The Commonwealth of The Bahamas and Malta signed a Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) yesterday, providing for the exchange of information between the two countries on tax matters.
The High Commissioner of The Bahamas to the Court of St James, H.E. Paul Farquharson QPM, signed on behalf of the Government of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, while the High Commissioner of Malta to the Court of St James, H.E. Joseph Zammit Tabona, signed on behalf of the Government of Malta. The signing ceremony took place at the Malta High Commission in London.
H.E. Zammit Tabona said the Agreement *“is instrumental for bilateral relations to be strengthened”* and “*demonstrated good practice in the global financial sector.”* H.E. Paul Farquharson said that *“this level of cooperation…signifies the goodwill that exists between our two countries.”*
Both signatories confirmed the agreement included all standard means to ensure due process is followed in tax information requests to both countries respectively; including, for example, provisions to protect confidentiality of information. The TIEA will also adhere to public policy considerations and provisions related to protecting legal privilege.
Malta and the Commonwealth of The Bahamas are both members of the
Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes.