Information Commissioner Issues Three Decisions
The Information Commissioner issued three decisions regarding the Bermuda Housing Corporation, Office of the Tax Commissioner and Bermuda Police Service.
A spokesperson said, “On 30 November 2023, Information Commissioner Gitanjali Gutierrez issued Decision 41/2023, Bermuda Housing Corporation, Decision 42/2023, Office of the Tax Commissioner and Decision 43/2023, Bermuda Police Service.
“In Decision 41/2023, the Applicant had made a Public Access to Information request asking for records on ‘Laughing Waters’. The property had been conveyed to the BHC in 2010 at no cost to taxpayers. It was a result of extensive efforts by the Department of Immigration to end ‘fronting’, where non-Bermudians have used trusts to buy property restricted to Bermudians. As part of the agreement, the prior owners had entered into a 5-year monthly rental with the BHC. In 2017, the BHC sold the property.
“In response to the PATI request, the BHC disclosed several records to the Applicant with certain individuals’ names redacted. The Applicant challenged the BHC’s decision to redact, asserting that the public had a right to know who was involved in each transaction for this property. The Applicant also questioned whether a reasonable search for records had been conducted, maintaining that the BHC held more records that would shed light on the circumstances.
“From her independent review, the Information Commissioner has found that the BHC was justified in denying access to the redacted information in the disclosed records. But the Commissioner was not satisfied that the BHC’s search for records had been reasonable. As a result, the Commissioner has ordered the BHC to conduct a reasonable search and to issue the Applicant an initial decision on any newly identified records by 18 January 2024.
“In Decision 42/2023, the Applicant had made a PATI request to the OTC for records on licensed betting entities, including their betting revenues, duty paid and duty in arrears. The OTC had disclosed a table of data to the Applicant, without identifying any individual betting entity. The Applicant challenged the OTC’s decision and asked the Information Commissioner to review whether records for each individual entity should have been disclosed.
“In her Decision, the Information Commissioner has found that the OTC was justified in deciding that the Taxes Management Act prohibited the requested records from being publicly disclosed. The Commissioner also has found that the OTC was justified in deciding that the OTC’s correspondence with the betting entities, as requested, either did not exist or could not be found. This Decision reinforces the fact that the Taxes Management Act prohibits the OTC to disclose tax related information. It also illustrates, once again, the need for a legislative review of Bermuda’s older secrecy provisions, which were in place before the PATI Act took effect.
“In Decision 43/2023, the Applicant had made a PATI request for the BPS leadership’s emails about them and another officer. The BPS had initially refused the request, stating that responsive records did not exist.
“In her Decision, the Information Commissioner has found that the BPS was not justified to refuse the request. The Commissioner highlighted that, though some parts of the PATI request were unclear, the BPS had not offered to clarify what the Applicant meant before deciding that records did not exist. As a result, the search conducted by the BPS had not been reasonable.
“During the Information Commissioner’s review, the ICO clarified with the Applicant the exact records they sought, which led the Applicant to share an email obtained through another formal process outside the PATI Act. After the ICO raised it for the BPS’s attention, the BPS re-evaluated its original decision and further searched relevant officers’ emails. This resulted in the BPS finding responsive records. One more location remained unsearched and, as a result, the Information Commissioner has required the BPS to finish its reasonable search and to issue an initial decision on the newly identified records to the Applicant by 18 January 2024.”
The full version of Decision 41/2023 follows below [PDF here]:
The full version of Decision 42/2023 follows below [PDF here]:
The full version of Decision 43/2023 follows below [PDF here]:
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