Recently in Bermuda Category

Argentina signed an agreement with the Bahamas Thursday to share banking information as the country tries to tighten the noose on Argentines with cash hidden in overseas tax havens. Similar agreements were recently signed with Costa Rica, Andorra and Monaco. The deals are designed to stop tax evasion and fraud by exchanging tax information, lifting banking secrecy and allowing agents to conduct investigations overseas.

Continue reading: Argentina, Bahamas Sign Banking Information Agreement

Bermuda Signs Tax Agreement with Belgium

Bermuda has reached an agreement with Belgium to exchange information about criminal and civil tax matters. Benefits for the island from this tax information exchange agreement (TIEA) is a commitment by Belgium to conclude a series of mini double taxation agreements.

Continue reading: Bermuda Signs Tax Agreement with Belgium

Britain's crown dependencies and overseas territories are scrambling to defend themselves against the latest rhetoric issued by high-tax countries.

Supposedly 'leading' offshore centres are pleading for a more discriminate approach to distinguish themselves from the 'dirtier' unregulated tax havens.

Geoff Cook of Jersey Finance, which represents the island's financial industry, says: "The thing we worry about is we are being tarred with the same brush as everyone else."

Of international leaders: "They are desperate to find any way they can of increasing their tax collection and they are desperate to deflect attention away from the domestic situation."

The Cayman Islands took a similar stance:"We fear a very indiscriminate position will be
taken which owes more to protectionism and prejudice than judgement and intellectual application,"  said Deborah Drummond, deputy financial secretary of the Islands.

Last week the US administration offered encouragement for new anti-tax haven legislation that builds on the 'stop tax haven abuse act' introduced by then Senator Obama. If passed, numerous tax havens, among them many British colonies and territories may find themselves on the receiving end of sanctions which force them to be more transparent. The UK, Germany and France have also called for a crackdown on tax havens, hoping to make it a top issue at April's G20 summit.

Tax evasion scandals linked to swiss offshore banking and Liechtenstein have increased pressure, as has the banking crisis, when it was revealed that banks were some of the heaviest users of offshore jurisdictions.

Although it is widely opined by experts that offshore banking is not a major factor in the global financial crisis, many governments may find it easy to target offshore tax havens, leveraging on their close links to the banking sector.

The US financial rescue plan will benefit Bermuda's insurance industry, according to John Kephart, president and CEO of Capital G Bank in Bermuda, and the removal of sub-prime mortgage securities was positive for the Island's re/insurance market.

Think Again! Bermuda used to be a good privacy jurisdiction in years past. Today Bermuda has been chasing the tourism industry. Every day numerous cruise ships tie up in Bermuda. They have beach front hotels, gambling casinos, diving, fishing etc. The tourism industry employs more people and is more lucrative than the banking industry was so Bermuda gave in to international pressure and eliminated their secrecy and privacy to a very large extent.

Jumeirah, the fast growing Dubai-based luxury hotel group and member of Dubai Holding, has been appointed to manage the first new luxury resort to be built in Bermuda in 35 years. Pending approval by government agencies, the resort plans to open in mid-2008. The Dubai-based group's properties, also include Burj Al Arab, the world's most luxurious hotel, and six other luxury hotels and resorts in Dubai, that are among the most innovative and iconic in the world.

If you ever wanted to know anything, and I do mean anything about Bermuda, then you need look no-further than Bermuda Online a massive portal of 120 websites all interconnected by in-depth articles, reports, maps, pictures and statistics.

The Bermuda Online site is is owned and supported by The Royal Gazette international daily newspaper of Bermuda, which therefore gets exclusive copyright credit. It is edited, written independently, updated and web mastered by disabled Bermudian author and international journalist Keith Archibald Forbes.

Offshore: Bermuda is a popular jurisdiction for both owners and operators of aircraft in terms of aircraft registration and financing. Kerri Viera describes the benefits that may be obtained from registering an aircraft on the Bermuda register

Bermuda-registered aircraft are maintained and operated to the highest standards required and accepted internationally by reputable aviation regulatory authorities. As Bermuda is an Over-seas Territory of the United Kingdom, the Bermuda Department of Civil Aviation (BDCA) is subject to safety oversi ght surveillance by the UK Civil Aviation Authority. The high standard of the Bermuda register is evidenced by the fact the US Federal Aviation Authority classified Bermuda as a Category 1 jurisdiction under their international aviation safety assessment programme.

You don't have to go to the ends of the Earth to find somewhere without a Starbucks, a McDonald's or a megamall. Just head 600 miles east of South Carolina to Bermuda, where residents exist quite happily without fast-food chains, save one KFC.

Perhaps it has something to do with the pink beaches, pastel-colored houses or the incredibly clear blue water. But somehow, in this day of globalization and homogenization, this island has managed to retain a charm and authenticity all its own.

The parent company of ExactPay is Bermuda Commercial Bank (BCB). Its majority non Bermudian shareholder is First Curacao International Bank NV, which acquired the bank in May 1993 from Barclay's Bank. Bermuda Commercial Bank have become a leader in on-line banking for International Business Companies.

First Curacao International Bank (FCIB) are the issuing bank of ExactPay Cards and custodian of assets for the ExactPay Network. The Chairman of both banks, FCIB and BCB, is a visionary by the name of John Deuss.

Bermuda consists of 8 major islands and 130 smaller islands. Its land mass covers almost 21 square miles (54 square kilometres) and it has a population of approximately 60,000. Bermuda is the oldest self-governing British colony and uses the British Westminster style of Government.

The Islands are among the most isolated in the world with the nearest point of land being at Cape Hatteras, North Carolina of the United States of America - 570 miles (917 Kilometres) west of Bermuda.