Today, The Government of The Bahamas signed an Agreement with the Government of Japan for the [Exchange of Information](https://bfsb-bahamas.com/international/020832700.pdf) for the Purpose of the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion and the Allocation of Rights of Taxation with Respect to the Income of Individuals.
The Hon. T. Brent Symonette, Deputy Prime Minister & Minister of Foreign Affairs, signed on behalf of The Bahamas, while H.E. Hiroshi Yamaguchi, Ambassador of Japan to the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, signed for the Government of Japan. The agreement represents the twenty-third TIEA *(See [Tax Cooperation](https://bfsb-bahamas.com/international.php) for a list of the others)* that The Bahamas has signed, and also marks the second with a major Asian economy. The Bahamas now has Tax Information Exchange Agreements with seventeen OECD members and nine members of the G-20. At the signing ceremony at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, DPM Symonette noted that The Government is confident that with the continued strategic broadening and deepening of its tax cooperation network, the country will continue to grow and prosper as an international business centre of choice for global citizens.
The TIEA with Japan provides not only for cooperation in tax matters to the internationally accepted standards; but also provides for the allocation to each party certain exclusive taxing rights in respect of income from sources in the other contracting party which is received by designated groups of students, pensioners and government employees. Minister Symonette pointed out that it is a first, but by no means the last, of its kind for The Bahamas; and demonstrates the range and diversity of tax cooperation that countries have the opportunity to engage in, bilaterally, for their mutual economic benefit. He said, *“Within the international arena, the involvement of both of our Governments in the international tax cooperation work of the UN and the OECD, as well as the conclusion of this TIEA today, proves that there is mutual commitment to the effective implementation of accepted international standards for financial regulation and cross-border cooperation.”*