In 1995, for example, the government passed stronger measures to prevent money laundering in the country's banking sector. The FNM has made considerable progress in rebuilding the infrastructure, revitalizing the tourism industry, and attracting new investment to The Bahamas. A good start has been made to mitigate crime and provide for social needs. Remaining challenges are to privatize The Bahamas' costly, inefficient national corporations, provide job retraining for hundreds of workers who will be affected by the change, and to continue creating jobs for new entries in the employment market. Currently, Bahamians do not pay income or sales taxes.
Most government revenue is derived from high tariffs and import fees.
A major challenge for Bahamians as the next century approaches will be to prepare for hemispheric free trade. The advantages may be hard for the government to sell since The Bahamas exports so little. The Bahamas maintains an embassy in the United States at 2220 Massachusetts Ave. The Bahamian economy is almost entirely dependent on tourism and financial services to generate foreign exchange earnings. A major contribution to the recent growth in the overall Bahamian economy is Sun International's Atlantis Resort and Casino, which took over the former Paradise Island Resort and has provided a much needed boost to the economy.