Bermuda Sees Boost In Numbers Filing Online Tax Returns
by Amanda Banks, Tax-News.com, London
18 October 2004

Bermuda’s Royal Gazette reported last week that there has been a significant increase in the number of businesses using the government’s electronic tax filing system in the wake of a recent advertising campaign.

As Finance Minister Paula Cox launched the campaign last month to promote the e-tax system, it was reported that only 9% of registered taxpayers had used the system in the previous quarter.

However, quoting Tax Commissioner Heather Jacobs Matthews, the Gazette reported that the number of firms filing online has already risen to 16%, or 884 businesses, in the current quarter.

"If 884 people are filing, that is 884 cheques we don't have to worry about, 884 returns we don't have to file away, 884 receipts we don't have to put into the mail. That is more than a 100% increase of the people who were filing before,” she explained.

The Tax Commissioner expects the numbers filing over the internet to increase still further when an online payment facility is introduced early next year, according to the Royal Gazette.

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