The Bahamian financial services sector holds many advantages for people interested in investments and financial growth. From a legal perspective, The Bahamas offers opportunities for businesspersons in the areas of choice of business entity, regulation, and taxes.

Entity Choice in The Bahamas

The Bahamas allows significant flexibility in choice of entity for businesses in the financial services sector. Some types of businesses, such as banks and insurance companies, must have a corporate structure. They can choose whether to form a Bahamian company under the Companies Act or an international business company (IBC).

Other types of businesses can organize as limited liability companies, unlimited liability companies, sole proprietorships, joint ventures, general partnership, limited liability partnership, undisclosed partnerships, segregated account companies, subsidiaries, branches, or representative offices. In addition, there are several different available structuresfor investment funds.

Business Regulation in The Bahamas

Regulation of the financial services sector in The Bahamas is robust with policy makers and regulators striving to enforce international norms through laws penalizing money laundering and requiring financial services companies such as banks to vet accountholders.

Further, recent reforms in investment fund sector laws serve to improve the regulatory environment in The Bahamas as they modernize the sector while incorporating international best practices.

Taxes in The Bahamas

Finally, the tax environment in The Bahamas may benefit many financial services companies and businesses. Tax benefits include:

• No corporate income tax
• An affordable business licence tax for companies doing business here
• No income, capital gains, or estate taxes for Bahamas residents and people conducting business here
• A reasonable value added tax (VAT) for imported goods and local purchases and services

In short, many factors make The Bahamas an attractive choice for financial services organizations from a legal perspective.

To find out more about financial services in The Bahamas, visit Gonsalves-Sabola Chambers online or call the office at +1 242 326 6400.