HAMILTON, Bermuda – A team of Bermuda executives have traveled to Toronto, Canada, to attend a special conference designed to describe the many business and financial advantages that will arise out of Bermuda’s recent Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) signing with Canada. Called, Bermuda as the Offshore Jurisdiction of Choice: What Canadian Asset Managers Need to Know, the conference was held at Bennett Jones LLP’s corporate conference center in Toronto. It was a follow-up to the June 2010 TIEA agreement signing between Bermuda and Canada and was sponsored by Bermuda Business, APEX Fund Services, Bennett Jones LLP, Bermuda Stock Exchange, West Jet, Albourne Village, M! and ISI Publications.
Bermuda’s Minister of Finance, the Hon. Paula A. Cox., J.P., M.P., applauded the Bermuda’s team initiative and acknowledged the work that is being done to build on the TIEA platform. It was, she said, a collaborative effort between Bermuda’s Ministry of Finance, the Business Bermuda organization, the Bermuda Stock Exchange and many private sector organizations.
The Minister noted that many of Canada’s fund managers and investors were now poised to take advantage of the several benefits associated with the TIEA and, hopefully, would be encouraged to domicile or re-domicile their operations in Bermuda.
“Canada’s foreign direct investment in Bermuda’s economy now totals some $22.3 million while Bermuda’s direct investment in Canada is $2.1 million. We hope, through conferences such as this, to describe the advantages arising out of the TIEA agreement and so, encourage more of Canadian’s business and financial community to come to Bermuda,” the Minister said.
She said that the TIEA agreement had put Bermuda on a level playing field with other international financial jurisdiction. “It offers Canadian asset managers the same benefits as jurisdictions that have a double tax agreement with Canada and in a jurisdiction internationally recognized for its robust regulatory and legislative framework, clear and consistent fiscal policy and sophisticated, experienced and specialized corporate service providers,”
Minister Cox said, “the conference provided a unique opportunity for asset managers and investors to assess the costs and benefits of establishing a Bermuda vehicle. “Opportunities like this of addressing the practical considerations of corporate service providers and investors in selecting Bermuda is a key component of the Ministry’s work. Attracting more companies to Bermuda will create jobs, strengthen the economy and help the financial services sector thrive.”
Addressing the conference, Ministry of Finance, Treaty Advisor, Ms. Laura Hershey, gave a presentation outlining the implications of the Bermuda – Canada Tax Agreement to Canadian asset managers, and participated in a panel discussion alongside Greg Wojciechowski, President & CEO of the Bermuda Stock Exchange. Ms. Hershey noted there are currently 1,145 Bermuda entities with Canadian interest, and that this number is expected to grow exponentially.
In addition, to explaining the administration of tax information exchange agreements and how the negotiation of these agreement provide a framework for deepening economic and commercial relations between jurisdictions, Ms. Hershey highlighted Bermuda’s achievements in shaping international standards in the financial services arena and Bermuda’s financial services market success.
“At the annual Canadian Captive Conference in Toronto in June of this year, which was attended by representatives of the Bermuda Monetary Authority, and a large number of local industry representative, it was already being noted how our TIEA with Canada was a significant step forward both in enhancing business ties and investment opportunities between Bermuda and Canada. Canada is one of Bermuda’s most valued and important economic partners with a long-history of connections through our insurance, reinsurance and broader financial services industry,” Ms. Hershey said.
