Barbados remains an attractive international business jurisdiction for Canadian companies despite the number of tax information-exchange agreements Canada has signed with zero-tax countries.
This assurance came from Canadian Chamber of Commerce president and chief executive officer Perrin Beatty last Monday during an exclusive interview with BARBADOS BUSINESS AUTHORITY.
Beatty, the principal spokesperson of Canada’s largest national business association with 192 000 members, was in Barbados as part of an official Canadian delegation that included Canada’s Governor General David Johnston.
He noted that while changes in Canada’s tax policy meant that Barbados, as a low-tax jurisdiction, was faced with increased competition, the island has a number of key advantages.
“The base of expertise that you have here is a strong competitive advantage.
“You have very good professionals in the industry that will be very helpful to Canadian businesses and a long-established set of relationships with Canadian companies,” he said.
Beatty added that Barbados also offers “a very congenial environment for people”.
He noted, however, that some improvements would make the island hard to resist.
“One of the concerns you often hear from Canadian businesses looking to open up operations here is that the processes can sometimes be slow.
“Anything that can be done to expedite the processes and make them more efficient would make Barbados that much more attractive, but you’re coming from a good base here,” he said.
Recently, Central Bank of Barbados Governor Dr DeLisle Worrell said Barbados had lost some of its long-standing competitive advantage in attracting international business and financial services from Canada.
“So we can cement some of the business that we already have but going forward I think we have to look outside the Canadian market,” he said. (NB)
