Residents of the Bahamas' archipelago nation may soon be able to pay taxes using digital assets such as the world's first central bank digital currency, or CBDC.
The Bahamas' Office of the Prime Minister stated in a white paper on the future of digital assets issued on Wednesday that the government will begin to "allow payment of taxes using digital assets" by collaborating with the country's central bank and the private sector. Furthermore, the government intends to focus on providing residents with access to cryptocurrency using the Bahamian dollar, as well as encouraging wider usage of the country's CBDC - the Sand Dollar.
“The Government will endeavour to ensure that digital assets are not used for the evasion of taxes or sanctions, and will seek to ensure compliance with all applicable Tax information exchange agreements (TIEA) and domestic laws and agreed OECD standards,” said the white paper.
To maintain uniformity among government entities, the Bahamas announced the development of a Digital Asset Policy Committee and a Digital Advisory Panel, or DAP. The former will be chaired by Prime Minister Philip Davis and will include members such as the Financial Secretary, the Governor of the Bahamas Central Bank, the Executive Director of the Securities Commission, and the DAP Chair. The advisory board will consist of digital asset specialists who will "frequently examine digital asset and related digital advances, emerging trends, and associated risks."
