Barbados still attracting international business

Despite the enforcement of a global minimum corporate tax rate, Barbados has still been able to attract business.

In fact, president of Barbados International Business Association (BIBA) Derrick Cummins has maintained that this country is still among one of the top-tier domiciles for captive insurance companies in the world.

He made the comments this morning during the media launch of the 2022 Barbados Risk and Insurance Management (BRIM) Conference, which will be held on March 21 and 22.

Last October, 136 countries agreed to the enforcement of a minimum corporate tax of at least 15 per cent, amidst concerns that multinational companies were re-routing profits through low tax jurisdictions.

It was expected that Barbados, which had one of the lowest corporate income tax rates in the world at 5.5 per cent, would be at risk of losing much-needed business because of the increase.

However, Cummins said that had not been the case.

“We are happy that we are still able to attract. And why are we still able to attract? I want to say that while there has been concern over the past year of the impact of the minimum global tax rate and the ability to attract global business, we understand that taxation is just one of four of the principal parameters that people review when they are selecting a domicile; others are regulation, infrastructure and perception of the jurisdiction.

“We are happy to say that Barbados continues to be very competitive in these areas. A strong and rigorous regulatory framework, we have the infrastructure and the ability to get work done and also then the perception of the jurisdiction. Just last week we were talking about Barbados climbing on the World Corruption Perception Index and continuing to be the number one jurisdiction in the Caribbean and being the number three in Latin America. We continue to hit all the right parameters, all the right indicators that make Barbados an attractive domicile for not just international business but also specifically for captive insurance,” Cummins said.

He revealed that in 2021 there was “strong growth” in captive insurance with the total captive sector rising from 279 to 308 which Cummins said was almost double the number of new captives in 2020.

He said the majority of captives hail from Canada (154), the United States (75), Latin America and the Caribbean (30) and 18 from Europe.

Additionally, Cummins said there are 13 holding companies and 21 management companies.

The BIBA president said the international business sector continued to be one of Barbados’ most important sectors providing employment for many high-level professionals.

“This sector really is an important sector for Barbados and we are happy to see the strength, we are happy to see the growth in it,” Cummins said.

Speaking specifically about the conference, the president said it would be held as an hybrid event, using the Hilton Barbados as the venue but allowing virtual participation.

Cummins said only fully-vaccinated persons would be allowed to attend the conference at the Hilton. They have also been given the assurance from the hotel that all staff working at the event would also be fully vaccinated, he added. (RB)