Senate Passes Three Tax Evasion Bills
Three important planks of Bermuda's
anti-evasion strategy were nailed down when the Senate passed
them today. The Taxes Management Amendment
Act 1999 defines which international tax-related crimes should
be indictable and which dealt with summarily. The Proceeds of Crime Amendment
Act 1999 criminalises tax evasion, and permits the authorities
to investigate the local activities and accounts of people charged
with, or convicted of, evasion anywhere. The USA-Bermuda Tax Convention
Amendment Act 1999 strengthens the powers of the Government
to give information to the US Government in answer to enquiries
about US undertakings. While these three bills can be
seen as an inevitable response to international pressure on
IOFCs, the real test will come in how such new powers are used
by the Government; it's the eating of this pudding, not the cooking
ot it, that will determine how far investors shy away from those
jurisdictions that are too complaisant. .
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