The Bahamas’ oil tax money is collected by Guyana via DMTT
Given that the company operating in the country’s oil fields is a subsidiary of ExxonMobil, which is registered in The Bahamas and is exempt from the country’s recently implemented 15 percent domestic minimum top-up tax (DMTT) laws, Guyana is worried that it is losing out on significant tax revenue from its newly discovered oil wealth.
Guyanese publications have published a number of pieces claiming that the sister CARICOM (Caribbean Community) nation is “losing oil dollars to The Bahamas.”
The Bahamas will benefit from implementing the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) Pillar Two framework, which mandates that multinational corporations like ExxonMobil pay a minimum tax of 15 percent, according to an article in the Stabroek News. Ex
DMTT is for corporations earning more than 750 million euros per year, and is a significant tax measure under the two-pillar solution agreed to by over 130 countries (including The Bahamas). It is part of the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS).
As of the 2023 OECD statement on Pillar Two, Guyana is not a signatory to the agreement.
When the Bahamas government revealed the DMTT legislation, it said the legislation could generate $140 million annually. The government said it will ease the burden on Bahamian taxpayers and eliminate budget deficits.
Several large oil conglomerates have offices in The Bahamas, including Shell. They are expected to pay this new tax in this jurisdiction.
xonMobil owns a stake in
The country, though, is looking to implement an incentives package into its Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT) regime, in order to remain a competitive jurisdiction that continues to attract large multinational corporations, as the government begins to tax those entities at a rate of 15 percent.
The Senate passed the DMTT in November 2024.
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