The Government of Bermuda has stated that it has not entered into any tax avoidance treaty with the British Government, according to reports.
The Bermudan prime minister, Premier Craig Cannonier, has stated that Bermuda, along with nine other British Overseas Territories (OTs) and crown dependencies, has not consented to sign the tax treaty with British prime minister David Cameron during talks in London.
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In the week that went by, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands, Turks and Caicos, Montserrat and Anguilla, were invited for discussion on the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters with British Prime Minister in London. Also, present in the talks were Gibraltar, Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man.
The purpose of the talks was to bring in more transparency to end tax evasion and to agree on new measures to put a check on money launderers, illegal tax evaders and corporate tax avoiders. According to the report, 10 countries have already signed the deal with the British Government.
The members of G8 have agreed to give each other automatic access to information on their residents’ tax affairs. In order to identify the effective owners of the companies, the G8 Governments would also aspire at identifying the shells, which the companies use to exploit tax loopholes and invest money namelessly.
Cameron hailed the Lough Erne agreement saying it "has the potential to rewrite the rules on tax" and added, "We have commissioned a new international mechanism that will identify where multinational companies are earning their profits and paying their taxes so we can track and expose those who aren’t paying their fair share."
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By GlobalDataAccording to finance minister Bob Richards, the new tax treaty with Bermuda and other OTs is eyewash to cover up for the internal policy failures of larger countries. The delegation led by Bermuda has, reportedly, stated to Cameron that it has failed to give a fair opportunity to Bermuda and the other OTs to examine the multilateral agreement, which Britain wanted then to sign.
Cannonier has also stated that Bermuda has no problem in sharing tax information and providing information about beneficial ownership of companies, which have their businesses in Bermuda. The country had been doing this for past many years.
