Alex Rosario, Curacao's state secretary for fiscal affairs says his country is looking to attract more Barbadian business.

by Carmel Haynes

CURACAO is looking to put tax incentives in place for Barbadian businesses as it looks to forge deeper ties with this island.

Alex Rosario, Curaçao's state secretary for fiscal affairs, said that with Sagicor, FirstCaribbean International Bank, and United Insurance already on his island, they hoped to attract even more Barbadian businesses through a double-taxation treaty.

Rosario spoke to BARBADOS BUSINESS AUTHORITY while at a cocktail reception last Thursday evening at Hilton Barbados, Needhams Point, St Michael.

In outlining the tax treaty, he said it would provide for the exchange of information and the shared intelligence on combating tax evasion, and eliminate double taxation on income.

Rosario was on the island last week for a five-day trade mission in which he met with members of the private and public sectors, as well as Senior Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Dame Billie Miller.

Along with the tax treaty, Rosario said his country also hoped to establish a customs treaty with Barbados and gain its support for Curaçao's application to CARICOM for associate member status.

The Curaçaon official said his country had behaved in the past "like somewhat of an indifferent onlooker" towards its CARICOM neighbours, but a policy change had come about that saw Curaçao more interested in southern cooperation, especially with its scheduled secession from the Netherlands Antilles in 2007.

There are nine priority countries Curaçao aims to establish tax treaties with, and Barbados was the second country visited by the state secretary on this mission.

Representatives of the Curaçao Chamber of Commerce and Industry also met with local businesspeople at the Barbados Hilton last Wednesday to outline opportunities for further trade between the two islands. (CH)