Barbados To Sign OECD Pact To Revise Its DTAs In January
Barbados says it expects to sign the new OECD BEPS Multilateral Instrument at the end of January 2018 to introduce changes to its tax treaty network to prevent base erosion and profit shifting.
The “Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS)” is one of the OECD’s latest tax compliance initiatives to counter treaty abuse and treaty shopping. It provides a mechanism for countries to quickly update their bilateral tax treaties to include measures arising out of the BEPS Project, including Action 2, on tackling hybrid mismatches, Action 6, on tackling treaty abuse, Action 7, on strengthening permanent establishment rules, and Action 14, on improving dispute resolution procedures.
Signatories of the Instrument select which existing tax treaties they want to modify and how. Once a tax treaty has been listed by two parties, it becomes an agreement amended by the Instrument.
Donville Innis, Minister of Industry, International Business, Commerce, and Small Business Development, said Barbados is currently reviewing all of its treaties, and will be “collaborating on equal footing” with partner countries, to make the necessary legislative amendments to ensure relevant international standards are met.
