As always Richard Coulson had a most excellent commentary on the painful decline of the once substantial offshore financial industry in the Bahamas.. Yes, you are so correct in pointing out the obvious deficiencies in the country’s legal practices, structure and services.. In so many cases the costs of legal services are excessive and are a detriment to seeking competent legal advise.. In addition, the over all costs of financial services being offered are not competitive with other similar jurisdictions.. High government fees and institutional administrative costs make other, lesser known, jurisdictions far more attractive.. These factors among others have cost the Bahamas significantly in loss of international business in a very competitive industry environment.. Regretfully, many former clients, over the past 18 years, have elected to move their financial affairs to other more competitive jurisdictions..
However, what is most troubling is the ever expanding extraterritorial reach of multilateral organizations like the EU and the OECD, who try to deliberately force their tax and compliance standards upon the Bahamas and other targeted offshore jurisdictions.. The Bahamas always is the subject of criticism and attacks by these groups claiming to promote “international best practices” and standards.. These provocations are nothing more than an outright and subversive attack upon our national sovereignty.. Let us not forget that, unlike our membership in the World Bank and IMF, we are not members of these oppressive organizations that continue to “black list” us as they do not approve of and find unacceptable our fiscal and regulatory policies.. Who are they to question the absolute right of how independent and sovereign nations elect to tax themselves and by what international right or divine power do they have to determine so called “best practices” and standards of compliance??
Perhaps the time has come for the Bahamas and other jurisdictions to stand up and protect their fundamental rights of self governance and individual sovereignty from such aggressive and oppressive attacks.. Grievances in concert with other such jurisdictions can be brought before international bodies like the World Court and the United Nations as to the deliberate aggression and attacks against the universal principle of National Sovereignty.. These multinational groups have a limited basis in law and act as both judge and jury in their provocative attacks upon small democratic elected countries who governments just capitulate to oppressive mandates and regulations that are deliberate forced upon them..
Enough is enough; we must join forces with other such jurisdictions to challenge the EU and the OECD as to their hard line political interfering and perhaps illegal political tactics in their aggressive attacks upon national sovereignty.. We can no longer afford to be the subject forced oppression by these non-elected, non-democratic, self-appointed multinational organizations who policies only are out to promote and support European collective Socialism..
May 12, 2018
