US Senator: Bermuda & “Corporate Welfare”
New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand criticised “corporate welfare for insurance companies based in Bermuda” and other offshore jurisdictions on Tuesday [May 14] after voting against the Farm Bill which passed out of the Senate Agriculture Committee with $4.1 billion in cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program [SNAP].
The legislation slashes food stamps for American military veterans, seniors and those designated as “Food Insecure Families” by the US Agriculture Department.
Sen. Gillibrand [pictured] said cuts to SNAP programme would cut $90 per month in support for 190,000 New York families and take away 70 million meals per year
“Just as important as the health of our agriculture industry, is the health and nutrition of our children and families. I am deeply concerned with the drastic cuts this bill makes to SNAP that will literally take food away from hungry children, while protecting corporate welfare for insurance companies based in Bermuda, Australia and Switzerland who don’t need it,” she said from her office in Washington DC. “These are the wrong priorities.”
Sen. Gillibrand was referring to the long-running dispute between domestic US insurers and companies that write reinsurance in the American market from off-shore jurisdictions like Bermuda.
Some US legislators have charged that a loophole in the American tax code allows reinsurers, mainly based in Bermuda, to escape US taxes.
However, foreign reinsurers do pay a federal excise tax [FET] on the premiums they cede back to a “tax exempt country”, which is usually Bermuda. The FET is four percent on Property & Casualty premiums and one percent on life premiums.
Sen. Gillibrand continued: “The Americans who rely on SNAP are not nameless, faceless people looking for a handout. They are children, hard-working adults, struggling seniors, veterans, active duty troops and the families that stand by them. That’s who suffers in this callous political fight.
“Losing ninety dollars a month in food assistance may not sound like a lot to some people. But if you’re a parent who’s trying to protect your children and feed them good, wholesome, nutritious food, or a senior on a fixed income, it means everything in the world.
“As a mother and a lawmaker, watching a child go hungry is something I just will not stand for. Families who are living in poverty – hungry children, seniors, troops and veterans who are just trying to figure out how to keep the lights on and put food on the table — they did not spend this nation into debt and we should not be trying to balance the budget on their backs. They deserve better.”
She’s missing the point that the reasons that companies are operating outside the US include that the American insurance regulatory setup is so complex and the corporate tax system is so punitive.
She is quite hot though.
What did she say again?
Just reinforces the fact that all politicians are self-aggrandising dirtbags who really do care about anyone but themselves.
I have been saying for a few years now that Bermuda needs to start thinking along the lines of figuring out a 3rd financial pillar for the island. At present Tourism is on the decline & our main income sees new threats every year. It’s best to have a back up plan already in place rather then waiting until the floor falls out from under us.
Wonder what she would say to the families, seniors, veterans who would no longer be able afford any sort of insurance because the premiums are too high. What the reinsurers save in lower taxes, allows them to lower their premiums, raise their tax bill and where do you think they will recoup that money from?
Australians should teach the marsupials fiscal responsibility as they are the only creatures that come with a natural pocket to tote money around.
The American government could vote tomorrow to allow mining states to form a coalition and jump start mining and manufacturing in the U.S. buh that’s to easy to do and would make sense , so , That’s not gonna happen.
I am going to also give the vote to , Modern age’s clearly refined
” She is Quite Hot, ”
and whatever shes saying to be exactly what i want to hear….lol..
excellent observation .