In
terms of business and communications infrastructure,
Bermuda offers Western European standards.
The business environment is particularly well-attuned
to the finance sector as a result of the island's
long-term policy of promoting itself as an
international finance centre, accompanied
by a well-developed regulatory structure;
as the economy depends heavily on the offshore
financial sector, the government tries hard
to avoid use of the island for money laundering.
For this reason foreign banks have been excluded,
and the domestic banks have themselves become
international financial institutions with
branches in many other countries.
There
is a wide range of professional services in
Bermuda, particularly for the insurance, trust
management and mutual fund sectors. The Government
has understood the importance of e-commerce
for the future of international business and
is making a determined attempt to become a
centre of e-commerce development, although
shortages of skilled workers have presented
some problems in this area.
Allowance
being given for the very low tax base, Bermuda
must be counted as an expensive jurisdiction
due to the Government's high fees and the
generally high level of salaries and other
costs. On the other hand, Bermuda has possibly
one of the highest reputations among IOFCs,
and after issuing a 'letter of commitment'
to the OECD in June 2000, took its place as
an 'acceptable' jurisdiction from which to
carry on international business, without having
to do too much damage to its low-tax regime.
Bermuda
was included on the 'white list' of compliant
countries issued by the OECD in April, 2009.
This
section of the lowtax.net Bermuda site describes
the most important aspects of the business
environment on the island.
LOWTAX.NET
