Bermuda Signs Double Tax Agreement With Qatar

Your Excellency Moftha Jassim Al Moftah Director of Public Revenues and Taxes Department, Ministry of Economy and Finance, State of Qatar, and Mr. Saeed Al Hejazi, Secretary of Tax Agreement Committee, Public Revenue and Tax Department, Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Government of Bermuda on behalf of the people of Bermuda express our pleasure today to formalise between our two countries a strong bond of friendship, commitment to mutual assistance in trade, and cooperation in tax information exchange.

Fellow Bermudians and our International Business stakeholders the Government informed you two weeks ago through my press statements as Minister of Finance issued while I was in London that I had furthered the Ministry of Finance strategy to position Bermuda to attract the Global Islamic financial services industry.

Prior to becoming Premier, as Minister of Finance the Ministry took the lead by, soon after Bermuda signed the DTA with the Kingdom of Bahrain, leading the trade trip to Bahrain in 2010 as a key prong of the initiative to promote more active real engagement with the GCC region.

This Government has as a priority the issue of jobs and being open for and to business and of moving in the right direction as we get our economic recovery/stimulus actions on track inclusive of increasing diversification of opportunities from and with broader markets.

Today the Government of Bermuda lays down our trump card to further Bermuda as a western hub for the Islamic financial services industry.

The Double Taxation Agreement (DTA) signed today enters Bermuda among Qatar’s impressive DTA network of 50 DTAs and positions us to market Bermuda as an interconnecting domicile for Bermuda and investment from and to those 50 countries with which Qatar has DTAs.

As well, investors in countries that to date do not have a DTA with Qatar can establish domicile in Bermuda and benefit from the Qatar Bermuda DTA and the DTA network.

The DTA also provides incentive to Qatar entities including Qatar Airways, also Bermuda’s reinsurance industry and shipping companies around the world that have Qatari or GCC ownership interests

Yesterday the Minister of Business Development and Tourism the Hon. Wayne Furbert, in collaboration with some of our international business service providers, hosted a Bermuda/Qatar Business Development trade mission for the Qatar delegation.

No doubt this will be followed up with a Bermuda Business Development and Tourism Trade mission to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region with the assistance of our new friend, the State of Qatar.

Also yesterday His Excellency Moftha Jassim Al Moftah delivered to me an important Memorandum for me to co-sign with the Minister of Qatar responsible for trade.

That MOU which I co-signed covers Economic, Commercial and Technical Cooperation, including industry, mines energy, agriculture, communications, transportation, construction, labour and tourism, which sets out that Qatar will assist Bermuda to make further inroads in the GCC region and Bermuda will position ourselves as a hub to assist Qatar to further diversify structures to access western markets.

The combination of today’s DTA and yesterday’s Memorandum creates opportunities for Bermudians, particularly for our students to study in the Middle East. The Minister of Education the Hon. Dame Jennifer will look at possible opportunities.

There is opportunity for Bermudian businesses large and small to explore cross border trade with Qatar and the GCC region.

Through this visit many Cabinet Minister have met and formed a relationship with the Qatar delegation. They and other Cabinet Ministers where applicable will also assess opportunities that may fall under their Ministry.

The Memorandum provides that Qatar and Bermuda agree to establish a Joint Trade Committee for Economic, Commercial and Technical Cooperation to meet alternatively on periodic basis, as agreed by both Parties, in the territory of the two countries following a request from either Party.

As Premier and Minister of Finance I can direct the makeup of Bermuda’s delegation to each official meeting of the Joint Trade Committee for Economic, Commercial and Technical Cooperation, with a different selection of Cabinet Ministers/Industry Stakeholders depending on Bermuda’s objective at each meeting of the Joint Trade Committee for Economic, Commercial and Technical Cooperation. Part of this strategy is a Bermuda is a keynote sponsor of a planned Islamic Conference in New York in September of this year.

Your Excellency this is a time of economic challenge around the World. The Government assures our people that we are pursuing further diversity of opportunity for the man in the street as well as well as for our international business stakeholders.

Your Excellency you and I have discussed a host of opportunities that can benefit Mr. and Ms. Bermuda. We have discussed yesterday practical investment opportunities that ultimately create jobs, a priority of this Government. I am pleased to advise that visits are planned today post the signing to look at potential joint venturing on development projects, including tourism-related opportunities.

I acknowledge also in our audience today development principals of Morgan’s Point – Messrs Craig Christensen and Nelson Hunt.

I also noted in my research of Qatar that a delegation from Qatar participated actively in the work of a UN Committee working on the modification of the UN Model DTA. This Committee endorsed the recommendations made by the Qatari delegation especially with respect to Islamic Financial Instruments. The suggested amendments of the Qatari delegation were included in the commentary of the UN Model DTA.

We know that this is your and Mr. Al Hizaji’s handy work and we congratulate you and are pleased to establish a formal relationship with the State of Qatar a recognised expert in bringing Islamic financial instruments to the arena of DTA networks.

Qatar has built intimate military ties with Bermuda’s largest trading partner and close neighbour the United States, as Qatar is now the location of U.S. Central Command’s Forward Headquarters and the Combined Air Operations Center.

Also Qatar at one point topped the Forbes list of World’s richest countries. In 2010, Qatar had the world’s highest GDP per capita while the economy grew by 19.40%, the fastest in the world.

Qatar has prospered in the last several years with continued high real GDP growth in 2011 and Qatar’s economic policy is focused on developing Qatar’s non-associated natural gas reserves and increasing private and foreign investment in non-energy sectors.

Qatar has an economy where petroleum accounts for more than 70% of total government revenue, more than 60% of gross domestic product, and roughly 85% of export earnings.

Your proved oil reserves of 15 billion barrels (588,000,000 m³) should ensure continued output at current levels for 23 years, and Qatar’s proved reserves of natural gas exceed 7000 km³, more than 5% of the world total, third largest in the world, this is a blessing especially during the current economic climate.

In closing on a lighter note, today is an important handshake between Bermuda and the State of Qatar for Qatar is the hand in the GCC region and Bermuda is the hook in the West.

Qatar local folklore describes the shape of the country as resembling the palm of a right hand extended in prayer, while Bermuda is shaped like a fish hook. With Bermuda using our hook in the West to attract new business and with Qatar using its hand in the GCC to secure further opportunity, a powerful partnership has been formed for the benefit of the people of our respective countries.

Read More About