By Gerrino J. Saunders
Journal Staff Writer

At the beginning of the week, Prime Minister Philip Davis, in a written statement, applauded
the recent passage of a United Nations (UN) resolution that calls for the creation of an
intergovernmental committee open to all United Nations member states with a bureau of
approximately 20 members, elected with gender and regional balance in mind. This committee
will then be tasked with establishing the terms of reference for a UN framework convention on
international tax cooperation by August 2024.
The prime minister said, “Our commitment to maintaining the highest tax compliance
standards is unwavering, and this historic moment is a testament to our dedication to
overcoming the inequities propagated by current tax policy frameworks and institutions.
“The decision to adopt a resolution put forward by Nigeria provides potentially the best
opportunity for The Bahamas, other international financial centres (IFCs) and developing
countries to wrest control over international tax matters away from the likes of the
Organization and Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) and European Union
(EU).”
On Monday on the sidelines of the Golden Jubilee Independence Award ceremony at Baha
Mar Resort, reporters asked Prime Minister Davis what kind of impact he believes the
resolution will have on The Bahamas.
He said, “The resolution has been passed, but as you would note most of the major economies
didn’t support it. The OECD countries didn’t support it, but I would have written to the UN
Secretary General in September making a case as to why we ought to have a more independent
and more inclusive body to deal with these issues of taxation. They accepted obviously the
move that I made, I have it in writing I can share the letter with ya’ll, but this is something I
took on from I came into office.”
The prime minister went on to explain why he and his administration decided to take on the
challenge of facing giants like the OECD and EU and agitate for the UN to become the authority
on international tax laws.

He said, “The rules that have been imposed upon us without our even having an ability to discuss
these rules before they are even implemented to understand what it is, because a lot of the times
the rules they put in place and the sanctions that follow impact us and they are sometimes very
costly to implement the initiatives that they want.
“There is no regard to our circumstance, the cost that might be incurred by putting in these
initiatives and what it is doing to our economy, there is no input from Small Island Developing
States, so I’m happy that the UN has listened to my heed. I started this from September of 2021,
my first intervention at the General Assembly, I spoke to this and I see now it is taking root and
hopefully we’ll see how it pans out because at the end of the day, some of these countries, they
are unto themselves.”
Prime Minister Davis said he is hopeful that with 142 countries supporting the resolution it will
ultimately bode well for The Bahamas and other Small Island Developing States that often find
themselves on an OECD or EU financial blacklist.