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Why You Should Consider Starting a Business in Bermuda
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f you mention Bermuda to most people, chances are they will either think of its famous beaches or its high standard of living. However, these two elements do not tell the full story, as striving for a unique profile has always set Bermuda apart from other international financial centers. For many decades, Bermuda’s pursuit to meet high standards and align itself with the best practices worldwide has distinguished it from other offshore centers. It’s all about reputation and quality over quantity, and such companies like Airbus, Boeing, BMW, Land Rover, Sperry and Bremont, Louis Vuitton and Moet & Chandon chose to register in Bermuda for all the same reasons.
the telecommunications infrastructure, information on how favorable are the regulations for companies, government effectiveness indexes, and indexes on the perception of corruption, among others. According to the latest GFCI ranking, Bermuda is now the third-highest ranked financial center in the Latin America and Caribbean region, having been overtaken by the Cayman Islands and the British Virgin Islands.
One of the reasons why Bermuda dropped in this list was the fact that the Council of the European Union added it to its blacklist of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes. Being added to this list amounts to a move to “name and shame“ rather than to impose practical measures. The offshore financial centers in the However, Bermuda immediately Caribbean have become economi- took some steps towards changing cally successful in the last 30 years. this situation and introduced ecoToday, the Cayman Islands, Bermuda, nomic substance rules, expressing British Virgin Islands appear in the hope and expectation that it will be most important ranking worldwide, removed from the blacklist on the the Global Financial Centres Index next evaluation. (GFCI), which is the main tool that The efforts did pay off, and Berpoints out how attractive financial muda was removed from a Eurocenters are around the world and pean Union list of non-cooperaallows us to understand their growth tive tax jurisdictions in May 2019, and competitiveness over time. The with the EU council saying Bermuda factors taken into account include had taken positive steps, and that it evidence on the competitiveness of “remains committed to addressing 68
EU concerns in the area of collective investment funds.” Today, Bermuda’s attitude is crystal clear — “Quality rather than quantity of the financial transactions.“ Curtis Dickinson, Bermuda’s Finance Minister, noted that Bermuda has a strong message for those who see this offshore financial center just as a perfect place to hide misdeeds: “We will rat you out, plain and simple as that, because our reputation is a critical part of our calling card, and unless we can demonstrate how serious we are about this, then people will not take us seriously.“ As one of the leading offshore financial centers, Bermuda has all the essential components necessary for a robust international business community. There are many advantages of doing business here — think progressive regulatory regime, lower tax jurisdiction, the wide availability of experienced service providers, modern infrastructure, a stable political and economic climate, and the quality of life that is enjoyed on the Island. One of Bermuda’s biggest attractions is its tax-neutral jurisdictional status, with zero tax on profits, income, dividends, or capital gains. What is more, it is relatively easy to start a business here, as company
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