Barbados Business Minister Addresses Corporate Tax Changes Amid Global Business Week 2024

Minister of Business Senator Lisa Cummins has dismissed concerns that changes to Barbados’ corporate tax regime have led to a mass exodus of international business companies.

She told the launch of the Barbados International Business Association’s (BIBA) Global Business Week 2024 on Monday that the government is committed to both attracting and retaining international businesses.

She gave an assurance that despite fears that the new corporate tax structure might drive businesses to more favourable tax jurisdictions, this has not been the case. The revised tax regime, which came into effect in January, shifted Barbados from its previous classification as a “nominal tax jurisdiction” by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to a more conventional corporate tax model.

“We have not seen a mass exodus of companies leaving Barbados as a result of the changes to the corporate tax regime, and that is commendable,” Senator Cummins said. “I want to express the appreciation of the government of Barbados to all the companies that worked with us in the lead-up to making these changes so that we were able to devise a regime that was attractive not just to businesses already here, but also to those seeking to make new domicile arrangements in Barbados.”

She credited the collaborative efforts between the government and private-sector stakeholders, particularly BIBA, for stability, highlighting that the government’s focus remains on ensuring a competitive tax regime.

While acknowledging there may have been isolated cases of companies leaving, she stressed that the overall strategy centres on both business retention and attracting new investments.

“Our corporate tax regime is very dependent on us being able to attract new business,” Senator Cummins said. “But when we attract that new business, we have to be able to retain it.”

The business minister also called for a more strategic and data-driven approach to international trade missions, which she identified as key to enhancing Barbados’ global business reach. While she acknowledged that past efforts had laid a solid foundation, she argued that refining the planning and execution of trade missions is crucial to achieving tangible outcomes.

“There are a number of trade missions that are underway, planned or have been undertaken for a long time. I believe that the time has come for us to refine how we go about those trade missions,” Senator Cummins said, adding that success should be measured by clear targets and concrete results.

“Are there 30 companies in particular that we are targeting? Five that we’re closing? How are we treating the notion of business leads and following up on them to ensure that our attraction yields tangible results in the quantum set as a target on an annual basis?”

In addition to discussing tax and trade strategies, Senator Cummins outlined legislative reforms designed to make Barbados a more attractive business hub. She highlighted ongoing revisions to the Companies Act, as well as updates to key international agreements such as double taxation agreements (DTAs) and bilateral investment treaties (BITs). These reforms are intended to modernise the legal framework governing international business, ensuring Barbados remains competitive.

“We have completed the work on the legislation to establish Business Barbados,” she revealed on the government’s new business facilitation agency. Business Barbados, which is expected to streamline the business facilitation process for both domestic and international companies, is part of the broader effort to improve the ease of doing business on the island.

“We were hoping that Business Barbados would be established in September of this year. We are just awaiting feedback from one remaining group at this stage,” Senator Cummins added.

She further noted the significance of modernising international agreements like DTAs and BITs, revealing that Barbados is finalising new models of these agreements with countries such as Ghana and Hong Kong to promote cross-border investments.

“We have just completed work on revising and updating, in collaboration with our international partners, a new double taxation agreement,” she explained. “We now have a new model that we’re going to be finalising, and the same thing will happen with our bilateral investment treaty regime. BITs and DTAs ought to be updated.”

Senator Cummins reiterated the government’s commitment to positioning Barbados as a global business leader by combining an attractive tax regime with modernised legal frameworks and strategic international engagements. These initiatives, she said, are key to the long-term economic growth and resilience of the island.

“Our objective is simple: local business, global business. We are attracting new business, but we also have to ensure that we are retaining that business,” she said.