislation will also be needed to allow authorities to track when permanent residents leave the country because departures are not currently stamped, making it difficult to verify whether applicants have met the proposed 90-day requirement.

Mr Fitzgerald said the draft legislation has been completed and is undergoing consultation, with the government aiming to take it to Parliament before the end of the year.

The tax residency plan forms part of a broader effort to strengthen The Bahamas’ position as a destination for high-net-worth individuals and family offices.

Mr Fitzgerald said the government is also moving ahead with the Bahamas Invest Concierge, a dedicated office intended to speed up the process for wealthy investors seeking to establish themselves and their businesses in the country.

He said renovations to the office are being finalised and the government is seeking someone to head the unit, which is expected to become operational by the end of the year.

He said the government is also seeing more family offices establish operations in The Bahamas, bringing not only wealth but relatives and employees who support those businesses.

Mr Fitzgerald said the government wants to extend the same level of service associated with the tourism industry to people bringing financial services business and wealth to The Bahamas.

He said the initiatives are among several measures the government intends to advance over the next 90 days to strengthen the financial services sector and create opportunities for Bahamians.