Do not dump us all into same ‘immoral bucket’: Bermuda

Risk and insurance managers can find it difficult to explain why their captive is based in financial centres such as Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Guernsey or Luxembourg as the focus on tax and transfer pricing becomes ever sharper worldwide. Captive insurance companies are of course valid risk management and transfer tools that are most suitably domiciled in financial centres, onshore and offshore, because it makes financial and management sense. But when scandals such as the so-called Panama Papers blow up there will inevitably be an impact on legitimate businesses that are based offshore. For this reason Bermuda has decided to move onto the front foot and explain why it, for one, is not a dodgy tax haven.hide"Some of the recent reporting on the 'Panama Papers' perpetuates the myth that all offshore financial centres are the same. The fact is: Bermuda is different," stated the Bermuda Development Agency (BDA) this week. "While there may be businesses, service providers and lax regulatory environments around the world that enable illegal tax evasion, Bermuda is not one of them. Bermuda is different. Bermuda has an extremely positive global reputation built on transparency, compliance and cooperation - these attributes have been differentiating hallmarks of the jurisdiction for decades," it continued. The BDA pointed out that the EU provided a strong endorsement of Bermuda's "robust, mature, and proficient" regulatory environment by awarding equivalency with its EU Solvency II regime. Bermuda is one of just two non-EU countries to be awarded that distinction. The agency added that the US National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) has also designated Bermuda a 'qualified' jurisdiction. "This is yet another vote of confidence in the way Bermuda handles its business. Bermuda was also the first offshore financial centre to qualify for the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) 'white list' of jurisdictions that have implemented internationally agreed tax standards - jurisdictions not considered to be tax havens by the OECD," pointed out the BDA. And, the BDA said, a further differentiator for Bermuda is the fact that it "gives" rather than "takes". The agency pointed out that risk transfer companies based in Bermuda contributed $35bn over a dozen years to cover US catastrophe losses and Bermuda companies paid 9% of 9/11 claims. "Thanks to Bermuda, cities, coastlines, homes and businesses are rebuilt after major disasters. Bermuda's positive contribution should not be underestimated or overlooked," stated the BDA. Bermuda's economic model supports close to a half-million jobs globally through trade and investment, including some 350,000 jobs in the US and more than 100,000 in the UK, estimates the agency. "Bermuda understands and embraces the worldwide movement towards greater financial transparency and regulatory cooperation. Bermuda does not have laws that promote and protect banking secrecy. Bermuda complies with global anti-money-laundering directives and anti-terrorist financing standards. And Bermuda has had a beneficial ownership register in place for 60 years," stressed the BDA. "Bermuda's 90-plus tax transparency treaties with countries around the globe underscore Bermuda's commitment to cooperation and compliance. Bermuda's track record shows that when asked to assist international authorities, Bermuda has cooperated. Homogenising "offshore" and dumping all international financial centres into one bucket synonymous with immoral, illegal and nefarious activity is inaccurate and ill-informed. Bermuda is different," it concluded.

Do not dump us all into same ‘immoral bucket’: Bermuda

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