Bermuda To Monitor Corporate Inversions Situation In United States

by Mike Godfrey, Tax-News.com, Washinton

24 October 2002

The Bermudian government and the jurisdiction's international business community both this week announced their intention to monitor the situation in Washington with regard to corporate inversion legislation very closely over the coming months.

Although the House of Representatives and the Senate failed to pass a joint resolution on offshore relocations before the recess for Congressional elections in November, observers have warned that the issue could well raise its head again next year.

According to a report from the Royal Gazette on Tuesday, the Bermudian government stated that it is 'simply too early to make a reasonable forecast of what lies ahead', but revealed that it plans to visit the United States soon after the elections for 'informal talks and initial assessment' on the matter.

Also speaking to the Royal Gazette this week, CEO of the Bermuda International Business Association (BIBA), Richard Calderon echoed this caution, suggesting that: 'Bermuda has been the beneficiary of circumstance with other broader national concerns taking precedence in the House.

However, he added that: 'We believe that the tax and corporate inversion issues will continue to be an issue for the House to consider, and while we may have been fortunate to buy some time to continue the process of educating the members of Congress on Bermuda's role in international business, we don't believe this spells the end of the debate.'

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