Senator Burt: OECD New Global Forum
[Updated with video] Senator David Burt, the Junior Minister of Finance, delivered a Ministerial Statement on the OECD new Global Forum this morning [June 8].
The statement follows in full below:
Madam President, Bermuda stands proud today after last week’s successful hosting of the 3rd meeting of the new Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes.
Bermuda played host to 227 Delegates from 85 Countries and 9 International organizations. All delegates were very impressed and returned home with a deeper understanding of Bermuda as not just a leading tourist destination, but also as a sophisticated international financial center that is a positive component of the Global Financial System – and a jurisdiction that does not support schemes that break the tax laws of any country.
One Caribbean country’s representative said it this way;
I write on behalf of our delegation to congratulate your Premier and her Government for a perfectly executed OECD Global Forum. We know that Bermuda does not always consider itself to be ‘Caribbean’ but on this occasion we hope that you do; as we were all so proud of your country. The content of the Forum was at its usual high standard – but the hospitality and the amenities were not only world class but in a category by themselves.
Thank you so much for your kindness and for the many courtesies extended to all of us as delegates and to our delegation in particular…
Madam President, the successful hosting of the new Global Forum has generated untold benefits for all aspects of Bermuda, but most important is our reputation. Delegates from 85 countries were able to learn about us, how we do business, and how we are a positive component of the global financial system.
Madam President, with respect to the Global Forum itself, I used the word new when describing the Global Forum to drive home a point to assist us to better understand that World as it is today has moved on from the World of the past.
The Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes (the “new Global Forum”) was created with a three year mandate at the September 2009 OECD Global Forum on Taxation in Los Cabos and Mexico City, Mexico.
The new Global Forum was created because of the decisions on April 2, 2009 by the executive of the OECD Global Forum on Taxation the (“old Global Forum”) at the London meeting of the G20 when the infamous Grey list was created.
The old Global Forum was an internal organization of the OECD fully financed by OECD members and embraced non-OECD members as Participating Partners.
In late 2008 the Old Global Forum agreed with its Participating Partners that a 12 TIEA standard was being planned to come into effect in late 2009, effectively providing one year advance notice.
However under pressure from the G20 the OECD Secretariat arbitrarily agreed to bring the 12 TIEA standard into effect on April 2nd 2009 without first meeting with the Participating Partners of the old Global Forum.
It was also noteworthy that the G20 was not a member of the old Global Forum. This move greatly disturbed the Participating Partners of the old Global Forum and as a result the OECD disbanded the old Global Forum at the 2009 meeting in Mexico.
Madam President, the OECD web site answers the question of What is the new Global Forum? – The web site states;
“In charge of promoting tax cooperation and information exchange among tax administration, the Global Forum was restructured in September 2009 in Mexico in response to the G20 call to strengthen exchange of information in the context of major progress made towards full transparency. The Global Forum is the continuation of a forum which was created in the early 2000s in the context of OECD work on tax havens. The restructured Global Forum now ensures that all its members are on an equal footing and will fully implement the standard on exchange of information they have committed to implement. Technically, the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax purposes is a part II programme of the OECD.”
Madam President, The new Global Forum as a part II programme of the OECD means it is no longer an internal organization of the OECD but rather a free standing organization independently funded by the members who now include the G20 and the previous Participating partners from the old Global Forum. The only authority to issue final decisions for the new Global Forum is the full membership by majority decision.
I will not prolong my statement by mentioning the findings of the new Global Forum assessment reports on members via its Peer Review Group. Rather I refer interested persons to the OECD Website where they will see the global level playing field whereby both the largest and small countries have been given recommendations to bring their regimes up to the international standard.
Madam President, I mentioned the foregoing background of the new Global Forum in order to dispel some recent misinformation in the media and in other places. In the new Global Forum all members are on an equal footing with equal voting power and there is the avenue for direct dialogue with G20 countries that are not OECD countries, and OECD countries.
The executive of the new Global Forum, The Steering Group, is drawn from all profiles of the membership; hence Bermuda was elected as one of three Vice Chairs representative of the Worlds small jurisdictions. The other Vice Chairs are China (of the G20) and Germany (from the OECD).
Madam President, this government is committed to maintaining Bermuda’s position as a premium international financial centre. With Bermuda serving in a leadership role of the new Global Forum, we can ensure our continuing position as the domicile of choice, by not only being at the table, but by leading the way while promoting our interests and defending our reputation wherever and whenever necessary.
Madam President, I trust fellow Senators will congratulate the Government of Bermuda for a job well done in hosting the 3rd meeting of the new Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes and will note the numerous benefits that hosting this meeting has had for both our economy, our tourism product, and our Island’s reputation.
Thank you Madam President.
Could this be the beginning of a “new” PLP that understands that business is important, no critical, to the well being of Bermuda’s economy? If so look out, as there should be some interesting in fighting about to erupt.
@Ring Master
We should all agree that being Vice Chair and hosting the OECD meeting is a significant advantage for Bermuda. It is also interesting to note the various comments and actions of Minister Wilson with respect to International Business. Of particular note is the recent relaxation of Work Permit policies.
If we add her actions to the ongoing actions and comments by the Premier and Minister of Finance (the OECD conference is of significant note), the evidence is clear that the PLP focus on the international sector is appropriate. I look forward to Bermuda and all residents being the benefactor of the continued focus by the PLP on the International Sector and the Bermudian economy in general.
Shame more people in the PLP aren’t like Mr. Burt. BTW…why isn’t Mike on the PLP website? Would like to know more about him.
It’s all a bit late though in my view. The plp spent the last 13 years sticking their finger up to business whenever they got the chance. Now that they’re $1.2bn in debt and having to make cuts in education, police, transport, etc, they have started to realise that money can’t just be borrowed in perpetuity.
Burt is a lightweight. When he first got appointed by Cox he said the enormous govt debt wasn’t a problem…. he wasn’t concerned about it. Great.
Now he makes a speech about Bermuda and the OECD. My bet is he’d never heard of the OECD until 3 months ago.
Last 13 years sticking it to International Business. I’m guessing the sticking it to international business resulted in the 3 times increase in the size of the sector over the same period of time.
Your talk is tired, when you make statements like that, people see right through you for what you are… full of ****.
Level playing field equals no advantage for Bermuda = no reason to come to Bermuda!
Am I reading this wrong? Don’t think so!
@Googlybda
Perhaps a reread? There seems to be 2 choices.
1 – Sit on the outside and wait for decisions to be made that you can complain about; 2 – Get involved and participate in the process and protect your interests.
Bermuda seems to have chosen the latter – as Vice Chair no less!
According to new legislation discussed in the House of Assembly on Friday, Bermuda is only implementing legislation that is in its own best interest as opposed to being dictated to by the OECD. My hope is that we soon realise that we are all in this ‘ship that is our beloved Bermuda.’ We will all swim together or sink together. Let’s collectively get on board – constructively criticise where necessary but lets avoid the proverbial ‘cutting off our noses to spite our faces’.
“Bermuda is only implementing legislation that is in its own best interest as opposed to being dictated to by the OECD”
Wrong. The legislation we’ve been implementing over the last ten years is directly attributable to the results and recommendations of various IMF and OECD reviews.
Mr. Burt fails to realise the long term intentions of the OECD are to erase any tax advantages one jurisdiction may have over another and ensure a global tax standard. If he believes anything else he’s wrong. Every time Bermuda becomes compliant (in the OECD’s eyes) the yard stick is moved a little further along. This is perfectly exemplified in the following quote:
“The Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes (the “new Global Forum”) was created with a three year mandate at the September 2009 OECD Global Forum on Taxation in Los Cabos and Mexico City, Mexico.”
Up until then (2009) Bermuda had complied with OCED criteria and we were upgraded to the “white list”. Guess what? They raised the bar higher (again) and threw us a bone in the form of a seat at the table and vice-chairmanship to appease the short sighted politicians who fail(ed) to realise they were/are being led down the garden path.
So Mr. Burt is correct when he says its better to have a seat at the table than no say at all, however, Bermuda has yet to do anything more than do what its been told.
This is evidenced by the numerous one-sided TIEA agreements which Minister (now Premier) Cox takes credit for signing. Almost without exception they offer no tangible DIRECT economic benefit to Bermuda. It’s just window dressing in order to be seen to be compliant.
ReRead I suggest you review the issues over the last 10+ years and not just what the PLP chooses to tell you. Either through ignorance, stupidity, short sightedness or a combination of all three, the PLP are playing a lead role in eroding our international competitive advantages.
You are full of it! Keep drinking that UBP/OBA Kool Aid. Did you even read the statement above?
You people kill me, spouting repeated BS. The Canadian and Mexican TIEAs have had DIRECT economic benefit thus far. Ask the captive managers and see what they are saying. Stop relying on false UBP/OBA gospel. Just because Bob ‘the snob’ Richards says it, doesn’t make it true.
These TIEA’s are creating NEW business for Bermuda and business in Bermuda which means jobs.
@PP
“These TIEA’s are creating NEW business for Bermuda and business in Bermuda which means jobs.”
Name them.
How exactly did has the Canadian TIEA generated new business? It may in the future but given how recently it was executed there’s no way that it possibly could so far.
The Mexican TIEA is also a good thing but, in order for a reinsurer to take advantage of it they have to be approved by the Mexican government. That process typically takes months so to date we’ve seen no business come from that either.
As an observation – if you were at the Captive Conference the room was packed for the session on the Canadian TIEA. Problem was, almost all the attendees were from Bermuda. There was exactly one Canadian in the room.
@32n64w
It’s not the case that every piece of legislation we’ve implemented in the last yen years is directly attributable back to IMF/OECD reviews or recommendations. Many have come from the evolving IB markets and their demands.
We are leading in many ways, particularly in insurance. In the last two decades, we have become one of the largest captive and reinsurance markets in the world. Introducing and supporting products that have facilitated efficient uses of capital. We do have the expertise to sit at the table and do more than just what we’re told to do. The TIEAs signed are far from being one-sided and open up many doors of opportunities for the future.
Last I checked the OECD’s agenda is not to erase all tax advantages in favour of a globalized tax rate. I would agree that is it on the agenda of several prominent OECD member states (e.g. France, Germany) but they also make these calls against other EU countries such as Ireland and the Netherlands. Tax is always a politically sensitive issue and many powerful countries fight to keep it a sovereign issue. As a small country, we must do so on an international level because if we choose to go it alone, we will be blockaded from participating in the largest markets. That is a sure fire way to erode our international competitive advantage.
“It’s not the case that every piece of legislation we’ve implemented in the last yen years is directly attributable back to IMF/OECD reviews or recommendations. Many have come from the evolving IB markets and their demands.”
Agreed, I shoud have been more clear.
level playing field means everyone is assessed according to the same criteria. just because tcd tests cars in the same way doesn’t mean everyone drives the same car.
My understanding of the Ministerial statement is that prior to Sept 2009, Bermuda was a participating member of the OECD Global Forum with no inherent right to be consulted before decisions were made. As a result, an arbitrary decision was made on April 2 2009 about the TEIAs by the G20.
Since 2009, under the NEW Global Forum, Bermuda is a Vice Chair of the organisation. In addition the New Global Forum is more independant from the OECD. On this basis, Bermuda particpates in the planning of any decisions that may be considered and have an inherent right to vote on any decisions. We should all agree that this is a significant change because Bermuda can now help to shape any decisions that may be made and therefore act to protect its own interests. The significance is magnified when you consider our physical size and population.
I hope that future information such as this is ‘distilled and translated’ to allow the average reader to better understand how Bermuda participates and impacts decisions in the broader financial sector on the world stage.
There is more than meets the eye here on the OECD! the OECD wants to crush smaller jurisdictions for its own benefit. be wary bermuda
I am proud to see a young black man representing and speaking for his country. Not only does he “speak”, but he is extremely knowledgable and capable of dealing with this subject matter, with out any difficulty. This issue is not new to Bermuda, maybe you have just become aware of it !! If any of you heard Walton Brown on Sunday night he gave a brillant clarification of Bermuda’s role and the OCED and the likes….. Keep it up D. Burt !!
Senator Burt,
Why are you the only young professional in the currently in the Senator or Upper House?
You should start a movement to recruit more from your age group as Bermuda is not convinced that the existing PLP MPs who sat by during the Smith, Scott and Brown Govts can get us anywhere.
Time for you to step up and be counted, even your generation will view you as a fence sitter if you dont become their advocate.