WASHINGTON, CMC - The United States Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) have issued what they describe as “comprehensive final regulations” to combat Caribbean and other offshore tax evasion.
The departments said the reporting and withholding tax provisions, commonly known as the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), “target non-compliance by US taxpayers using foreign accounts.
“The issuance of the final regulations marks a key step in establishing a common intergovernmental approach to combating tax evasion.
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ST. JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – The Antigua and Barbuda government said Monday it had been granted authorization by the World Trade Organization (WTO) to suspend certain concessions and obligations it has under international law to the United States in respect of intellectual property rights.
NASSAU, Bahamas, CMC – Bahamians voted overwhelming in a national referendum on Monday to reject proposals legalising web-shop gambling and a national lottery. Preliminary results showed that by a margin of almost two to one, the voters in this Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country voted “No” to the questions on “Do you support the regulation and taxation of web shop gaming and Do you support the establishment of a National Lottery? "This is a victory for the church," said Dr. Ranford Patterson of the Bahamas Christian Council.
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - BARBADOS will be embarking on a $450 million project to breathe fresh life into the country’s ailing sugar industry. The project was outlined yesterday by Agriculture Minister, Dr. David Estwick, prior to a meeting with industry officials and representatives of two companies which are likely to play key roles in the reconfigured sugar industry. Over the years, the sugar industry has experienced declining output, high production costs and reduced earnings from the European Union, which is Barbados’ main export market for the sweetener.
BRUSSELS, CMC – The Chairman of the African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Sugar Subcommittee, Dr. P.I. Gomes, has welcomed a vote in the European Parliament Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development which supports the extension of the current quota provisions until 30 September 2020. The ACP says the extension of sugar quotas will help to ensure fair, stable and reasonable remunerative EU sugar market prices to ACP and less developed countries (LDC) exporters under the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) and the Everything But Arms Initiative.
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - The Government of Barbados expressed its gratitude to Canada for implementing the Caribbean Leadership Project.
The first part of that project, the Leadership Development Programme, was launched yesterday at the Cave Hill School of Business.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, Martin Cox, took the opportunity to convey this Government’s appreciation to Canada for supporting the seven-year, twenty million dollar Canadian funded initiative.
GEORGETOWN, Guyana - Former Jamaica Prime Minister Percival Patterson Monday night urged an overhaul of CARICOM’s Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas and he expressed grave concern about the real value of the CARICOM Passport. While he said CARICOM has made progress in a number of areas, the former long-serving Caribbean leader identified several areas that needed very urgent attention. Though member states now issue CARICOM passports, Patterson said the initiative currently appeared useless.
A Venezuelan government spokesman says President Hugo Chavez has begun a new round of medical treatment in Cuba, after battling complications from cancer surgery performed more than a month ago. Information Minister Ernesto Villegas, speaking Saturday, did not offer details of the newest treatment and did not provide new information on the cancer itself. But he said Mr.
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - Global growth has slowed in the past two years and is forecast to remain sluggish in 2013. Some of the biggest risks facing the world economy—the breakup of the euro currency, huge tax increases and government spending cuts in the United States, and a sharp slowdown in China—were avoided last year. But two of the biggest economies—the euro alliance and Japan—will likely remain in recession this year.
DAVOS, Switzerland — Is the euro crisis over? A leading US economist says not by a long shot. Even as the head of the European Central Bank talked of “positive contagion” in the markets and predicted an economic recovery for the recession-hit eurozone later this year, economist Barry Eichengreen warned that the debt crisis that has shaken Europe to its core could easily erupt again this year unless European leaders move faster to solve their problems.