Banks in this country could face further risks if international banks are reluctant to conduct business with them because certain legislation is not in force in this country.
Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi said this is at the heart of Government’s calls for Opposition support for the passage of the Income Tax Amendment legislation.
“We are already being de-risked,” Al-Rawi said following an International Men’s Day hosted by the Bankers’ Association of Trinidad and Tobago’s for male NGOs yesterday.
“There are correspondent relationships that are already in jeopardy and you can ask the Bankers’ Association, don’t ask me. They will tell you that their corresponding banks have already applied enhanced, due diligence mechanisms or some banks have said they’re not doing business with you.”
The AG added: “We have to be seen as a country in saying that we will take a positive step, we are on the right track. It was by work we have done in CFATF and FATF that we are headed in the right direction. Remember this is a constant obligation, and it constantly evolves.” According to Al-Rawi, T&T is being monitored by both the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) and should be moving to pass the legislation.
The AG said the Opposition, when in government, had “committed T&T by Cabinet decision to the Global Forum entry, and they left us in non-compliance, without having negotiated any of the international treaties that we needed. There were 13 of them to be negotiated and not one of them were.”
He said becoming compliant involves a process that “starts with the income tax amendments, then it works our way into the signing of the multilateral treaties.”
Al-Rawi noted that of the 10 clauses, the Opposition had raised an issue with only one clause in their minority report and Government has taken the opportunity to draft the amendment that meets with that. He said the Opposition also asked Government to look at the South African legislation dealing with the issue.
“And we did. That South African legislation, we’ve said, is in fact not quite what you want because South Africa has not had it’s fourth round mutual evaluation, and they are therefore not a good example to be following. But nonetheless, if this is what it will take for the Opposition to say yes we’ve done it in any event,” the AG said.
“It really is an important event. It is critically sensitive for T&T. We cannot afford to continue in a state of non-compliance.”