Finance Minister Comments On Tax Haven List
The Deputy Premier and Minister of Finance Bob Richards today [Aug 28] commented on a report that Bermuda has been named to a new tax haven list drawn up by the District of Columbia in the US.
While such changes would first have to be reviewed by the US Congress before becoming law, the Minister stated, “As we recently told the European Commission, Bermuda is fully cooperative through tax information exchange agreements.
“The United Nations and the World Trade Organisation consider domestic taxation laws to be the sovereign right of nations and jurisdictions, regardless of whether they are based on consumption or income.”
The Minister added, “Bermuda has had a Tax Information Exchange Agreement [TIEA] with the United States since the U.S.A. – Bermuda Tax Convention Act 1986. It’s our oldest TIEA and possibly one of the world’s first such agreements.”
He recalled an address from a US Treasury Acting International Tax Counsel John Harrington to the Senate Finance Committee on Offshore Tax Evasion in May 2007, in which Mr. Harrington had accolades for Bermuda for providing valuable assistance to the US under the treaty.
The Minister also stated, “When I signed the USA/Bermuda FATCA agreement in the Bermuda Senate Chamber in December 2013, the then US Council General to Bermuda, Robert Settje, responded to a journalist that the US Government did not consider Bermuda to be a tax haven.”
Minister Richards said, “In fact, Bermuda enjoys the same very good OECD rating – “Largely Compliant” – as does the US.”
Ministry officials said they are monitoring the developments in Washington.
Hey People’s Campaign……why don’t you protest the US Consulate over this?
Why don’t you stop acting like a spoiled child.. People will object to things, its life and its normal in politics..
Priorities.
Bermuda’s reputation has been tarnished in the past 2 years.
Very Embarrassing.
Good one.
So…the US government’s opinion here is irrelevant. This is a Washington DC municipal law, not US federal law. This is the equivalent of Idaho deciding we’re a tax haven.
Until Bermuda calls it’s payroll tax “income tax”, and import duty “VAT”, we’ll still end up on these ill-advised lists.
Washington D.C. is not a state. It is the head of the Federal Government.
The District of Columbia is, indeed, not a state—but it is also not the head of the Federal Government. It cannot even make its own laws unless they are approved by Congress, which is why the recent article on this subject stated the Budget Act rating Bermuda had to be sent to Congress after it was signed by the Mayor. Washington is decidedly not the head of the Federal Government—under Federal Law, Washington does not even have representation in Federal Government. The origination of the Act suggests Bermuda has less to worry about from the Federal government than it does a local municipality.
Quick, someone call Burt the Brilliant to comment on this!
Cant wait to hear Mr,Burts reply!
It’s U.S. election time.
Since the OBA came to power we’ve attracted the attention of several jurisdictions who don’t hesitate to put us on some negative list or the other , all bits and pieces and fallout from jetgate I suppose .
Other than a few PLP hacks no one is even remotely concerned about jet gate. Just not the issue you wish it to be. Money brought in instead of a PLP disappearing act. Can you grasp the subtle difference
In America you are known by the company you keep . Or in other words , whose mode of transport one enters the country on ?
Company you keep….like Missick.
Coffee, keep speculating for no apparent reason.
You’re so clueless it’s laughable.
DC and Federal are 2 vastly different things!
Bermuda is a tax haven! All you losers who think otherwise probably never worked in a real business….or probably don’t have your own ticket to paradise….A Bermudian passport!! LOL!
We are not a tax haven… we are fully compliant with any tax requests the IRS submits and we do not hide any information from the federal govt!! It’s the US who choose not to tax their US citizens who make under $96k…anything over that is fair game!!
They are minimally worried about the Foreign earned income tax credit the US offers, it’s about the Billions from corporations stationed here. That’s how we get on such a list
Agreed…however it is up the federal government to close their loopholes, not formulate a black list which tarnishes Bermuda
OBA are socialist, welfare promoters! BERMY headed for financial collapse due to short sighted socialist leadership in PLP and OBA!!
WHAT YOU BEEN SMOKING??My uncle Fidel and brother Kim I,l Jong are coming to have a look and see what they can do.
Coment first and then I will read but would guess the BPSU is against
Tax havens have two characteristics 1. They have a secretive financial system (which the minister clarified that bda system is transparent) and 2. The tax to foreign companies is very low (which is very true about bda but then the minister explain that bda is a sovereign country and chooses what is best for it in other words. So bda is half a tax haven and half not. Thats the truth because the definition of tax haven has nothing to do with a country being sovereign.
Like UBP, half @$$.
^^ full @$$.
This here story is a terrible indictment on the OBA government in the first instance and Bob Richards . They were so hostile towards America during and for months after the Uigher resettlement to Bermuda that they could never use that leverage to gain respect from congress or any other government body in the US . The OBA were ignorant then and would look stupid now if ever they would even mention the favor .
That cheque’s been cashed.
I recall the ppl of Bermuda being critical to the PLP government at the time, not to the US…
bank
How much of our money paid out to PR companies in the UK and US?
In the UK they are useless – no media pushback on the slurs
@Navin johmson “Other than a few PLP hacks no one is even remotely concerned about jet gate”.
Wait until the 2017 Election season…..
Out of interest, what would you think if a foreign interest gave a Bermuda Premier $200,000 a year as a “clothing allowance”? And it was never disclosed properly. That would be ok, would it?
Are you referring to the 1998 Election? If so the financing is not to be discussed according to news reports attributed to Alex Scott. Campaign financing is a Party’s business only, (until any rules are implemented). It seems this is the main reason the official PLP, as opposed to some posters, do not comment on the so called $300,000 paid by Mr. Landow to the OBA. Skeletons come to mind.