Lower House approves amendment to address EU concerns

The government is making further advancements to remove Antigua and Barbuda from the European Union’s List of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions for tax purposes.

On Monday Parliamentarians in the Lower House amended several key pieces of legislation that are crucial to the process.

Attorney General Sir Steadroy Benjamin tabled the Law Miscellaneous Amendment Bill on behalf of Prime Minister Gaston Browne.

“The laws of this country were last revised in 1994… 30 years ago. No administration saw it fit to revise the laws to make one comprehensive law, one book one place,” Benjamin said.

He said the government is aiming to revise and update the laws as a matter of urgency.

“The purpose of this bill is to implement the recommendations in the 2023 peer review report of the global forum on transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes into the legal framework of Antigua and Barbuda.”

The AG stated that the government of Antigua and Barbuda must comply with international policy to prevent blacklisting and sanctions.

The Lower House also approved the Companies Amendment Bill which is aimed at improving the government’s recording-keeping capabilities and transparency.

The AG explained that when they ask for the records, they have difficulty locating the records.

“Some people say there with the lawyers, secretary, now they’re saying if you have this building, an office of your company, they must be there,” Benjamin said.

Prime Minister Gaston Browne also noted that the amendment also makes provision for the full disclosure of beneficial owners within a company.

“The whole idea is to make sure that individuals cannot use the corporate veil to hide their identity to commit acts of terrorism or even for example to commit money laundering,” Browne said.

Last year, Antigua and Barbuda was added to the European Union’s list of no-cooperative tax jurisdictions due to insufficient exchange of tax information.