I am neither fish nor fowl. I am apparently not Bermudian enough to make the Premier’s Christmas card list, nor Establishment enough to be invited to the Bermuda First think tank. Nevertheless, some things are plain to me and I believe will be reflected in the Bermuda First report which is supposed to be delivered [...]
Entries Tagged as 'Business'
It’s the Governance, Stupid!
June 23rd, 2009 · Comments Off · Bermuda Politics, Business
Tags:Bermuda First
Priorities
June 10th, 2009 · Comments Off · Bermuda Politics, Business
After a frenzied few months of signing TIEAs, Bermuda has been moved onto the OECD “whitelist” of law abiding citizens. That’s very good news. Government is rightfully thrilled to have dodged the bullet – the Premier sagely pointing out that our economy is important to our livelihoods, and promising that this is not the end [...]
Ship Shape
June 2nd, 2009 · Comments Off · Business
We are getting used to hearing all sorts of gloomy adjectives being paired with Bermuda these days. So, it’s extra sooper nice to hear that the Paris MoU Committee (aka the Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control) has named Bermuda, France, and the United Kingdom as the best performing ship “flags” in the [...]
Tags:Shipping
The Shift
May 27th, 2009 · Comments Off · Bermuda Politics, Business
On May 15, Parliament debated a report commissioned by the Bermuda Employers Council entitled The Shift: An Examination of Employment Trends in Bermuda. The debate was desultory and weak. But you should read the report yourself. It points out that should Bermuda’s economy expand even moderately in future years, our need for expatriate workers will [...]
Tags:race·Workforce Equity Act
S&P Drops Bermuda Ratings Outlook
May 15th, 2009 · Comments Off · Business
Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services revised its ratings outlook on Bermuda to negative from stable, citing concern about risks to the island nation’s external and fiscal position from its banking system. Bermuda’s two main industries, international financial services and tourism, have both felt the effects of the global recession. Two weeks ago, Moody’s Investors Service [...]
Tags:
Pop & Stormy
May 8th, 2009 · Comments Off · Business
Another sign that the Forty Thieves’ oligopoly is a thing of the past? No more allegiance to Bermuda Stone? Ewart hasn’t taken credit for the new Gosling’s Ginger Beer. Yet. Glenn’s probably trying to spin the ‘pop and sizzle’ angle. How can I get me some? Summer’s so close I can taste it.
Tags:Dark & Stormy
On 12
April 28th, 2009 · Comments Off · Business
The Bermuda Government is complaining that our island was included on the OECD grey list as Bermuda committed to the OECD standards in 2000 and was already negotiating a stack of tax information exchange agreements (TIEAs) to reach the target of 12 when the list was released last month. The OECD has responded, positively but [...]
Grim Scotsman
April 13th, 2009 · Comments Off · Business
The Grim Scotsman has apparently written the overseas territories wagging his finger: The Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, has put British overseas tax havens under renewed pressure to end their culture of secrecy within six months or face sanctions. Mr Brown has written to all British Crown dependencies and overseas territories, setting them a September deadline [...]
Upwards Pressure
April 7th, 2009 · Comments Off · Business, Reform
The OECD just announced that the four countries named on its “tax haven blacklist” last week – Costa Rica, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Uruguay – have all cried UNCLE and agreed to the OECD information sharing principles. This means that all attention will now focus on the “greylist”, which includes Bermuda. Obviously, it behooves Bermuda [...]
Tags:G20·money laundering·OECD·tax haven
Transparency
April 3rd, 2009 · Comments Off · Business, Islands, Transparency
In discussing how the Cayman Islands have unilaterally extended tax information exchange with 20 countries, the former head of the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA), Tim Ridley, notes that transparency and good governance are just as important as TIEAs: “The Freedom of Information Law is a good marketing tool for Cayman as it shows we [...]
Tags:Cayman Islands·G20·OECD