Bermuda
Executive Summary
Bermuda Not in The Caribbean
Bermuda
is a mid-Atlantic archipelago 1,000
km from the USA; it is not in the
Caribbean (1,500 km to the south).
Bermuda is a self-governing Crown
dependency. It is politically stable;
English is the official language;
and the Barbadian dollar is at parity
with the US dollar. The climate is
warm and humid; but sea breezes temper
the high summer temperatures. Population
is 66,163 (July 2007 est.) and growing
despite limited land availability.
The islands are rich: Bermuda's GDP
in 2004 was over USD4.5 billion, giving
a GDP per head of more than USD69,900.
GDP growth in 2004 rose to 4.6%.
Economy
Buoyant Based on Financial Services
and Tourism
By
excluding foreign banks until recently,
Bermuda avoided problems and grew
as a reputable international finance
centre with three of its own widely-branched
banks. Financial services account
for a significant majority of GNP;
tourism is also important, with more
than 400,000 visitors a year, mostly
from the US. The Bermuda Stock Exchange
(established 1973) trades electronically
and provides global access to its
settlement systems.
Bermuda's
Lowtax Specialisations
Bermuda
has particularly strong insurance,
investment fund and trusts sectors,
with very well-developed advisory
and financial infrastructure. The
Bermuda captive insurance sector is
the world's largest. Hamilton is a
British port of registry. There is
a sophisticated infrastructure including
the major international law and accounting
firms. The Government intends to encourage
the development of e-commerce in Bermuda
and has put effective legislation
in place.
No
income tax in Bermuda!
There
is no income tax, capital gains tax,
VAT, sales or use tax or wealth tax.
Annual government fees are imposed
on businesses and there is a payroll
tax. Local businesses must be controlled
by Bermudians but offshore operations
take place through 'exempt' or 'permit'
companies. Due to an error in Brussels,
Bermuda is not subject to the EU's
Savings Tax Directive.
Immigration
Controlled by Housing and Work Permits
With
space severely limited, the Government
controls access to Bermudian housing
and jobs through systems of permits
which encourage suitable business
development but otherwise discourage
immigration. Government moves to introduce
strict quotas enforcing the employment
of local workers are seen as negative
by business and have not been effective.
Bermuda
Not On OECD Black-List
In
June 2000 Bermuda signed a letter
of commitment to the OECD agreeing
to conform with international standards
of transparency and financial supervision.
As a result it was not included on
the OEDC's Financial Action Task Force
'Black-List' of unco-operative jurisdictions.
