Six of the country's biggest private sector organisations had a stern warning for the Government and Opposition yesterday: Stop playing politics with FATCA and put country first.
In an unprecedented move the groups, led by the Bankers Association of T&T (BATT), convened an urgent press conference to call for passage of the Tax Information and Exchange Agreement (TIEA) Bill, 2016, when the Parliament resumes today.
Other groups at the press conference at Republic Bank's headquarters in Port-of-Spain, were the American Chamber of T&T (AmchamTT), the Association of T&T Insurance Companies (ATTIC), T&T Chamber of Industry and Commerce, T&T Coalition of Service Industries and the Energy Chamber. They collectively said there is enough time to pass the legislation although there are only eight days left before the September 30 deadline for FATCA compliance.
Nigel Baptiste, managing director of Republic Bank, said the groups were speaking out is to amplify their appeal for both side to "desist from politicking on this matter and put the interest of the country first."
Responding to concerns raised by Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar about possible invasions of privacy, Baptiste said as it stands, information can be disclosed by banks if there is a court order, or if they have permission from the individual.
"This Bill does take away the need for consent or the court order but is purely for the purposes of reporting to the IRS," he said.
CEO of the T&T Chamber Catherine Kumar said information requested would be passed from the financial institution to the Board of Inland Revenue, then to the IRS.
Also speaking out on the issue was Dr Thackwray Driver, CEO of the Energy Chamber, who said anyone interested in doing business in T&T would be watching what is happening with the TIEA Bill.
He said: "Incidents like this, where T&T is showing itself not able to live up to its international obligations, do nothing for our reputation with our international investors.
"Anything like this, which shows increased political risk for people, shows increased risk of doing business in the country and doesn't help us in terms of attracting investment that we need."
Baptiste said the six groups collectively agreed there was no need for the Bill to go to a Joint Select Committee of Parliament.
"This can be debated and if there are any changes we believe they will be minor. There are changes which the Opposition wants which I believe, hopefully, are also minor, that can be done and agreed on the floor itself, given the timeframe we are working with," he said.
Baptiste also pointed out that powers granted to the Minister of Finance in the legislation are only at the level of providing information. He said there is currently an agreement in place for the exchange of information between T&T and the US without violating any laws or human rights. Being compliant with the TIEA, he said, means that financial institutions will be more proactive in supplying information to the US and vice versa.
AmchamTT CEO Nirad Tewarie said the time to talk has expired and T&T should be more concerned about the consequences for not passing the legislation.
nadaleen.singh@guardian.co.tt