Barbados pursues new tax, investment treaties

Barbados is pursuing tax and investment agreements with less traditional markets, including a European nation with which informal discussions have been held, a senior government official said Wednesday, as Bridgetown seeks to attract investment and deepen economic links.

Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Business Kevin Hunte said discussions are under way with the un-named country on the possibility of establishing both a double taxation agreement (DTA) and a bilateral investment treaty (BIT).

Speaking to reporters at the media launch of Global Business Week at CIBC Great House in Warrens on Wednesday, Hunte said the focus on expanding Barbados’ treaty network “has by no means been reduced”.

He said: “There’s one European country that we’ve been trying for quite some time to be able to get their attention and to have us discuss and negotiate both a DTA and a bilateral investment treaty.”

His ministry, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Prime Minister’s Office and Cabinet were working to determine which countries should be targeted.

“More particularly now in this global environment, the bilateral investment treaty is the one that is gaining more traction because of the international changes in tax structure than the double taxation agreement.”

Director of the International Business Unit in the Ministry of Business Sangene Watkins-Diagne said Barbados was also seeking to broaden its treaty network beyond traditional trading partners.

The ministry was working closely with Pascal Saint-Amans, consultant to the Prime Minister, on the initiative, she said.

“Barbados already has treaties with its major trading partners, so at this time we’re looking to see how we can expand that network into less traditional jurisdictions,” Watkins-Diagne said.

She also pointed to Barbados’ recent removal from Spain’s tax blacklist, describing its previous inclusion as “very unfortunate”.

Watkins-Diagne said the ministry worked with Spain’s Honorary Consul and the Barbados Revenue Authority to engage Spanish authorities and secure Barbados’ removal from the list.

The government has identified priority countries for possible treaty agreements, but negotiations depend on whether those countries are willing to enter into DTAs with Barbados, she added.

“We do have a list of priority countries,” she said. “We need to have discussions to see whether that country will agree to having a double taxation agreement with Barbados. So those talks are ongoing with those countries.”

Watkins-Diagne said the European country Hunte referenced has been the subject of unofficial discussions, but no formal agreement has been reached.

“I wouldn’t be able at this point in time to say the name of the country,” she said, adding that if a DTA is eventually secured, “others will then come on board”.

She also encouraged investors and service providers to share feedback on countries where a treaty with Barbados could benefit their clients.

“We continue to work actively in expanding our treaty network,” she said. “If any investors or service providers who have ideas or have heard their clients say, ‘If only Barbados had a treaty with such and such country’, please let us know.”

The 2026 Global Business Week Conference will be held on October 22 and 23 at the Wyndham Grand Barbados Sam Lord’s Castle Resort under the theme “Resilience: Adapting, Transforming, Thriving.”

(SB)