The One Bermuda Alliance thanks and congratulates the members and staff of the Tax Reform Commission (TRC) for their dedication, hard work, and commitment. The OBA recognises that the TRC members represent the breadth of Bermuda society and have worked hard to thoughtfully balance interests including labour, pressing social issues, and local and international business. We also recognize and thank the members of TRC for their focus on tax and financial policies intended to produce good long-term results for all of Bermuda in their recommendations.
The OBA supports the report’s recommendations to rapidly decrease our country’s debt (and annual interest costs), and focus on the stability of Government funding, while also taking care of healthcare for seniors and the underinsured. We also note the TRC’s call for transparency around how Corporate Income Tax (CIT) funds are allocated, managed, and governed. The Government has repeatedly ignored the OBA’s questions on how the Tax Reserve Fund will be managed, so we hope the Government will follow the TRC suggestions on this and other proposals.
We also support the report’s focus on healthcare, as it is a critical issue facing our island, both for individuals who can’t get the healthcare they need, and for businesses, whose health insurance expenses make Bermuda too expensive to run a business and employ people. It’s important to know that the TRC recommendations for healthcare funding come with an expectation for real healthcare reform in Bermuda. Unfortunately, the current Government has failed to deliver meaningful progress here, so we hope that something changes, and we get real reform, not just increased spending.
Importantly, the TRC report also describes the tax credits (QRTCs) that CIT payers have been looking for. Their focus on incentivizing jobs, training, investment, and philanthropy in Bermuda should provide a mutual benefit for Bermuda and CIT payers. We urge the Government to move quickly to implement these, so that Bermuda remains an attractive jurisdiction.
Finally, the report also communicates concerns shared by many stakeholders, that impact individuals and businesses in Bermuda. These are well known, and include our demographic and population challenges, politicized immigration system, and concerns about Government’s ability to properly handle the CIT funds on a practical, day to day basis.
The report states that “Bermuda must avoid being complacent”. We could not agree more. There is real work to be done on our island, and it can’t be done just by using the CIT money to pay more – real changes are required. The TRC report contains many important recommendations. We urge Government to move quickly to act on them.
