May 16, 2025

—you are not recognised. Hold on.
We are now at that hour where it's now 12:30.
For the benefit of the listening audience and Honourable Members, we are now in Committee of Supply for
further consideration of the Estimates of Revenue and
Expenditure for the year 2025/26
Shadow Minister of Education Ben Smith has
been giving some very clinical questions to the Minis-ter and shall resume after lunch.
So, I now . . . the Minister has to move.
Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Mr. Chairman, I now move
that we break for lunch and resume at 2:00 pm.

Good afternoon, Members.
We are in the Committee of Supply for Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for the budget
year 2025/26.
Before the short lunch adjournment we heard
from the former Minister of Education who was kindly presenting the heads for the Ministry of Education for
the Minister of Education who sits in another place,
namely Heads 16, 17 and 41. We then heard from the
Honourable Shadow Minister for Education, the Member for constituency 8, Ben Smith, MP who was on his
feet when we broke for lunch.
Does anyone wish to speak?
MP Smith, I recognise MP Smith.

And where I was leaving off was that
there is a potential need for teachers to receive some assistance due to some kind of strong issues that
happen within that particular job. It can be a stressful
job, and we've had some added pressures with what
has happened with COVID -19, and now we have education reform. There's been a change in the student
population. There's been some negative interaction
with some parents . These are all things , factors , that
would have been impacting our teachers .
So my questioning was around the mental
health side and the help that is provided for teachers
who might need that help. A nd what I was discussing
was the fact that under GEHI [Government Employee
Health Insurance] they get 12 appointments for the
year to receive something for mental health services .
And it's about $97.00 that is provided, but the cost is
approximately $250 per session. S o considering that it
is going to be difficult for somebody to be able to get the kind of support that they might need, I’m just wondering whether there has been any thought in moving
to increas e the amount of coverage that teachers ,
specifically , would have because of the changes in
that specific job .
I know that the F ire Service and Police Service have a higher amount covered for these issues
because they are in what is called kind of a high
stress environment . So [I am] just looking to see if the
Minister would be able to provide any details whether
there's been any thought of increasing that specific
help considering that it could be one of the factors that is leading to us having to rely so heavily on substitute
teachers .
Mr. Chairman, my last question on substitute
teachers is whether we can get some overall data on the usage so that we have an understanding of where
this demand is coming from the most . Is it in our primary schools ? Is it in our middle schools ? Is it in our
secondary schools ? If we could get the numbers of
how often substitute teachers are needed in each of these schools , I think it would give an indication of
whether this is a bigger problem. A nd I asked before
lunch whether there's been a plan put in place so that we can start to try to resolve this considering this has
been a situation that has meant even when budgeted
$3,000,000 we have spent up to $9 million to cover
this specific line item.
So, Mr. Chairman, still on page B-138 I'm going to now move on to student services . And the first
line that I'd like to look at is 27061, which is Behaviour
Management . So I think all of us would agree that
there has been, at least publicly , some issues of
negative behaviour from some of our students . The
shame of it is that a lot of times that's the piece that
gets the headline instead of the fact that we have so
many other students who are actually performing well
and doing great things in their community . But when


Bermuda House of Assembly we do have issues with behaviour , I just want to make
sure that we're doing everything we can to support
these students . And my question is , we see there is
additional funding, could we get some detail on what
that additional funding will specifically help ? Is that
simply part of the increase in the salaries ?
I think all of us would agree that teachers getting more money to do their job is something that all of
us can applaud. And I think most people in this
Chamber would agree that teachers probably deserve
to get more than what they just received. But, obviously , we have to fit within the budget . But in saying
that, wanting to know whether this increase is actually
going to be supporting, making changes to that behaviour , or is it simply going to be just the financial
change for the salaries in that area?
The next one that I'm looking at is going to be
under Paraprofessionals . So that is 27079.

So, Mr. Chairman, there seems to be
an increase d use of paraprofessionals . I think it would
be important for the listening public to understand what the difference between a paraprofessional and a teacher is , what the qualification difference is , what
the expected support level is for paraprofessionals ,
and how we got to a situation where we need more in
this particular area. And with that increase d demand,
what is the increased support training and maybe giv-ing more qualifications to paraprofessionals if we are going to be relying more and more on them?
And, Mr. Chairman, still on the same page,
27066, which is v ision. The Minister gave some specific answers in the brief regarding vision, but I have a
question regarding . . . sometimes you're going to
have a young student that potentially is having some issues in the classroom that are related to maybe
needing some glasses , maybe not being able to see
the board, maybe not being able to read the information that's provided for them. And we have to accept that in today's Bermuda sometimes their parent might not have the ability to go out and purchase
glasses .
So, if the Minister can give us some information on whether there is a support system in place
[and] w hat that process is . Because there are potentially some parents who are listening that could figure
out how they might be able to help their child. And in
that case, we want to make sure that we are giving
them all the tools that it's going to take to have their
best performance in the classroom.
Mr. Chairman, also on 27065, I went down
one line. I should have actually dealt with this one
first. Which was —

I just have a question because I know
specifically that Gilbert Institute was a school that actually had quite a bit of sign language that was hap-pening in the school . There were some programmes
there, specifically . And considering that that school is
closing , if we could get some indication of whether
that support that was in that specific school is now
moving to a different school . And the teachers who
would have had that extra expertise to sign, whether
that has now been moved to a different school and
potentially allows for the support of those students in
that new school .
Mr. Chairman, there are several areas here
that deal with students who have different learning
abilities , different learning styles . We have autism
here. W e have learning support . There's a lot here to
deal with students who might need extra support . The
question that I ask is , from a data perspective, have
we been recording the data? D o we see an increase
in the need for this kind of support ? It connects to
what I was saying earlier about more paraprofessionals. So, are we seeing that our community is needing
more support in these areas ? Are our children are
needing more support in these areas ? Which obviously is an increased cost because the government
schools are the ones that are really supplying this
specific support to students .
Mr. Chairman, it's also an area where I'd like
to know whether there are cases that happen where the government system potentially isn't able to provide
the kind of support that is necessary for certain stu-dents . Some of this is going to be a behaviour issue ,
some of it is going to be specific learning areas . In
that context , when that happens , what is the system to
allow that child to get the level of support that is needed for them to progress ?
And the reason I ask that is because there are
a lot of cases where you find that parents are being
burdened with heavy costs because they have to go
and find that level of support . Sometimes it's because
they are not comfortable with the support that's pro-vided, but in some cases it's because the support isn't
available at the amount that is necessary for that child to progress .
And this connects the dots to what I was talking about earlier when I said absenteeism. So if a
child is pulled out of school to get this kind of support and they are no longer going to their regular classroom, is there a system in place to continue to follow
that progress along that child's journey ? Checking in
with them to make sure that it isn't a child that's being
left behind because they needed more support .
Still on the same page , B-138, I just have a
quick question. U nder 2704 0, Educational Stores .

Yes.

570 16 May 2025 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Ben Smith: So, I see the funding that is there for
Educational Stores , which is going to be an area
where teachers would be able to go and get their supplies for their classroom. I think all of us have heard
times the teachers talk about not having certain supplies. There are cases where parents are actually
pitching in in order to make sure that the class has the
supplies that are needed. I guess the question is , is
this a situation where the stores needs to have a big-ger budget in order to cover these costs for the teachers? Because the demand on the teachers has gone
up. Yes, it is good that they are getting an increase in
their salary , but if they are also still continuing to
spend money on supplies , it seems that that would not
be a fair exchange. So if there is any indication that
we can give , that, potentially , there needs to be more
funding given to stores so that those supplies are
available to the teachers , I think all of us applaud parents who are helping and giving in paper and supplies. But should it really be [their] responsibility ?
Mr. Chairman, I'm moving on to page B-139.
I'm going to start with 1704 , which is Preschool . I just
have a question. Because during the transition that's
happening as we move from a three- tier system to a
two-tier system and signature schools and parish primary schools , some of these changes are meaning
that certain schools are closing and people are trans-ferring. I was just wondering if the Minister can give us
any feedback on St. Paul's Preschool , specifically ,
because I believe there is . . . as we move towards a
parish primary school which will be working toward having a preschool attached to the parish primary
school , is there going to be impact to that specific preschool ? And if that is the case, when do we anticipate
that happening ?
So, Mr. Chairman, moving on to 1705, which
is Primary Schools . In the next few weeks we will be
seeing two more of our primary schools close, which
will mean that there will be students who are transitioning to other schools . Would it be possible for the
Minister to provide some details into where those students have moved? So, obviously , there would have
been an application process for parents to choose
different schools . There was quite a bit of , kind of ,
anxiety around certain students not being able to get
what would have been their first choice .
So, with that being said, it would be important
for us to have some details on that so that we have clarity whether all of those situations have been resolved. So that if a student has moved from one
school to the next , are we seeing students moving
from the closed primary school , public school , to another public school ? Are we seeing them move to private school ? Are we seeing them move overseas ?
Just if we could get some details on that data because
at this point, we should probably have a good idea where those students are transitioning to.
Mr. Chairman, still on that same page, B-139.
I'm looking at 1706, Special Schools . There was a bi t in the brief about the Dame Marjorie B ean [Hope]
Academy . There was a significant increase in the
budget , which was 102 per cent. If we could just get a
little bit more detail of the breakdown of what those expansions are . There was some information in the
brief, but a little more detail on what that major increase entails .
And, Mr. Chairman, now we're going to move
on to page B -140. And I'm looking under 1707 which
is Middle Schools . So, there is , what I'm going to say
is a bit of an anomaly . We know that we have schools
that are closing. We know that we have schools that
have closed. I think one of the things that becomes
important when we're in the budget part of the debate is figuring out what happens when you close a school .
So, one of the major factors is that a lot of the
finances for school s are going to be based off of
teachers . So, when you close the school , a large
amount will move out of that particular budget line . But
there will be some residual which will be based off of the school facility , maybe some clean up. There is that
part. But the part that I'm querying is that within 1707,
Middle Schools , we have T . N. Tatem. So, Mr. Chairman, I could be corrected but I believe the T . N.
Tatem closed in 2020. So, looking at the previous
Budget Book in 2023/24, there was zero budgeted for
T. N. Tatem, which would have made sense because
it was closed. And then there was zero revised in the
2024 /25 Budget Book.

But the revised shows $ 1,361,000.
So once again this is a closed school . Zero is budgeted. And then later on we are seeing a significant
number being added to the budget . So, if we could get
some clarity . And the reason that that would be important is because in the 2025 /26 budget , it is estimated at zero again.


Bermuda House of Assembly The Chairman: Yes. I see that.

So, if you follow the way it has happened up until now , potentially , in next year's Budget
Book, we're going to see a significant number that
was not budgeted that appears for a school that's
closed. So, I think we really need to get some clarity
on how that happened because all indications that
one of the major reasons that that facility closed was
because of the health risks to students . So, there
hasn't been an announcement that it's continued to be
a school , so when we see a number of close to
$2,000,000 being spent out of the Education budget in
that facility , I think we need some clarity of how that
happened.
So, Mr. Chairman, —

—looking at Clearwater M iddle
School , which has obviously had its budget reduced,
because that facility is closed. And it is $497,000 so I
guess the first step would be, C an we get some clarity
of what the $497,000 is in relation to when it comes to
Clearwater Middle School ? I would understand that
the big number once again would have been moved
out of that budget line because the teachers would not
be there . The reason I'm asking that question is because if it phased down to zero, are we then going to
see the budget change later down the line for that fa-cility? And if it's being utili sed for a different reason, I
guess my question is , Should it be moved to a different Ministry rather than be sitting under the Ministry of
Education?

Mr. Chairman, I'm moving on to 1708
which is the S enior Schools . So at this time, really
what I'd like to see is , How are we assessing the data
that is being collected from our senior schools ? We
have a significant budget . You've seen the budget
increase for both schools . Obviously , there is need.
But will we see the information made public ? Right?
So we need to improve our transparency . We need to
understand that parents are making decisions on what school they are going to want to send their child to .
And in this structure, it will be important for us to know
what is happening in these particular schools . What is
the data that allows you to know that your child will
have a successful path in going to one of our senior secondary schools .
So, Mr. Chairman, still on page B -140, I'm
moving on now to 1709 which is C urriculum and As-sessment . So, given the increases in spending , I
guess the question I would ask is , When will the national data assessment be made public to schools ?
Like, what is happening? If you do an assessment , is
that information going to be made public so that peo-ple know what they're getting out of the assessments ?
And the reason for this is as we are going through the
transition and trying to build confidence in the public education system, the more that we can show the improvement of the assessments , show the growth, I
think builds that confidence in the community that things are moving in the correct direction.
Still on page B -140, I'm moving on to 1712 ,
Early Childhood Education. Child Development
[27175]. And there is an additional budget given to
this area. We on the O pposition have full agreement
that we should be putting more finances on the early development of our children. So we have no argument
on increasing the budget for this area, but if we could
get some details on what that increase is going to give us. Once again, a lot of times the increase within this
budget seems to have been linked to increases in sal-aries . So, what we want to make sure is , is this also
something that is going to increase the support , increase the programmes , and allow us to make sure
that our students have everything that they need,
necessary ?
Mr. Chairman, moving on to page B -141. I'm
just going to point out that there's a couple of pieces in
here that I just wanted to know whether we could get
a little more detail on. So Professional Services , the
Minister gave a couple of headings that would be fitting in there. But there is an increase of $ 1.5 million .
So, I am just wondering if we could get a little more
detail of what that increase will actually be connected
to.
And also , under the line of Energy , the increase, and once again, this is looking at it , there was
the original of $ 920,000 under Energy .

So the question is, If we were able to
reduce the energy significantly in this last year , why
are we budgeting such a higher number this time around? And if that is the case, are we looking at any
ways of adding renewable energy to try to reduce this
cost going forward?
Mr. Chairman, I'm now going to move on to
page B -144, which would be the P erformance
Measures .

And the percentage of students for
whom intervention plans were created with fidelity is
100 per cent. That's what the performance measure
says here. So can the Minister please provide how
many students required . . . Right? Because it's
100 per cent but 100 per cent of what ? What was the
total number that led to the 100 per cent who received
it?
So now , 1704, which is Preschools .

—it would determine that once they
are handed off to primary school, we are actually in a
good position. Because this assessment is saying
that. So, if we can get some more detail on what that assessment is. And if it is , in actual fact, getting us
that level of detail so that we know who is going to
need more help, more support, more intervention when they get into the primary school.
Now, Mr. Chairman, moving on to primary
schools. So now we are on page B -145.

So can the Minister please give an
indication of the numbers? The assessment is looking
at three or higher. So what is the number? Like, explain to us what one is, what two is, what three is, how
high up does it go? So that we have an understanding. Because the number just says “3”, we don't really
know. And I think for the listening audience it would be
important to know what that “3” —

And then what percentage is reaching the highest number? What percentage is reaching
the lowest number? Because this is simply talking
about what is reaching what was the target? And the
percentage of people reaching the target was 60 per
cent. So, what are those other indicators so that we
have the data to assess how the primary schools are
actually moving towards the target growth in reading?
Which I think all of us will agree is extremely important.
Mr. Chairman, now on to Middle Schools,
1707, still on page B -145.

My question is, What percentage of
students in middle school are taking these exams so
that we have an understanding of what portion of the
student population is in this category that is getting to
this level early and being able to get there at this
85 per cent mark? And at the same time, would it be
possible for us to get what percentage took the City &
Guild’s assessment in middle school. So, once again,
it gives us an idea of what percentage of the student
population in middle schools are actually taking these
exams. Because the performance measure is only on the people in that successful area.

Yes.



Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Ben Smith: So now we are going to turn to page
B-146, and we are moving on to secondary schools.
So this is 1708, Secondary Schools. And following on
the same kind of line that I was on previously, you
know, it says Students passing IGCSE. So, what percentage of the student population is taking the
IGCSE?

How many IGCSE exams are available to the students? Right? Because some people
would have taken those exams in middle school in English and math, so if we could get an indication
whether there are multiple other subjects that would
then be available to them in secondary schools so that
they can continue on that path of success. So, if we could get some more details on that I think that would
be helpful.
There's also a line in here that talks about
students in Advanced Placement Exams. So, if we
could get an indication of the percentage of students
in secondary school that are able to take these Ad-vanced Placement Exams, because we have the indication of what happens once they're there, but what
portion of the student population is actually having access to these?

Yes.
While the Honourable Shadow Minister is
looking at his notes , just to remind the listening public
that we are in the Committee of Supply for Estimates
of Revenue and E xpenditure for the year 2025/ 26.
This afternoon's debate, continuing from this morning,
is on the Ministry of Education. S pecifically , Heads 16,
17 and Head 41 for the Bermuda C ollege . We are currently hearing questions from the Honourable Shadow Minister for Education , Ben Smith MP , of constituency [8], who was asking questions of the Honourable
Minister and former Minister for Education, Diallo Rabain.
Shadow Minister, you have the floor.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I'm now going to move on to
[page] B-147, Early Childhood Education. It is 1712.
So considering the increase in resources that has
been given, why is the forecast of assessments dropping from 600 screenings in 2024/25 to 400 in
2025/26? I know that we have a declining birth rate. Is
this an indication that we don't have as many stu-dents ? Or is it that we found that we cannot reach that
higher number, so we've reduced the number that we are actually going to try to get the assessments on ?
Can the Minister provide details on . . . even
for this past year it was that the target of 600 ended
up being revised. So obviously there was a target of
600, it's moved down to 352, and now the new target
becomes 400. S o just if we could get some information on why those changes happen and what does
the Minister think that indicates ?
Mr. Chairman, I would also like to know . . .
there is a performance measure here for Targets of
gaining knowledge at 50 per cent. Could the Minister
let us know whether this is because there's fewer
people that are participatin g, or they're not completing
it. Like how , why is that number at 50 per cent for
gaining the knowledge that is being provided? I f you
could give some clarity on what that is .

And considering th at early intervention is going to be really important in making sure that
we are giving the support to students on their educational journey , the number seems to be low for the
people that are receiving the intervention. I could be
wrong, so if the M inister could give us kind of information on that . I know that there have been issues in
the past where not everybody is doing the follow -up
on the parent ’s side. And I know that that has been a
frustration .
It's part of the overall conversation where
even in the meeting that we had with the R eform Unit,
you know , we can talk about trying to get our students
to the level that is necessary . . . Just a few minutes
ago I was talking about the IGCSE . And I know that
the Ministry provided information to parents , and I believe it was 120- something people who it should have
been available to , and the number of people who actually participated was significantly lower than that
number .
So even though part of what we are talking
about is trying to give an increase of support , an increase financially , trying to do everything that we can,
it is important that we understand that there are multiple steps to this . Our community has to be in agreement and, specifically , our parents are going to have
574 16 May 2025 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly to make sure that they are doing everything they can
to help their student to reach the levels . It is not going
to just be the responsibility of the parents . . . I mean
of the teachers . It is not going to just be the responsibility of the principals . And it cannot only be the responsibility of the Minister of Education . Everybody's
going to have to be part of this . So, as we ask for
more support , part of it is that people are going to
have to ask for the support and then participate when
the support is given.
So, Mr. Chairman, I'm now just going to go to
Capital Estimates, so page C-4.

So, would the M inister be able to give
us a breakdown of the schools that would be receiving and just an indication of what potential M inor Works
are going to be needed at these facilities ? You know ,
as the school year goes through there are certain things that would have been noticed, brought to everyone's attention that certain things are breaking
down. It would be just good to have an idea of what
are the items that are going to have to be fixed, corrected, so that when the new school year starts those
things have happened.
Line item 75152, which is School Safety . Just
[that] there seems to be a reduction in this particular
number , and I'm not sure whether that's because the
funding is actually in a different line item . I just want to
know , considering that I think the M inister in another
part, another line, actually talked about how we are
beefing up cameras and all the rest of it . This looks
like it's not giving the support . So, I’m just trying to
figure out , is it that . . . Listen , I think that everybody
here would agree that we want to make sure that our students and definitely our teachers are feeling safe when they're at school during the day . And so anything that we can give from a technology standpoint , I
fully support what the M inister said in the brief about
some of those technologies that are being brought in
to make sure that our students are safe . But just here ,
seeing that reduced number , maybe there is something that I'm missing in why that particular piece has
happened. And have all schools received updated
safety audits ? If the M inister can let us know that . So, line item 75284, School Bathroom Renovations .

Now which schools will have renovated bathrooms with the $125,000 that is allocated ? Is
this a situation where these are problems that have been kind of brought to everyone's attention this year ?
Or is this just scheduled that happens on an ongoing
basis ? Are these major problems ? I know that one of
the schools that is closing had a major bathroom issue
which now obviously doesn't become a problem because the school will be closed. But is the Minister
aware that there are any issues like that in some of these other schools , and whether a higher number of
resources have to be given to make sure that our
schools are up to the level that is necessary for our
students in the upcoming year ?
So, Mr. Chairman, I'm now going to move on
to Head 41, the Bermuda C ollege. A s the Bermuda
College is . . . I think we learned in a debate quite
some time ago they are self -sufficient . And it's important they are self-sufficient . And I believe that that's
one of the reasons that the Minister did not give a lot
of detail on it . And it's not because he doesn't believe
in the College, it's simply because it's . . . they are an
independent and it has to be that way for a lot of reasons . And especially when we're talking about finances. We went through this process about the auditing
process . In order for them to reach certain certifications , they have to be independent from, kind of , government interference . And for that reason, I believe
that's why we are where we are with that .
So just looking at a couple of items that potentially we could get some , just some information on, I
think some data would be helpful . Which is , are we
able to get some kind of performance indicators from
what's coming out of the college ? We are all excited
that we are having our young people have an opportunity to go to Bermuda C ollege . Bermuda College is
now . . . it has opportunities for people to get degrees
here. And it's lined up with, you know , colleges and
universities all over the world now that are allowing
our students to continue their education journey . But if
the Minister can give us some detail on students entering Bermuda College so as a graduating year goes
by, we will see enrolment in the Bermuda C ollege
coming out of our private schools . They will be coming
out of our public school s. They will be coming out of
our home schools . So, if we could get some numbers
on where they are coming from into Bermuda C ollege,
specifically .
And then if the Minister can give us some information on whether the Bermuda College has put in
a system for remedial courses to actually get some of
our students on track so that eventually they can go
overseas . Because, once again, it's all about how do


Bermuda House of Assembly we move our students from each step to get them to
the end destination ?
One of the major factors in the discussion that
we had with the R eform Unit was that it's about kind of
cutting down on the number of transitions that a student has to go through , through their career . And that
is one of the major reasons why the Government is moving towards phasing out middle schools . Because
it cuts that down. And when you look at the private
education in Bermuda, a lot of times everything is
done in one facility . Right? They move from one to the
next. So, they've cut down on those transitions . Everything that we are doing right now should be leading to that.
But I think a major question that is going to
come out of this debate —and I am going to put this
under the general education line— is going to be:
What is the estimated timeline for this reform to be
completed? I know it's a moving target . I understand
it's a moving target . But a s we are going through it ,
our students are having to go through the journey with
us. So every time an interruption happens . . . I just
stated that you're cutting down on transitions . But
we're moving students as you close a school which means that sometimes they've added a transition. So
understanding that that could have an impact on that
student’s journey , it would be important for us to do
everything we can to clarify , communicate to the
population that things are being put in place to cut
down on the number of times that that happens .
With that , Mr. Chairman, I'll take my seat and
get some responses from the M inister .

Yes, please. P lease proceed, M inister, you have the floor .

[Crosstalk]

Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: I will endeavour to answer
now. I'm looking at the . . . this technology is just so
wonderful .

[Laughter]

Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: I'm looking at the 50 questions that have come from here, from this session this
morning. A nd I will begin .
Mr. C hairman, a question asked was , Has the
Ministry tracked outcomes from investments in scholarships ? And the answer is , the Ministry tracks com-pletion and graduation of students who receive scholarships . Longer term outcomes tend to be anecdotal
and could be better measured. T here was a programme review previously which resulted in refocusing on areas of greatest need . Most of our scholarships are of financial need; however , as the pos tsecondary landscape and opportunities for students evolve, a fresh programme evaluation is due .
The next question I have here is , Can the Minister provide the breakdown of the number of people
receiving scholarships and the different areas to get
these awards from? And it has their number from public-private home schools , mature students , et cetera. I
do know that there is a very specific scholarship for . . . it used to be called the Mature Student . . . I can't
remember the name of it. T hey changed the name,
but it used to be called the M ature Student, and you
have to be over a certain age to get that . So that's
definitely one specifically for students .
And I will recogni se in one of my last acts as
the Minister , we put in place the ability for further education awards . We set aside 10 of them to go towards
master’s degrees , so that was an older cohort of students as well . We also did open that up to students
who were doing online studies . So there is , as it is
stated there, there is a need to do some more evaluation, probably revised evaluations on that . But here
the answer , specifically to your question is, at this time
the information is not categori sed that way , but it will
be passed on to the Minister and that could be part of
the evaluation review . It could be an indicator for the
demographics , exactly as I just said .
The next question, What are the specific deliverables required for education reform? There is a
wide scope of deliverables and the statement of work,
inclusive of deliverables, can be found on the MOED
[Ministry of Education] website on the Ministry tab and
reports. I will say that I was made aware of this just
earlier this week. And I was surprised that that had
been posted up. So, if you did want to go there and
look, the actual IU deliverables and their assessment
of what needs to happen within the department , within
the Ministry , within our schools to actually move the
process of reform ahead , it is actually all listed there.
And so, I would encourage [you] to actually just take a
look at that .
What feedback has been given and [what] adjustments have been made? A review audit process
has been underway now for the last few months . The
co-leads of each work stream have presented to the
Minister and the permanent secretary , summari sing
what work has been accomplished to date, ac knowledging achievements , identified risk , impact statements for students and teachers , and identifying next
steps .
In addition to the presentation from the ERU
[Education Reform Unit ] co-leads , the Minister is
meeting with school transformation teams to gather more insight on what has gone well , what can be im576 16 May 2025 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly proved, and lessons learned. The Minister has also
met with school boards and PTA presidents to gain
invaluable insights from their vantage point. Principals
and DoE [Department of Education] staff will also be
provided with similar opportunities to provide feedback . Once this assessment is complete and analysis
completed, adjustments will be made .
Grants . Does the revised figure for grants on
page B -135 mean that there is a gap or is less support
needed? The revised, robust figure of $3,130 [million]
provides additional funding for critical partners of edu-cation . External grants ensure that lifelong learning is
embedded in the community for our residents .
And the next question is about school attendance. W hy was a low number budgeted for ? And the
answer here: T he officers are sitting in business unit
27095 but budgeted for in 27090. This needs to be
transferred to the latter business unit . I want to say I
think I remember this happened last budget . And s o,
as you know , sometimes the [Budget] B ook will take, I
believe, three cycles to catch up fully .
School attendance. How many students had
prolonged absences last year ? It says here: T he information is collected ; however , we don't have it at our
fingertips . But I am sure that that could be provided at
some point in the future, perhaps a ministerial question to the Senate.
Attendance. What is the process when dealing with students with prolonged absences ? The first
line of contact is the school as they know the students and there is follow -up by attendance officers . School
counsellors engage parents to determine underlying
problems . Long absences are often as a result of
complex issues such as mental health, trauma, family
problems , learning difficulties , et cetera. T he Ministry
is working with the department for an improved strategy, but a holistic approach is needed including with
Financial Assistance and DCFS [Department of Child
and Family Services ]. The issue is beyond just an attendance issue.
Substitute teachers . (Everyone's favourite topic.) Is there an issue in the transition of schools leading to the lack of substitutes available ? Teachers who
are working in the closing schools are reallocated to fill vacancies across the system . Substitutes are hired
to cover long- term absences due to acting positions ,
reassignments , long-term sick , administrative leaves,
and maternity leaves , et cetera. So I believe what we
are saying is , those teachers are being allocated to
positions . And you would have heard me say numerous times in the past , that although we have . . . education is different now , and it requires much more
support . And some of these positions . . . and part of
the reason—contrary to popular belief of saying that
we just have too many schools —is because it creates
so many gaps for so little . . . we have so little students it creates gaps that we cannot fill . So those
teachers would have been taken to fill gaps that cur-rently existed so we can provide better services for
the students who are within the schools .
So, again , substitute teachers . As funds for
[substitutes] increase every year , should it be anticipated that more money is needed for substitute
teachers ? And the answer we have here: S taffing
schools that have closed or which are closing have
been placed in schools where vacancies , and at parish schools that have expanded their staffing. Y early
staffing vacancies are a result of mandatory retirements , early retirements , and resignations . Substitutes are deployed to meet the demand for coverage
for reassignments , staff vacancies , staff who are on
leave, and to cover staff using negotiated leave entitlements . I'm not sure if . . . again, if you recall when
the CBA [collective bargaining agreement] was renegotiated, teachers actually have more personal leave
now built into that . And they actually get to carry personal leave over . . . that they don't use.
Substitute teachers . Should there be a reserve of substitute teachers ? There is a reserve of
substitutes, and these substitutes are either allocated
subs, reporting to school on a daily basis , short -term
subs and/or day -to-day substitutes .
Again, substitute teachers . How is the substitute problem going to be resolved by the M inistry ?
The Department of Education is working to minimi se
the use of long- term [substitutes] by reducing the
number of assignments and acting positions . This will
essentially free substitutes to be available to use as day-to-day substitutes to provide coverage for
schools .
Next question. ( I just see the section here.)
Are more teachers on admin leave creating the need
for more substitute teachers ? What would cause admin leave and can admin time be sped up? T here is
no knowledge that says the demand for substitutes is
due to admin leave. A nd where such issues arise ,
they could be for a myriad of issues. Administrative
leave is a personnel matter and so it would be inappropriate for me to comment on the exact reasons of why persons would be on admin leave. Investigations
for admin leave are external and conducted by the
Department of Child and Family Services . The time
frame cannot be defined, and it all depends on the
circumstances of the investigation . I would get that
because it was a constant frustration. Some things go
really quickly , some things take an extended period of
time, unfortunately , depending on the circumstances .
Is mental health of teachers impacting the
number of substitute teachers ? As a community we
need to reduce the stigma for mental health issues .
But as mental health is a health issue, this is sensitive, personal information and staff are not required to
disclose this information to the department . That being
said, staff who need access to services may access
services at EAP [Employee Assistance Programme] at
no cost .


Bermuda House of Assembly Substitute teachers . How often and at what
level [are] substitute teachers most needed so that a
plan can be put in place to resolve these issues ? Because absences occur daily , substitutes can be used
every day . Additionally , per the collective bargaining
agreement , there has been an increase in the number
of personal days ( which I mentioned) and leave entitlement that teachers are entitled to, resulting in an
increase in the need for more substitutes.
Question: Is there any move to increase
health insurance coverage for teachers? It has: EAP
is at no cost.
Behavioural management . What are [the] additional funds for ? Is this [for] salar ies only? T he additional funds are for training and development for staff
and teachers , additional personnel for ET services
and salary increases .
A question here on paraprofessionals . What
are the differences between a teacher and a
paraprofessional ? Why do we need so many more
paraprofessionals ? The difference between a
paraprofessional and a teacher is that a teacher has a
degree and certification to teach. Paraprofessionals
are used to support children. Paraprofessionals are
not responsible for teaching but get direct instruction from the teacher on how to support students with what
is to be taught .
Paraprofessionals, again. Is there more training for paraprofessionals if they're going to be relied
on more and more? Again, paraprofessionals are not
responsible for teaching and learning and their role is to provide support for students.
Vision. What supports are provided for students with visual impairments, et cetera. For example, glasses. The system has a peripatetic vision teacher
who services students. And for the listening public, peripatetic just means a teacher who moves from school to school.
Hearing. Gilbert [Institute] was the designated
school for deaf and hard of hearing. Is the support
moving to another school along with teachers with
skills such as ASL? The designated teacher provides
services for students throughout the system. Again,
peripatetic who would move from school to school.
Is there an increase in the areas of disability?
There is not an increase in the areas of disabilities,
but an increase in the number of students who are
being identified with disabilities.
Are there any cases where the Government
cannot provide sufficient assistance, and if so, what is the system to allow that child to get the support to allow them to progress, i.e., parents being burdened
with heavy costs? Student needs are increasing due
to more students being diagnosed, especially students
with developmental delayed disabilities. Well, I think
we will be able to get back to that one. I see that there's some typing going on there.
Educational stores. Does stores need a bigger
budget to supply schools? Stores’s existing budget covers basic supplies. As new items are requested,
they will . . . the budget will need to be increased.
Okay.
Preschool. What is happening with St. Paul's
Preschool? Will it be attached to a parish primary
school? St. Paul’s Preschool will be relocated to Paget Primary in September 2025.
Primary schools. Three school closures. Can
the Minister provide details on where those students
have moved—another public school, private school or
overseas ? Most of the students are being transitioned
to their choice of school within the BPSS. Only two
students have confirmed at this time for private school
from the total enrolment at Gilbert and Prospect. Not
bad.
Dame. There was a 100 per cent increase in
the Dame budget. Can we please get a breakdown of these increases? The increase in this budget will be
allocated for consultant services for training and development.
Middle schools. Why are there dollars now for
T. N. Tatem when it is closed —$1.7 million. Page B -
140. (A question I used to ask on a regular basis.)
This represents staff whose salaries are attached to
T. N. Tatem [though] they are no longer [there, they
are] in other schools. Just as a quick explanation to
the public, Government processes sometimes don't go as fast as we think . . . as we would like them to . . .
And there are still . . . [when] you think of it, there are
still salaries attached to that line item although those teachers are working in other places. And it's a matter
. . . it's literally a paperwork exercise to move them
from that line item to the schools they are at now. And
until that process is completed, that will continuously
show up there. I'm surprised we don’t have a . . . still
have a Heron Bay one there.
Middle schools. Why was there a half a million
dollar budget for Clearwater when the school is
closed? Same, that would be the same answer for
that.
(Let me see if there was anything else added.)
Senior schools. Are we collecting and assessing data from our senior schools? We collect data via PowerSchool, our student management system.
Data [is] collected for grades, courses, credits, GPA, attendance, behaviour, and signature of choice. (And
then I have another note here.) Data is being collected
via the PowerSchool -related modules, i. e., A ttendance in PowerSchool Attendance module. Some senior school data is tracked in PowerSchool Naviance, as well as PowerSchool SIS . We are currently engaged in [PowerSchool] Enterprise reporting and for
every building and every student within the BPS.
Currently, reports are being generated on an
ad hoc basis, as -needed basis. I can say, if I . . . a
point of personal privilege, I can say that as I have a
student at CedarBridge. Literally, my phone buzzes if
she's tardy, if she's late for class, on a real -time basis.
And then it would update and say, Oh no, she is in
578 16 May 2025 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly class. Because if you're not there within five minutes,
then you get marked automatically. But there could be
something going wrong with the scanner. So, I find
that really, really useful that it tracks in real time and
I'm able to view that. It also tracks assignments, whether they have been handed in, whether they're
late. It updates grades on a regular basis. So, it actually is a really powerful tool that I encourage all parents to take advantage of. Especially on your phone,
and you're able to check and see what's going on, on
a real -time basis like that.

Yes.

Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: —and all parents have access to PowerSchool, to Schoology and the like. And
you actually get that access when your child starts at
the . . . I want to say the preschool level. And that will
follow you through until the end of your school . . .
your child's enrolment.
CNA. When will national data assessment . . .
Okay. I'm still waiting for that one.
CDP, [Child Development Programme] early
years. Can we get details on what the increase will give us? Will it increase supports and programmes?
There are several key positions that are vacant including supervisory posts of psychologists, screening, programme manager, and early intervention supervisor. These positions are required to lead developing coach staff in the early intervention programme, de-velopment screening programme and the assessment
programme. Additional personnel are needed to address the existing wait -list for developmental assessment and early intervention. This will increase sup-port, help develop programmes and maintain accreditation standards .
Professional Services. What is the increase
for professional services connected to? A big portion of funding for this is for school psychology, Dame, and
[the] Child Development Programme [CDP].
CDP Professional Services include outsource
services for family counselling and developmental assessments for young children on the wait -list to determine what conditions and diagnosis may present to
provide individualised interventions, family support,
and future school needs.
CDP Professional Services also include social
media campaigns to inform public about services and
educate community about developmental milestones, early intervention and CDP services.
The question is: Why is there such an increase in energy? Are we looking at renewable ener-gy to save dollars? A significant portion of the estimated cost is for the Department of Education's new
office location.
On page B -144, Performance Measures. How
many students required intervention plans? There are currently 162 students who have an intervention plan
across the Bermuda public school system.
Please give details on assessments for preschool and what level of detail goes into about what
students need for interventions? Utilising the Creative
Curriculum Assessments, 92 per cent of preschoolers
met the standard for assessments for social, emotional, physical, and cognitive development.
Primary schools. What percentage of students
are reaching the highest and lowest numbers for primary school? And that data can be shared later. It's
not something that we can pull together right now. (Okay, the answer just disappeared.)
Middle schools. How many students took the
City & Guilds in middle school? The number of stu-dents in middle school who took City and Guilds for
English is 314 and 338 took math.
Secondary school. What percentage of student population is taking IGCSE s? An estimated
80 per cent of our students at the senior level are taking IGCSEs. This will also vary 80 [per cent] to 90 per
cent across the three required disciplines in math,
language arts and science. And just as a quick add on
to that, a requirement for graduation i s a pass in math,
English language, and science of an international exam. So, it may be IGCSE, it maybe City & Guilds, or
maybe something else, b ut that is a requirement for
graduation.
How many IGCSEs are available in secondary
school? The IGCSE offerings include English, math
biology, chemistry, physics, geography, global studies, French, Spanish, information technologies. And I
will add one here because my daughter is sitting her
IGCSE in history today.

[Laughter]

Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: The required IGCSEs are
math, language arts, and science.
Secondary schools. What is the percentage of
students who are able to take the AP exams? What
percentage of students have access to AP exams?
The percentage of students who take AP exams are
generally those selected in the top 10 per cent. Once
again, access to AP exams are for all students who
demonstrate proficiency in AP. Those students are
generally those students who are in the top 10 per
cent of their chosen AP subject. Again, my daughter just sat her English Literature AP exam.
Early Child Education. Why does the forecast
of assessments drop? And we're talking about early
child education. Regarding development screenings,
the target is 200 per year per individual early childhood screening specialist. The forecast changed due


Bermuda House of Assembly to the decrease in staff halfway through the year. Additionally, CDP relocated twice in the last fiscal year
and the space for providing services to the public has
decreased. This performance measure is on pause
due to staffing vacancies. And I do think I recall men-tioning that it had dropped to 2 ½ versus three in the
brief.
If you can provide details on why the target of
600 keeps changing. The 600 is based on 200
screening per staff member. In the early beginning of
the year, we had three.
Early childhood screening specialists. One
staff member left in the middle so the target was
changed. Additionally, our service space has been
temporarily changed and has decreased in available
spaces from four to two rooms.
Capital estimates. What are the minor works
needed for and which schools? We are replacing existing wax floor finishes on non- skid, non- wax vinyl
flooring which will reduce operational costs and ensure safety. Ceilings that have also been deemed de-fective will be replaced with new ceiling grids and ceiling tile. These works were identified during our school
building inspections.
Is there a reduction in safety audits? Safety
audits are currently being undertaken by the Bermuda
Police Service and existing cameras are dated and
require updating.
Which schools will have bathrooms renovated? Are these new issues or scheduled improve-ments? Paget Primary infant block bathrooms to be
renovated to accommodate St. Paul's preschool students for September 2025. These issues are im-provements.
Bermuda College. Are we able to get some
performance indicators for the Bermuda College? Yes, we can have that information. That information can be provided on request.
Are there remedial steps, programmes, at
Bermuda College to enable students to get better prepared to go abroad? Yes. Bermuda College has always offered college prep courses across mathematics, English, and the pure sciences to prepare students to engage at college- level coursework needed
to complete the associate’s degree study.
Since 2020, the college has implemented
corequisite courses in mathematics and English. Corequisite courses support acceleration through the
prep stage by incorporating preparatory instruction on
the college coursework. And just as an add- on to that,
all students who attend the Bermuda College are required to take what they call the CD . . . it's an entrance exam that they take which measures your
math, how . . . your ability for math and English. And
then you would be categorised based on that. And that will determine whether you go into, say, remedial English before you do college work. Or if you go directly into college work. So, they always have that in
place to ensure that you are not overwhelmed and you are at the grade that you should be at at the college. Again, I know I’ve . . . I know someone who just
had to take the test.

[Laughter]

Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: And it's . . . because it is
also for the dual enrolment programme, because they
are coming in younger, they are required to do that as
well.
And I believe that was it. I'll scroll back up. I
think there was one thing.
[Pause]
Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Mr. Chairman, I believe
that is it for all of the questions. Ah, wait a minute.
Here this one this hasn't been turned to green.
Are there cases where Government cannot
provide sufficient assistance? Students’ needs are increasing due to more students being diagnosed . . .
oh no. That's . . . we are still waiting for the typing on
that.
But thank you, Mr. Chairman. I will take my
seat—

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I just have a couple of questions as relates to
the performance measures, page B -141, Current Account Estimates. There is … it's documented that the
salaries have increased by $2,287,000. And rightly so.
Teachers should be compensated for the hard work
that they do to ensure that our children have the best possible education to become productive citizens in
the future. I say that to compare the increase in salaries with the performance measures on page B -145,
Head 17, business unit 1707, performance measures as it relates to middle schools. The performance
measure target is 60 per cent. And I'm having a hard
time reconciling that 60 per cent would be their target
when we are trying to challenge the children to do the
best that they possibly can. So, I'm wondering how we
arrived at 60 per cent instead of a higher number.
580 16 May 2025 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly The Chairman: And MP, that is page B -145—

I'll draw your attention as well to
page B -146, Performance Measure, business unit
1708, Senior Schools. Target outcome [is] 55 per
cent. Student scoring is three or higher for writing.
Target growth [is] 50 per cent. So, if we are trying to
challenge our children, as I said before, to improve, to excel, I'm not understanding how the performance
measures would be lower and not, you know, be
raised to 75 per cent or something higher so that we
are ascribing towards excellence as opposed to mediocrity. Especially when people are being properly
compensated.
I draw your attention to page B -147, business
unit 1712, Early Childhood—Families who gain,
knowledge, skills and tools through participation in
Parent Education Classes/Groups. Understanding that these groups and classes are to address the criminogenic risk needs of at -risk families, I'm not understanding why actual outcome [for] 2023/24 is 82 per
cent and then drops to 50 per cent for the target outcome for 2025/26, understanding that this is a critical
area of need and will impact on the success of chil-dren either, you know, being exposed to increased
risk of entering the criminal justice system, or excel-ling and being free of it. Those are my questions and submissions.
Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
And I thank the Minister for the answers he
provided. To this point , some of the answers made me
think of follow -up questions to some of those answers .
So, on page B -140, I'm just going to circle back to my
question on those T. N. Tatem numbers .
I understand that the Minister pointed out that
this seems to be an admin with the book issue and
moving the cost , but the school has been closed since
2020 , so when can we expect for this to be cleaned
up? It shouldn't still be showing up in a book five years
later. If that number belongs somewhere else, then it should be moved to that area. It is . . . we're here to
go through these numbers and for T. N. Tatem to
have numbers in the millions attached to it , does not
make sense in this debate.
So, really , even if we can't . . . to me , either
we are going to have a date of when we should see it
removed from the [Budget] B ook, but I also think that
there should be an opportunity for us to know when that money was spent , where is it ? If it's not in T . N.
Tatem, where is it ? Right? Like, we have to be able to
reconcile when you spend $ 1.3 million, $1.7 million
and the budget line was zero, where did that money
go? Like, it is impossible for us to not know where
close to $ 2,000,000 one year and close to $1.5 [million] another year has gone. T here is no possible way
that's in the best interest of the community for us to not be able to know where that money is .
Mr. Chairman, also on page B -140, I just want
to follow up on my questions on child development . It
seems like the response from the Minister indicated
that there were several key positions that are not
filled. If the Minister could give us some clarity when
the expectation of these positions being filled will be.
Considering that this seems to be a critical role, and to
not have the people in these positions . . . I believe
one of them was a psychologist and, you know , people for the assessments . This leaves a gap that we
can't afford to have.
And when you look at the fact that the number
was 600 and it was 200 people per person, I guess
my next question is , Is that a good number for one to
have to deal with 200 ? Or should we really be trying to
move the number , which is now reduced below three,
to a number more like five or six so that the workload
can be spread, increase the speed of the assessments , so that we can provide what is necessary to
these students as quickly as possible so that their
pathway to success happens faster . There's no way
that we should be talking about that many people missing in such a critical area.
And I know that I've had this debate with the
Minister before when it comes to the assessments . I
think there is this early intervention that will help a
child on its pathway . And one of the things , and this is
a bit of a public service announcement , these assessments are available to babies for free. And multiple parents are not taking this opportunity up.
Once again, if the G overnment is providing
the service and the service is free, understand, if your
child does not get assessed, they are not getting the
support that is necessary . And the earlier the assessment happens , and the earlier you find that the intervention is needed, the support can be given. You can't
then blame the system that your child didn't get the support if you didn't participate in the assessment .
There are too many times that the child shows up in
primary one and they should have been assessed
three years earlier and now the work that that teacher
has to deal with is significantly higher . And that child


Bermuda House of Assembly now is set up in a negative spot when really they
should have been prepared better if that assessment
had been done.
But, Mr. Chairman, one of the questions that
I've always asked is . . . that a lot of times those early
assessments come under H ealth. I understand that
they come under H ealth because it's a baby and it's
that health issue. B ut the education outcome is so
connected to it , my suggestion , I believe that [at]
some point we are going to have to look at making
that mandatory . We are . . . we say that it's mandatory
for a child to go to school . And we actually mandate
what age they have to go to the school up until . But
considering that this is having a major impact on a child's development going forward, and now we are
finding out down the road that a lot of our young men who are being incarcerated had learning disabilities .
They had issues that were . . . that if they had been
identified earlier , they might have had the support
which might have put them on a different trajectory .
So this could be our opportunity to say , you
know what , if parents are not going to be responsible
for going in and getting the assessment so that the
help can be given, and the country is going to be impacted down the road, we should mandate that they
have to get that assessment so that we can give that
child the best opportunity for success .
Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I just have one more question that follows on
from what my colleague was expressing about assessments . Page B-147, Performance Measures ,
Head 17, Department of Education. P ercentage of
clients assigned to or eligible for early intervention who receive early intervention services . Actual outcome [for] 20 23/24 [was] 100 per cent. T arget outcome for the 2025/26 is 50 per cent. And as my colleague said, early childhood education and development is critical . So, I want to understand, and the
people of Bermuda want to understand why the target would be less by 50 per cent, understanding that this
is a critical area of need.
Thank you.

Yes, thank you , Mr. Chairman.
And certainly, like my colleagues , I am very
grateful for this good briefing by the Minister. A nd it's
been very informative. P age B -134, the Educational
Reform Unit is budget ed for $3.925 million. B ut then if
we go over to the analysis on page B-135, we see that
professional services is only $ 3.378 million. S o I'm
scratching my head because my understanding was
the Reform Unit was in fact consultants . So I would
have thought we would have seen at least that much
in the professional services . Well, perhaps you could
just remind us what the gap in that is , please, Mr.
Chairman.
Turning forward to page B-141, the Department of Education has had quite a large jump in the
professional services from last year's budget of $ 1.4
[million] to $3.0 million . And if we could just provide a
high-level view of what that change is .
Sorry, I'm just doing my flipping around here.

Thank you, Honourable Member. I f
you pause and keep flipping and I'll just address the listening public .
We are in the C ommittee of S upply for Estimates of R evenue and Expenditure for the year
2025 /26. N amely , the Budget Debates . This afternoon's debate is about the Ministry for Education, and
we have been covering Heads 17, 16 and 41, albeit
not in that order . And we have heard from the Honourable former Minister, Diallo Rabain, and we have
heard questions from a number of M embers .
And now I give you the floor . The Honourable
Member for constituency 25.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I turn to page B -138 and I noticed that the
budget for school psychology is going up 50 per cent
from . . . or $449,000. But I noticed that the staff number or the FT E has only gone up by plus one. S o
again, I would like to understand how those bits connect. And then later down the page, under 27003, O ffice Accommodation. A gain, that number is doubled
and I'd like to understand the additional office requirements .
If I turn now , Mr. Chairman, to page B -144—

—the performance measures .
And I note the compliance with the fire drill under
1703 , and of course, I know when I was in school, we
all loved the little fire drill. S o if not for the benefit of
the students but having had experience with an actual
fire and an actual building, I tend to take these things
quite seriously . And I hope that . . . I don't really know
582 16 May 2025 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly what the answer is , but I hope that they can take care
of that everybody gets the adequate fire drills so that
nobody is injured or worse.
Turning ahead to page B -146, the City &
Guilds employability skills certification , under business
unit 1708. And I see that the forecast for this year is
80 per cent. I would really love to see the target of
100 per cent. A nd, you know , we like to think that anybody finishing high school can come out and get a
job and, you know , [has] employability . We know employers often talk about interviewing people who don't
seem to have the most basic skills for a basic job.
Perhaps a short explanation of why that was not
100 per cent.
I appreciate not everything is in the control of
the Education Ministry . And then later in that table is
students passing Advanced Placement exams with the score of three or higher , which is a pretty reputable score. If I think back a while , 30-plus years , the
forecast is 80 per cent. I'm going to assume that that's
of students taking the exams . Or is every student at
the school's taking Advanced Placement exams ? But
perhaps the Minister could comment on how many
students are in fact taking at least one Advanced
Placement exam in the public school system. A nd I
think my other comments were addressed by prior
questions .
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Chairman, I believe there were a couple of
questions that I asked that might not have been answered before. I asked a question about what that
number “3” means in the performance measures , just
so that we have an idea where it says that . . . in the
scoring and it says “3.” So just [if] we can have an indication of what that means so that we understand it .
And there was a question about the performance measures under preschool which indicated
that most of the students seemed to be prepared.
Right? So, it would indicate that [the] majority of the
students going from preschool into primary school are
at the desired level . And then when you look at the
performance measures in primary school , there
seems to be a drop off . So is this a difference between preschool to primary school ? And we would get
that by having a better understanding for that performance measure under preschool .
And just quickly on page B -145, just looking at
primary schools again. There was in 2023/24, there
were some performance measures that would . . .
there was percentage of schools achieving their
school improvement objective in reading . And at the time it was 23 per cent. A nd this was the actual outcome. A nd then, percentage of schools achieving their
school improvement objective for mathematics . And
the number was 41 per cent. And then percentage of
schools achieving their school improvement objectives
for writing was 11 per cent.
But since that point these performance
measures have been removed. S o, if we could get an
indication of how we would get this information now
and whether these percentages have actually improved since this actual for the 2023/24. Because
these are the questions that parents are going to want
to know . They want to know whether they are sending
their child to a school in the improvement level that is
put as a target . And in a lot of cases there has been
frustration that some of the targets seem to be quite low.
But having a low target and having an even
lower actual is concerning. S o, if we could get some
information on whether that data is still collected and,
if so, what are these actuals for the last couple of
years ? And what is being done to make sure that we
are doing everything we can to support these students
so that these numbers change ? Not having them in
the [Budget] B ook is concerning.
Thank you.

Yes.

Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: MP Smith, there is another
question that was missed that I see here. What is the
estimated timeline for reform being completed? As
there is a multi- year process , following the review and
assessment that I referred to earlier , the Minister will
provide more information on that in the future.
[A] q uestion was asked, Why is 60 per cent
the target and how did we arrive at this ? The answer
is, 60 per cent is not the target for student performance. The 60 per cent refers to the percentage of
students across schools reaching their goals for reading.


Bermuda House of Assembly The next question is , Why is the target so
low? And answer : our senior schools are comprehensive schools. Comprehensive schools serve a diverse
population with a wide range of abilities , backgrounds
and needs . Performance measures may vary based
on many contextual factors . And I believe it was Mr.
King, MP King, that asked that question. I just want to
add some additional context . Inside of a school you
may have . . . you will have students . You have the
high achievers , you have students , and you may have
also functioning academics , functioning skills program mes, et cetera. S o it would be, in some cases
you couldn't just say 100 per cent because students
would be in different programmes and some of them it
may not be an apples -to-apples comparison when you
are talking about just , you know , achievement of the
IGCSE sitting . So, I hope that does kind of put some
colour to that particular one there.
Families who gain knowledge and skills and
tools from participating in educational classes and
groups . This performance has been discontinued for
two years . We deliver education, knowledge and skills
through one- on-one sessions through our home visits
program me, at the end of developmental screenings ,
and through family counselling. There is no staffing
dedicated to the parent education classes group. I'm
assuming that was a question about CDP .
[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Follow -up from MP Smith.
When is T. N. Tatem going to be cleaned up? [It being] five years later .
The amounts of $1.7 [million] and $1.3 [million], as we talked about , are for teacher salaries that
have been reallocated to other schools . But for whatever reason, the paperwork says they are still employed under that cost centre. And so, they know
where they are, but I'm assuming they won't . . . we
can't just pull that out and say , Well, one teacher . . .
because it may be 10 teachers and they may be at 10 different schools at this time. B ut I'm sure that is
something that could be . . . that information could be
provided. Perhaps a parliamentary question could get
that for you.
CDP . When will the vacant positions be filled
since this is a critical role ? This is our priority to fill
these critical positions . We have conducted three
rounds of recruitment for the early intervention super-visor over the last 18 months . The role is challenging
to fill because it requires clinical experience, intervention experience, and supervisory experience. We will
continue to conduct recruitment efforts for these key roles .
Again, CDP. Should the number of assessments be spread across existing staff ? And the answer here is : A developmental assessment is different
from a developmental screening. A developmental
screening is conducted by an early childhood screen-ing specialist for children 18 to 48 months . The
screening is designed to determine how a child is de-veloping , strengths , delays , and what intervention
supports they may need. T he screening also allows us
an opportunity to see if families need some support .
Additionally , the screening covers a longer
age range so students can be screened up until the
age of 4 . A development assessment is conducted by
a psychologist to gain a better understanding of the
function of the child strengths, weaknesses and personali sed recommendations . A developmental assessment is provided if the standardi sed screening
indicates further assessment is needed or if there is a
referral from a paediatrician .
On the early childhood, again. Percentage of
persons eligible for early interventions . Why is this
decreasing? The target has decreased because of
staffing vacancies ; however , CDP staff are working
diligently to meet child and family needs . The hope
and intention is that the target will be exceeded once
vacancies are filled.
CDP . There is only one staff member providing early interventions . Full staffing will be one supervisor and three team members . And I believe you did ,
when you talked about this , you talked about mandatory screening and the like . And I know this is something that I've heard conversations around. And you
know , it comes into this ethical thing of , Can you force
someone to take a medical procedure that they may
not want ? So, it's a . . . I believe it's a conversation
worth having, but there could be some tricky minefields to go through that .
Again, early childhood. (W here am I ? Okay.)
Student services . Why the change of funds for student
services? T raining and development for mental health
support for teachers and staff , for example, CPI and
restorative practice training for entire school staff and
schools . Also, student services will begin SCERTS
training (That is S-C-E-R-T-S. I can’t remember what it
stands for.) for preschool to senior schools for our
students who have ASD and developmental delays .
The question is : Why is the budget for school
psychologists doubled but the F TEs have only gone
up by one ? There has been an increase in consultant
services, the ability to get additional services assessed at the senior level . And I know if we go back to
the mid —

[Crosstalk]

Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: If we go back to—

[Crosstalk]

You have the floor .
Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: I was waiting for the answer to be here but apparently, I know the answer .

[Laughter]
Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: The ERU —and this I believe was MP DeCouto. The ERU is actually made up
out of staff members . And so, it's become a . . . it is
made up out of staff members who have been transferred into the ERU section so that would cover them.
The consultant budget is the actual consultants who
are helping them with the work . And so, we split up
between whatever the Ministry needs for consultants ,
plus whatever is there for the I nnovation Unit. The
Innovation U nit is not the ERU. The ERU is an actual
entity —

And for the benefit of the public , the
ERU is the Educational Reform Unit.
Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Thank you.
Why is the budget for school double d? Oh,
and I was going to mention also, MP DeCouto, if you
remember back to the mid -term budget adjustments ,
some of those funds were to go and find external resources because we just couldn't find . . . could not
hire fast enough for some of these things . And some
of them, MP Smith , was specifically for CDP so they
could speed up assessments by g oing external to find
people to do that work . And some of it was school
psychologists as well . And also, that covered services
that [were] needed at Dame, such as physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech language pathology . So, they can go to external sources for that .
City & Guilds employability skills . The forecast
shows 80 per cent of the target . Should be 100 per
cent. The current 80 per cent forecast reflects a realistic projection. A gain, if you go back to what I said
about schools , there might be some students who are
not, you know , they're not eligible to take the exam
based on the progra mme that they are in at the particular school .
Students passing AP with a score of 3 [or]
higher . The forecast is 80 per cent. I think that was a
question of what the number “3” stands for. T he number 3 stands for , represents a reading score proficiency.

Yes.

Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: The 2023/24 SIP objectives. At the time it was 23 per cent and schools for
math was 41 per cent, 11 per cent, and now those
have been removed. H ow would we get this information now and whether it has improved since time ?
It says: A school may set a goal and not achieve that
goal; however , they would have missed the goal by
1 per cent or 2 per cent and that will be recorded as
not achieving the goal . Schools are . . . (It kind of
stopped there.) Schools are focusing on tracking progress .
I will just skip back up to, How many students
are taking AP classes ? Currently CedarBridge Academy has 30 students taking AP classes . And B erkeley
. . .

[Pause]

Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: We're searching for the
number for B erkeley. T he number of students taking
AP classes at B erkeley.
Mr. Chairman, that is the answers that I do
have now . And I'll take my seat unless someone
wants to —

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Chairman, I just go back to page B-141.
From the answer that the Minister gave on the increase in energy was based off of an increase of the
office building. J ust if we could get an indication, is the
office space significantly bigger ? Is it housing more
people ? If we could get some clarification of that . Just
because of how significant the increase is in the energy bill .

The questions that I asked about
those actual outcomes . So, the answer is that they
were coming up 1 per cent short and that is what was
causing the issue. T he question is , If the target was
already low and they were coming in 1 per cent short ,
this number is still just as concerning. And if that is the
case , how are we collecting that data ? And when will
that information be provided to the public ? Because
these are some of the things that parents are using to
make decisions of [the] school that they want to take
their child to.
So that indication of how the school is performing, the target that's being set , are they making
the target ? If you're looking for improvement from one
grade to the next , and there is an expectation that
they are going to reach that certain level , if they are
not reaching that target and what we were seeing in
the Budget Book was that they were not reaching that
target , not being able to see that information now . . .
Once again, I'm going to say is concerning. That data
being transparent on what is happening in each of our
schools that allows parents to make informed deci-sions about what school they want to send their child
to, I say is extremely important .
On the answer that the Minister gave, and I'm
going to go back to B-140, child development 27175.
The Minister said that some of the cost is separated
because they had to go out and get outside expertise .
So, I guess the question right now is . . . While you
are still going through this process of trying to find the
people to fill the roles , we will continue to have to use
outside expertise so that these children are continuing
to be assessed and continue to have the services that
are necessary . I think you are going to . . . we are going to be in that balancing role until those roles are
filled. If the Minister can just clarify whether that will be
the case.
Thank you.

Regarding page B-147, performance measures . If I understand the H onourable Minister properly , he was saying that the families who
gained knowledge, skills , and tools from participation
in parent education classes and groups , that was as a
result of the different types of students that were in the learning environment . And so that the 50 per cent was
basically a measure of . . . Is that what you were saying?

[Inaudible interjections]

Okay, well, I'm glad I'm asking then .
That's good. Okay. G ood. I'm glad.
And to the second part , percentage of clients
assigned to or eligible for early intervention who re-ceive early intervention services . If I understand the
Honourable Minister correctly , that had been discontinued. I'm hopeful , understanding that it is a critical
area of need, that consideration will be used to resourcing that . Thank you.

Thank you Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Chairman, I'm just going to go back to
page B -146, Secondary School . I asked those questions about IGCSE and I'm very thankful that the Minister gave those responses about the breakdown on
what the students are able to take from IGCSEs . And
it was a significantly broader range of subjects . So I'm
just wondering if the Minister would undertake to elevate how the community sees what is available. I think
that sometimes there is a . . . there is misinformation
in the community about what is available . And because of that , it sometimes creates maybe a mind- set
that is incorrect . So, I asked that specific question because a lot of times it is portrayed that . . . exactly
what you see in the [Budget] B ook, it looks like it is
only math, English and science. S o, as the Minister
pointed out today , that there was . . . I think his daughter was taking history and had taken English literature.

I just think it's important that if that is
the case that we do all that we can to highlight those
586 16 May 2025 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly subjects so that , once again, it's also about perception. We never want to be standing to our feet and
making our young people feel that they are lesser
than. This reform is about giving them the best opportunity . That process , on both sides of the aisle, we are
going to work together to make sure that we get to
that result . We don't always agree on the journey to
get there , but we have to make sure that our young
people feel supported, that we all want them to get to
that destination.
So, Mr. Chairman, just before I take my seat
and allow the Minister to answer those questions , I
would just like to take the opportunity to thank all of
our educators in the Island for the hard work that they
have continued to do. I know most of them are looking
to the end of this year to take a well -deserved break .
But our educators are the ones who create the opportunity for everything else that's going to happen in this countr y. W e wouldn’t have lawyers and doctors and
plumbers and electricians if we didn't have fantastic
teachers in our schools . And for that reason, I'd like to
make sure that we always put them first and appreciate them.
Thank you.

This is not commendations, but no
doubt the whole House would be associated with that
one.
But does any other Member wish to speak in
the debate ? We have about 10 to 15 minutes left in
the debate. A ny other M ember wish to put questions
to the Minister?
I see none. S o, Minister, over to you to finish
off with the answers . Thank you. Minister Diallo Rabain, of the Cabinet Office and former Minister of Education.
Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
MP Smith . . . because I can never remember
the numbers .

Constituency 8.
Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: MP Smith, constituency 8.
The . . . here . . . it is an addition here, the . . . Wait a
minute I was just about to say it and then it got highlighted . So, I want to make sure.
You are speaking of the school data that you
were referring to, the 2341 . It says the school data is
shared internally , but the suggestion that you came up
with will be passed on to the Minister for her consideration . Perhaps making that . . . figuring out how that
could be disseminated even more widely .
There was a question about . . . And this actually came from MP DeCouto, originally . Why the
large increase for the electricity ? It says here, t he new
office space is significantly larger and allows the department to bring the majority of office staff into one
location. I know at one point there was some staff complaining that they actually didn't have an office
and they were working out of their car . They would
visit schools but when they needed to be somewhere
and do something, they actually didn't have anywhere
to go. So I'm assuming their . . . the location they
moved into— which I don't know where it is . I’ll correct
that.

[Laughter]

Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Finding people to fill roles
will need outside expertise balancing. Y es, it is correct. Many of these roles are hard to fill due to international shortages and may require ongoing contracting services. I can say as the former Minister, CDP has
for years been trying to fill these roles and it's just
been , you know , interview , interview , interview . . . not
suitable , interview , interview . . . not suitable. S o the
addition of giving them additional funding to, you
know , find external sources , you know, it also comes
down to—
[Laughter ]
Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Please elevate what the
community sees and knows available in reference to
IGCSEs and other external exams . I couldn't agree
with you more. One of the things that we . . . I believe
we do a good job on, but we could do a better job, is
actually showcasing what it is that our students are
doing within the schools . I was surprised, you know , I
always speak about my own personal experience. So
my . . . at the end of S2, my . . . my . . . the person I
speak of. B ecause . . . would have sat math, English ,
physics, Spanish, history , AP English , and then next
year she will be doing AP . . . she'll be finishing AP
calculus .
And so it is possible to do these things within
the public school system, but it's just not something
we get out there and people know . But it is possible to
do these things . And perhaps we should look at how
we can advertise that better . That it is actually there to
be done. I mean, when I took a look at the number of
courses because . . . and the department do es have
this list of possible courses . It’s huge, you know , of
IGCSE- type courses that you could, that you actually
can take. A nd so I would encourage persons to investigate .
And one other thing that I would add as a personal privilege is we also need parents to advocate as
well. You had mentioned that during your earlier brief
when you talked about , it's not just the teachers it's
our parents as well . Any of you [who] have been
around education as long as I [have], it didn't start
when I became Minister. Because I was a S hadow
Minister of Education back in when I was a G overnment Senator . I was the J unior Minister for Education .
I've been on the Education Board, the Bermuda C ollege boards and stuff . You'll see our parents are there


Bermuda House of Assembly at the preschool level . They are there at the primary
school level . They wane out at the middle school level. They barely show up at the high school level . And
we have to continue to encourage our parents and
figure out ways to encourage them to just be more involved in the actual process of moving education
along.
Mr. Chairman, I'm not sure . . . I'll take my
seat and allow any additional questions because we
do have time.

I think you were still to identify the
number of AP students . You did CedarBridge and you
were going to come back I think for Berkeley. B ut
maybe you—
Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: No, I said I would await.
And it says here we are awaiting their final count so—

[Crosstalk]

Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: —that would probably be
something—

Thank you, Minister.
Does any other Member wish to contribute to
the debate?
There being none, Minister, I think that that
will therefore conclude the debate. W e'll finish a touch
early . And if I can invite you to move that your heads
be taken under consideration.
Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Chairman, I would be remiss if I did not
thank all of the persons who contributed to providing these answers. We have Ania Gilbert ; Dr. Llewellyn Simmons; Dwayne Caisey; Giovanni Joseph, the
Commissioner sitting with us today; the Policy Analyst
Kimberl ey Mc Keown; Lisa De Silva , head of the E RU;
Ms. Lisa Swan; S ue-Ann Smith ; Tanee sha O ttley; Terry Cox ; Dr. Terry lynn T yrell; and the Permanent Secretary Ms. Lisa Smith[ -Clarke]. Thank you, everyone
for assisting us to bring these answers . I think this
was a fulsome debate. I look forward to Education
continuing to move and go to higher heights as the reform process continues on.
So, Mr. Chairman, if it pleases you , I move
that Heads 16, 17 and 41 be approved as printed.

It has been moved that the following
heads , Head 16, Ministry of Education Headquarters ;
Head 17, Department of Education; and Head 41,
Bermuda College be now taken under consideration.
Is there any objection ? Those heads will now be taken under consideration.
Minister, if you will now move that the heads
be approved as printed.
Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: I just did.

It has been moved that Head 16, 17
and 41 all relating to the Minist ry of Education be approved as printed.
Is there any objection to that motion?
There being none . . . Heads 16, 17 and 41
shall be approved as printed.

[Motion carried: The Ministry of Education, Heads 16,
17 and 41 were approved and stand part of the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for the year 2025 /26.]

Good afternoon to the listening public
[and] Members in the H ouse.
We are now in C ommittee of S upply for further consideration of the Estimates of R evenue and
Expenditure for the year 2025/ 26. W e are going to be
debating the Ministry of Finance, Heads 10, 11, 12,
28, 38, 39 and 58. The Honourable Premier Minister
of Finance shall be doing the talking .

Hon. E. David Burt: Good day , Mr. Chairman. H ow
are you?

Jet lag ?

Hon. E. David Burt: We'll make it work .
Mr. Chairman, I move the following heads,
Head 10, Ministry of Finance Headquarters ; Head 11,
Account ant General; Head 12, Customs; Head 28,
Social Insurance, Head 38 , Office of Tax Commissioner , Head 39, Registrar of C ompanies ; and Head
58, Debt and Loan G uarantees be now taken under
consideration.

The time is now exactly 4:00 pm. T his
debate is scheduled for four hours of debate.
You may proceed.

Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, very much, Mr.
Chairman.
Mr. Chairman, I will start with H ead 10 . And
then I will defer to the Junior Minister for Heads 11
and 12.

MINISTRY OF FINANCE
Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Chairman, the 2025/26
Budget Estimates for the Ministry of Finance are
found in section B of the Estimates Book on pages B -
106 through B -132 and in section C on pages C -4
(Capital Development), C -11 (Capital Acquisitions),
and C -17 (Grants).
The Finance Ministry comprises seven departments led by the Ministry of Finance Headquarters (HQ) and includes the Accountant General, Customs
(in relation to Revenue), the Department of Social Insurance, the Office of the Tax Commissioner, the
Registrar of Companies and Land Valuation. Alloca-tions to cover the interest on government debt, guarantee management, the Bermuda Public Accountability Board, Gaming Commission and the Corporate
Income Tax Agency are also included in the Ministry
of Finance budget.
Mr. Chairman, the Ministry has a total staffing
establishment of 188 posts, an aggregate current ac-count budget of $266.6 million and is responsible for
collecting $1.31 billion, or 91.6 per cent of all government revenue. Of the $266.6 million in expenditure, $127.1 million (or 47.7 per cent) is for interest charges, $100.2 million (or 37.6 per cent) for costs associated with pension and health care for all government
workers and war veterans. Leaving $39.3 million (or
14.7 per cent) for the actual operational spend of the
Ministry. So, of course, the budget is very large but
most of those things are for interest and also overhead for government employees. A snapshot of key
information for the Ministry of Finance is shown on
page B -106 of the Estimates Book. Department current account allocations are as follows:
• Head 10, Ministry of Finance HQ —$11.820
million, an increase of $4.640 million or 65 per
cent. All of this is operational spending.
• Head 11, Accountant General —$106.5[52]
million, an increase of $24.800 million or
30 per cent of which $6.310 million is operational an d the rest of course is due to the
overhead budget falling inside of that line
item.
• Head 12, Customs —The Customs Expenditure budget sits under the Ministry of National Security, although the Ministry of Finance
maintains responsibility for the Customs Tariff
and revenue collections.
• Head 28, Social Insurance —$2.894 million, a
decrease of $106,000 or 3.5 per cent. All
mandated costs for war veterans. And that is the reason for the decrease under that head.
• Head 38, Office of the Tax Commissioner —
$4.3 million, an increase of $252,000 or 6.2 per cent. And these are all operational
overheads.
• Head 39, Registrar of Companies —$12.52
million, an increase of $474,000 or 4 per cent.
And these are all operational overheads.
• Head 49, Land Valuation —$977,000, an increase of $54,000 or 5.9 per cent. This is all
due to operational overheads.
• Head 58, Debt and Loan Guarantees —
$127.53 million, a decrease of $250,000 or
0.2 per cent, of which $127.10 million is mandated interest on Government debt.
Mr. Chairman, the Finance Ministry plays a
pivotal role in the work undertaken to ensure the ongoing stability and prosperity of Bermuda, particularly
given the serious local and [ global ] economic uncertainty currently faced by our country and others
around the world. Over the past eight years since this Government took office, you would have noted a recurring theme; that is, the Government’s resolve to
develop and implement a consistent and considered
strategy to diversify and strengthen Bermuda’s economy and to support its people, while executing a
sound and prudent fiscal management strategy. It is noteworthy, of course, Mr. Chairman, that after many
years of deficit budgets, this budget follows last year's
budget by delivering a budget surplus. The second


Bermuda House of Assembly one in a row and, of course, last year ’s was the first to
be achieved in 21 years.
The Ministry of Finance has been a key player
in overseeing the execution of this Government’s fiscal strategy. The key areas of focus in this strategy are (i) targeted investment and tax policies to enhance
economic growth by attracting investment that creates
jobs and also reduces the cost of doing business. And
you know we have a very successful record of reducing taxes for workers and business in this country. —

I couldn’t hear you, Minister. Would
you repeat that, please?
Hon. E. David Burt: Yes. Mr. Chairman. I am happy
to repeat that because we speak about targeted in-vestment in tax policies to enhance economic growth and I wanted to repeat that this Government has a
considered record of reducing taxes for workers in this
country and also for businesses, especially small
businesses, as there was some commentary that there was nothing in this budget for a small business
which would of course forget the fact that this Government has reduced payroll tax on small businesses
multiple times since returning back to office.
(ii) making Bermuda’s tax system fairer while
reducing the tax burden for workers (iii) modernising
Bermuda’s regulatory regime, which of course we can see has demonstrated success with a continued
growth of digital finance and the continued expansion
of our international business market. Something that, of course, is not attributed to the Government by the
Opposition but without the regulatory planning and the
sound work that takes place in the Ministry of Finance,
those things would not happen. (iv) maintaining fiscal
discipline by meeting, and in many cases exceeding, budget targets as we have done year after year after year after year. (v) and developing and finalising the
Corporate Income tax Regime i n support of Bermuda’s continued commitment to global compliance and
transparency.
Mr. Chairman, we have a responsibility to the
people of this country to provide the best fiscal and
economic management possible. To this end, we will continue to make the necessary decisions —
sometimes these decisions are not easy, Mr. Chairman, and also, they are not always politically expedient. But they are required to sustainably grow Bermuda’s economy in the long term, reduce the tax burden
on workers, and provide the necessary support and services to make Bermuda a quality place to live and
also to work.
Mr. Chairman, Bermuda continues to be faced
with significant challenges which, if not appropriately managed, can damage our long- term economic security and stability. To that end, the Ministry of Finance
budget has been carefully constructed to ensure that
the Ministry’s in- house team, supported by various
external stakeholders and consultants (we will certain-ly provide more on this later), are able to lead the
Government’s fiscal and economic policies aptly and responsibly. Given the ever -increasing threats and
expanding obligations which Bermuda must address on the international front, ensuring that the Ministry is appropriately resourced and structured continues to
be a priority. I am sure I will get to it later in the brief,
but it is important to note that recently the Ministry of
Finance Headquarters was restructured and previous
briefs which would have covered to make sure that we
are appropriately resourced to meet all of the various threats and assessments that the Ministry of Finance
must do on an annual basis.
To this end, during the past year, reviews of
resources in key areas were undertaken, and active
steps are already being taken to address identified
gaps.
The additional funding required has therefore
been included in the cost estimates for the relevant
units and departments, contributing to notable increases in some areas, with appropriate reductions in
other areas. Key initiatives which will have to be progressed in this year include:
• Banking, tax and pension reform. Something
that forms a very important part of the work of
the Ministry of Finance. Certainly, we know the work which we are doing on banking reform. We clearly understand and note the
work that is being done on tax reform. And
you will recall, Mr. Chairman, the Budget Statement spoke very specifically to the matters related to pension reform.
• More targeted debt collection. It is also something of which we have seen recent success
and we are going to continue to expand that
across the Ministry.
• Enhanced compliance and regulatory oversight, and enhanced adherence to interna-tional requirements.
• Enhancing Bermuda’s reputation as a global
leader in FinTech, digital assets and digital finance by maintaining and developing our robust regulatory framework for digital assets.
And you know the success, Mr. Chairman, of
what we have seen inside of that area. Of
course, in expansion of international business,
a responsibility or in response to what this
Government has put in place, that has been recognised internationally. And of course, Mr.
Chairman, we are regularly treated to provide
the Opposition saying that the Government
has nothing to do with the growth and expansion of international business; however, if we
do not put in place these new policies and
frameworks this growth would not happen.
(Continuing on that.)
• Support the international work required to strengthen the Financial Literacy of our population. This is something that we have commit590 16 May 2025 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly ted to in previous budgets which will help empower people to take ownership of their finances and make well -informed financial decisions.
• Support the work of the Tax Reform Commission to recommend a revised tax framework
for Bermuda.
• And finally, the Registrar of Companies will
advance implementation of a central register
for beneficial ownership, in line with Bermuda’s international commitments.
The Ministry of Finance will also continue its
internal structural reform for more effective collaboration, operation and management. Within the past
budget year 2024/25, the Ministry appointed two Dep-uty Financial Secretaries, one of which is focused on
domestic and economic matters, and the other on international and regulatory matters. The various units
and departments of the Ministry will fall under one of
these divisions. These divisions are supported by a
central unit which assists with finance, administration,
and policy support for the Minister. The final structural change is to appoint an internal Director of Policy and
Legal Affairs to support the Ministry in all related matters. And there is a significant amount of legal work of
course which takes place inside of the Ministry of Finance.

Mission Statement and Key Goals and Objectives
Mission Statement

Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Chairman, the Ministry of
Finance’s mission statement can be found on page B -
107, and it is very simple. Achievement of economic prosperity and to ensure the financial security of Bermuda.
A very simple mission. In line with this, the
Ministry’s objectives can be found on page B -107, and
they are broadly in line with the objectives from the previous year.
During the past year —Mr. Chairman, can you
just excuse me for one second?

For the benefit of the listening public
and the Honourable Members we are now in Committee of Supply for further consideration of the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for the year
2025/26. We are debating the Ministry of Finance.
The Honourable Premier, Minister of Finance, is giv-ing the brief. He is has started off on Head 10. And this debate began at four o’clock exactly and will end
at 8:00 pm exactly.

Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, very much, Mr.
Chairman. I appreciate that.

[Inaudible interjection]

Hon. E. David Burt: Sorry? [Inaudible interjection]
Hon. E. David Burt: We are not in a swamp. I have
been flying all day. My feet, you know. Come on now. See.

[Laughter and crosstalk]

Hon. E. David Burt: We were being nice. You are
taking up Doug’s time. Be nice. Sorry. The Honourable Member’s time. Be nice.
Mr. Chairman, in line with this, objectives can
be found on page B -107 and they are broadly in line
with the objectives from the previous year. During the past year we were able to move forward in a number
of key areas and in this brief, we will highlight the key
accomplishments. These include improvement in the collection of tax and pension arrears —(We want to
highlight that.) —totalling $29.5 million, the development and implementation —I should repeat that again.
Collection of tax and pension arrears in the amount of
$29.5 million, the development and implementation of
landmark corporate income tax legislation, the provision of additional relief to the workers and businesses
in Bermuda. As we remember, two years ago we cut
payroll taxes for 86 per cent of Bermudians and every
single local business, continued compliance with international requirements, the maintenance of strong
credit ratings. As we know, our credit ratings continue
to be affirmed and continued successful implementation of a sound and prudent fiscal management policy
resulting in achieving an estimated surplus in 2024/25
of $20 million compared to the original budget surplus that was projected of $210,000.
As we go forward into this coming year, we
will continue to build on the strong foundation that has
been established with focus on economic growth;
maintaining Bermuda’s positive reputation as a responsible and reputable international financial centre,
executing a prudent fiscal strategy balanced by our
commitment to appropriately meeting the needs of the
people of Bermuda, while seeking to build a more fair
and just society.
I will now speak to the various units and departments that comprise the Ministry of Finance start-ing with Head 10, Ministry of Finance Headquarters.
And as I said, Mr. Chairman, I will defer to the Junior
Minister for Heads 11 and 12.

HEAD 10 —MINISTRY OF FINANCE
HEADQUARTERS (HQ)

Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Chairman, the Ministry’s
Headquarters core functions are conducted under
Head 10, Ministry of Finance Headquarters which can
be found on page B -108. The work undertaken by the
Ministry Headquarters is carried out through the fol-lowing units:
• Policy Planning and Management


Bermuda House of Assembly • Fiscal Planning and Control
• International Affairs and Regulatory
• Domestic Affairs and Economic Policy
• Office of the National Anti -Money Laundering
Committee (NAMLC)
In addition, grants and support are being given to the Bermuda Public Accountability Board, the
Tax Reform Commission, the [Casino] Gaming Com-mission and the Corporate Income Tax Agency.
The Ministry of Finance Headquarters’ mission, which is different from the overall Ministry of Fi-nance, of course. But for the Headquarters it is:
Achievement of economic prosperity and to ensure
the financial security of Bermuda.
In discharging its functions under the overall
policy direction of the Minister of Finance, the Ministry
of Finance HQ seeks to achieve the following outcomes:
• A Bermuda that maintains its position as a
domicile of choice for international business.
Something that clearly, we have been successful in doing.
• A Bermuda where citizens have confidence in
Government’s stewardship of the public
purse. Two consecutive balanced budgets, I think meets that objective.
• A Bermuda where funding and resources are
available for key programmes and initiatives.
It would see the expansion of funding for
health care, investment in social services, se-curity and others. Making sure those resources are made available to the Ministers to
execute what the citizens of this country voted
for in February.
• Also, a Bermuda where citizens regard Government’s policy responses to economic and
financial challenges as appropriate and in the national interest.
Mr. Chairman, in seeking to fulfil this mandate, the Ministry of Finance HQ has a [staff] establishment of 19, which is up one from 18 in the prior
year, permanent full -time posts as per page B -109 of
the Budget Book. Its total budget for the current fiscal
year 2025/26 is $11.82 million, split between operational costs of $6.20 million and grants of $5.58 million. Total costs have risen by $4.20 million, or
64.6 per cent against the original budget but decreased against the 2024/25 revision of $12.70 million, as you will see in the Budget Book by $850,000.
The noticeable increase in spend from the original
budget to the revised estimate is due to an additional
$3.50 million being granted directly to the Corporate
Income Tax Agency and an additional $993,000 being issued to the Policy, Planning and Business Units.
The main driver for this increase is now that
the matters related to cyber insurance are also found
in this particular head in the amount of $560,000. A
further $427,000 is to cover the union negotiated
wage increases plus the additional head to enable guarantee management being bought in house. The remaining difference is predominantly due to global
tax advice being budgeted within consulting, whereas
in the prior year this cost was allocated within the corporate income tax expense. Within the department $450,000 has been allocated to fund the Tax Reform
Commission (via multiple object codes). Funding for
the following entities remains the same as the prior
year: Bermuda Public Accountancy Board, $400,000;
Gaming Commission, $800,000; Corporate Income
Tax Agency, $4.78 million; and the Pension Commis-sion, no funding, grants from the Ministry of Finance
as they will continue to draw on their cash surpluses.

Revenue Projections

Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Chairman, a revenue summary for the Ministry of Finance Headquarters can be found on page B -109 of the Budget Book. I am
pleased to announce that $187.5 million has been
budgeted within 2025/26 for the first instalment of the
Corporate Income Tax which is expected to be received by the Ministry of Finance within the 2024/25
revised estimate. There is an additional $6.85 million
of revenue as the Bermuda Monetary Authority
achieved a significant surplus through higher fees and
stringent cost control and, of course, more businesses
being registered in Bermuda, Mr. Chairman, which of
course increases their revenue which means that
more revenue can be returned to the public purse to
support the ongoing work of the Government.
And therefore, this significant surplus which
has been achieved at 50 per cent of the operating
surplus net of fines is remitted to the Consolidated
Fund. Further, Mr. Chairman, the $2.6 million in
2023/24 as can be seen . . . it can also be broken
down into $917,000 in re- imbursement costs related
to the Morgan’s Point project and $1.7 million relating
to legal costs within . . . for the Fairmont Southampton
hotel negotiations. And those costs are within Head
58.
Was that clear? You got that, Shadow Minister? Because I just want to make sure you got that.

[Inaudible interjection]

Hon. E. David Burt: Okay. Guess he is good. I will
move on.

Capital Spend

Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Chairman, the capital spend
for 2025/26 can be found on pages C -4 (capital development) and C -11 (capital acquisitions). There are
no capital developments for the Ministry of Finance in 2025/26; however, capital acquisitions are budgeted
at $160,000, down from $866,000 in 2024/25. The
majority of this reduction is due to the Ministry not
funding the CITA (the Corporate Income Tax Agency)
592 16 May 2025 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly via a capital grant. Funding for the Corporate Income
Tax Agency is via an operational grant which will be
supported from income generated from interest on
collections and in the short term a loan against this
future revenue.

Key Performance Measures
Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Chairman, the Key Performance Measures for the Ministry of Finance can be found on page B -110 of the Budget Book.
Bermuda’s Gross Domestic Product [GDP],
the main measure of economic growth, is estimated to
have expanded in real terms between 4.5 per cent
and 5.0 per cent in 2024. It is important to note, Mr.
Chairman, that follows on the growth that we saw in
2023 which is the highest economic growth of any country in North, South, or Central America. This positive momentum reflects the strength of our international business sector and the continued recovery in
tourism, supported by robust job growth, rising em-ployment income, increased visitor arrivals and
spending, and continued strong foreign currency earnings.
Looking forward, the Government is prudently
budgeting growth of 3.5 per cent in 2025/26, this together with projected revenues from the corporate
income tax, will see important metrics for debt and interest ratios reducing in 2025/26, and even further
reductions in 2026/27 when at least $500 million of
Bermuda’s long- term debt is expected to be paid off
and we will see what pans out insofar as collections
going forward to see whether or not we will be able to
increase that figure to the full $605 million that comes due.

Cost Centre 20000, Policy Planning and
Management
Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Chairman, the 2025/26
budget estimate for the Policy, Planning and Man-agement unit is $3.67 million, an increase of $993,000
or 37.1 per cent over 2024/25. This unit, under the
leadership of the Financial Secretary provides advice
and support to the Minister of Finance, as well as
overall strategic direction, oversight and management
of Ministry Headquarters and the departments that
comprise the Ministry of Finance.
In addition, this unit manages the administration and other activities associated with the daily op-eration of the Ministry of Finance Headquarters. It
plays a key role in financial accountability of the various quangos, as well as overseeing the general financial and fiscal oversight and accountability throughout
the Government. The total staff in the unit is eight persons, one up from the prior year.
The $993,000 proposed increase in expenditure is primarily related to the points already men-tioned being insurance, headcount and global tax advice.
The Tax Reform Commission continues to be
funded in full by the Ministry in 2025/26. This entity
comprises of participants from both political parties, the trade unions, business communities and the third
sector. In 2025/26 they will deliver their final report
which will be focused on three key areas:
1. Reviewing the implications of the Corporate Income Tax for local and international business. They also have a broader remit to rec-ommend a framework to encourage investment and economic activity in Bermuda
through appropriate incentives.
2. Developing a strategy to reduce the cost of living and business operations in Bermuda.
This includes evaluating the social and eco-nomic impacts of proposed reforms on various
demographics and modelling the impacts of
revising two larger cost categories —payroll
tax and health care —for both individuals and
companies.
3. Educate, inform and engage stakeholders to
develop their policies and strategies.

Key Highlights for 2024/25 for the Ministry of Finance

Hon. E. David Burt: Key highlights for 2024/25 for the
Ministry of Finance are included as follows:
• Coordinating the activities of the International
Tax Working group, culminating with the introduction of the matters related to the Corporate Income Tax Agency and additional revisions to Corporation Income Tax legislation
that has taken place in the last fiscal year.
• Working with teams to ensure enhanced debt
collection. I had spoken about the debt collection metrics earlier.
• Supported the Tax Reform Commission.
• Ensuring more effective administration and
coordination of financial and administrative
matters in the Ministry.
• Working to ensure even more effective quango and guarantee oversight, which is an important point, Mr. Chairman, that we want to make sure is strengthened.
• Oversight of the Fairmont Southampton [Princess] deal, which was finalised in October
2024, to bring additional beds back to the Is-land, which will substantially increase tourism
revenue. And one thing I would like to point
out, Mr. Chairman, is that the Opposition con-tinuously says we spent money on the matter
related to the Fairmont Southampton. I think it
is important to note that most of those costs
were reimbursed and every year the Government is collecting $750,000 in the form of a
guarantee fee which of course is recorded in the Ministry of Finance Headquarters reveBermuda House of Assembly nue. So, it is important to note that this transaction not only will boost tourism, create jobs,
but it is also earning the Government money.
Not the other way around. An important fact
that we need to note.

I believe the Premier is inadvertently misleading the public when he says that the
Opposition stated that the Government spent money
on various things with the Fairmont issue. I believe the
Opposition’s key concern was that the company that the Government has chosen to support was not able
to spend money to pay for the staff layoff costs.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

I am sure there will be robust debate
this evening.

Hon. E. David Burt: Far be it from me, Mr. Chairman,
to point out that is not a point of order. The Honourable Member will have plenty of time to go ahead, but it
is clear that that Member and other persons in the Opposition have said the facts of give away, money spent, different things and all the rest. It is important
for the public to know and Honourable Members that $750 ,000 a year will be coming into the Government
treasury every year as a part of this deal, which was well negotiated with some of the best advice from
lawyers in the jurisdiction and also from other jurisdictions and it is also important to note that most of the costs that were spent were reimbursed as we have
seen, as I have just covered inside the Statement. So
it is important to note that this is beneficial to the
economy and the words around giving away and all
the rest are not correct.
We will press on and if the Honourable Member wants to press on with that point, I give him advance warning that I will find the quotes from his Honourable Members on that side to make sure that the
record reflects exactly what they have engaged in.
We will continue, Mr. Chairman, to talk about
things that are being done in 2024/25.
• Managed relationships with sovereign tax rating agencies and assisted in ensuring that
Bermuda kept its key sovereign [credit] rating of A+, a key driver of success for the international business sector.
• Continuing the work of implement ing PIPA
compliance inside of the Ministry of Finance.
I would like to express my sincere thanks to
the team who have supported both myself and the Financial Secretary, Mr. Chidozie Ofoego, who joined the Ministry in April 2024 and has successfully navigated the first year in office. Of course, in the Minist ry
of Finance oftentimes you feel like you are drinking
from a firehose, but that is just the nature when you
happen to manage an economy that has the best
economic performance in the entire North, South and
Central America, Mr. Chairman.
For the upcoming year, key projects will include:
• Continue advancement of the Corporate Income tax regime both internally and in part-nership with the Corporate Income Tax Agency.
• Work with quangos to further strengthen financial accountability and governance.
• Work with teams to assist in the analysis of
costs and to assess the financing options for
major projects including health care reform,
education reform, and the Tynes Bay Wasteto-Energy Facility replacement .
• Work with the Bermuda Monetary Authority
and industry stakeholders to review home in-surance regulations and explore policy reforms , a key plank of the Progressive Labour
Party’s election manifesto.
• Support Chambers to strengthen laws to protect mortgage and lending customers facing financial difficulties, ensuring that banks treat
Bermudians fairly in their borrowing practices .
• Continue support for the Tax Reform Commission .
• Support and establish a Sovereign Wealth
Fund, an independent body that will invest excess proceeds from the corporate income tax
to benefit future generations [of] Bermudians .
I would like to repeat that because that work is
going to happen.
• Cut red tape by streamlining business setup
and operation processes while finalising a
“one- stop shop” for registration and licensing
to encourage entrepreneurship and local
businesses . And of course, Mr. Chairman,
that just deals with going to one place rather
than having to go to social insurance and pay-roll tax and somewhere else in order to set up
your company.
• Support the Cost of Living Commission and
the Ministry of Home Affairs to i mplement a
grocery pricing app to give Bermudians full
visibility of the cost of essential goods pricing
across the I sland while also supporting the
594 16 May 2025 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Cost of Living C ommission with analysis on
reducing the cost of l iving in Bermuda.
• Manage the budget effectively in light of additional revenues that are forecast from the corporate income tax.
• Streamline customers ’ request s for duty relief .
This is an important mission which I have
mentioned previously, Mr. Chairman, because
we do pass lots of customs duty reliefs, but these customs duty reliefs can be quite complex for persons to achieve. They often require applications and then gazetting of various notices and we look to streamline that to
ensure that the reliefs that we have legislated
are more easily able to be accessed. Part of
our red tape reduction throughout the Government.
• And also support the important work required
to strengthen the financial literacy of our
population, helping to empower people to take
ownership of their finances and make well -
informed financial decisions which is something that I would like to have particular focus
on this year.

Cost Centre 20010, Fiscal Planning & Control

Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Chairman, the budget for the
Fiscal Planning and Control unit [in 2025/26] is
$589,000 [a 4 per cent increase] which is marginally
up on the prior year due to wage increases . Salaries
make up over 80 per cent of the Budget Team’s allocation [for 2025/26] and provides for a four -person
team led by the Budget Director. Congratulations must
be offered to our long- serving Budget Director Tina
Tucker who after many years as Budget Director has
stepped up into the role of Acting Deputy Financial Secretary handling economic and fiscal affairs.
Mr. Chairman, the Budget Team has continued its significant work to manage overall Government
expenditures and increase revenues. This work has
resulted in the reductions of budget deficits over the
past years and enabled the Government to provide
additional support to Bermudians and their families.
Notwithstanding, we also have been able to maintain
or exceed our targets as we move forward in achieving budget surpluses in the future.
Mr. Chairman, the Budget Statement detailed
the final performance in 2023/24, which resulted in a
$29.5 million deficit, a $14 million reduction in the orig-inal deficit projection of $43.5 million.
During last year, in the Budget Statement, of
course, Mr. Chairman, you note that I announced that the Government was expecting its first balanced budget in 21 years. And as we stated during the
budget presentation the estimate is for a $19.7 million
Consolidated Fund surplus which is $19.5 million
higher than the original projection. It is important to note, Mr. Chairman, that the
2025/26 budget marks a turning point for Bermuda.
For the first time in over two decades, our fiscal planning is no longer going to be consumed by managing
deficit after deficit. Instead, we stand today with a budget surplus, a strengthening economy, and later
this year, we will expect to receive the first revenue
inflows from Bermuda’s new corporate income tax.
Continuing to move on and I know that on a
broad measure we are dealing particularly with the
Ministry of Finance, but I know there were some ques-tions regarding budgeting overall when we are talking
about fiscal management and control and budgeting
throughout all particular ministries when it comes to
matters related to salaries and wages. And it is important to note, Mr. Chairman, that it was erroneous
statements in the Budget Reply which spoke to the fact that we are including money in salaries and wages to be spent elsewhere. That is not correct.
In fiscal planning and control, money that is
assigned for salaries can only be used for salaries. It
cannot be used for anything else. So, money that is
assigned and budgeted for salaries does not all of a
sudden get used in another place and another space.
That is the reason why we have been able to maintain
a strict budget control and beat our financial target
year after year after year. So it is important to note, Mr. Chairman, that was another misrepresentation by
the Opposition. But I am sure that the Shadow Minister may have something to say during his particular
comments. But it is important that I point out the facts.
Mr. Chairman, this 2025/26 budget of course
consists of further tax reductions to provide relief to taxpayers and increased expenditures to support
health care investments for Bermuda’s residents. And
of course, the main highlights for the budget estimates
are that the revenue is expected to reach $1.43 billion,
which is 16.0 per cent or $198 million above the original estimates for fiscal year 2024/25. And we note the $118 million increase in current account expenditure.
Mr. Chairman, with all those matters particularly being stated, we are expecting a second projected Consolidated Fund surplus of $43.3 million which
is more than double the surplus that we were expecting for fiscal year 2024/25.
The Budget Team will continue its work to
achieve and maintain budget surpluses, through fiscal
discipline and financial management. And during the
2025/26 year the unit has set the following objectives:
• Provide support for the open/participatory
budget process. This was something that was
inside of our election manifesto which I am
looking forward to advance this year. And
when we talk about participatory budgeting, it is allowing persons in the public to have more
say into the budget priorities which form the
budget on an annual basis.
• Continue development of budget preparation methodology site. This is a separate website


Bermuda House of Assembly that has been set up to assist various departments in their budget prep and also by making
sure that those particular zero- based budgeting and other things can be entered into this system to make the production of budgets easier.
• Succession planning in the Fiscal Planning
and Control Unit which of course is very important, Mr. Chairman.

Cost Centre 20020, International Affairs & Regulatory
Hon. E. David Burt: The budget estimate for the International Affairs and Regulatory Unit is found on
page B -108. The budget estimate for this unit in is
$738,000 an increase of $55,000 or 8.0 per cent over
the prior year.
The International Affairs Unit is the lead policy
division within the Ministry of Finance Headquarters in relation to the financial services sector and the corporate sector. The International Affairs Unit is organised
into two units and one department. The International
Affairs Unit primarily formulates policy while the Office
of National Anti -Money Laundering and the Registrar
of Companies manage aspects of Bermuda’s compliance with international standards.
The International Affairs Unit is accountable to
the Financial Secretary for the effective discharge of the unit’s functions and through the Premier and Minister of Finance to Cabinet and Parliament. The head
of the unit, the Deputy Financial Secretary (Interna-tional Affairs and Regulation), carries out financial
services policies primarily through the Ministry of Finance; coordination with the Bermuda Monetary Au-thority and also with the Attorney General’s Chambers
and the National Anti -Money Laundering Committee;
the Bermuda Public Accountability Board; the Char-tered Professional Accountants of Bermuda; the Registrar of Companies; and specialist domestic and
global partners. In this way, the International Affairs Unit works to strengthen the financial services supervisory framework and key institutions that enables
access to the domestic economy and also the global economy.
Mr. Chairman, the International Affairs Unit
operates in response to a broad range of opportunities and risks, which allows the Ministry to contribute ac-tively to a continuous flow of information on potential
threats and opportunities to Bermuda and its reputation. Those opportunities and risks are constantly
changing.
The International Affairs Unit’s plan responds
to these challenges through various goals focused on
advancing the unit’s priorities and reflecting the outcomes the people of Bermuda deserve.
I will now cover those goals:
• Goal 1: To ensure and support the fair, impartial, efficient, and transparent development of regulation at the national and international levels.
• Goal 2: To strengthen capacity and to secure regulatory solutions to economic security issues.
• Goal 3: To strengthen public diplomacy and
support bilateral and multilateral engagement.
Mr. Chairman, the International Affairs Unit is
involved in a variety of policy and management areas
from regulatory reform and financial stability to anti -
money laundering and market access issues at home and abroad. Globally, the International Affairs Unit
contributes to international meetings either in person,
via the Registrar of Companies or the Office of the
National Anti -Money Laundering Unit.
The scope of the International Affairs Unit’s
activities are as follows:
• to support the Minister of Finance and the Financial Secretary in coordinating the financial
services regulatory policy initiatives of the Government;
• to oversee the Ministry of Finance component
of the financial services legislative programme
me together with the Bermuda Monetary Authority and the Ministry of Justice
• to provide policy and strategic advice to the
Minister of Finance and the Financial Secretary on anti -money laundering policy initiatives
together with the National Anti -Money Laundering Committee, pursuant to Section 49 of the Proceeds of Crime Act [1997];
• to provide policy and strategic advice to the
Minister of Finance and the Financial Secretary on matters related to transparency, together with financial services and related directives issued by the European Union together with the Cabinet Office, the Brussels Office, the London Office, and EU Specialists; and finally
• to provide policy and strategic advice to the
Financial Policy Council together with other
domestic agencies and or committees regarding matters related to financial services.
Measures and Indicators of Success
• Full implementation of Budget Statements and
Throne Speeches.
• Pledges, promotion of policy approaches at
home and abroad that foster a level playing
field in the area of financial services.
• Regular and normalised sharing of information
affecting the financial services sector at home
and abroad.
• Improved processes for registering corporate
entities in Bermuda.
Full Implementation of Recommendations made for
the Financial Policy Council, and the Fiscal Responsibility Panel Where Appropriate (And I am sure we will
get to debate that a little bit later, Mr. Chairman.)
596 16 May 2025 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly • Improved quality of finance market analysis.
• Timely completion of international assessments, and timely publication of international
assessments, where required.
Mr. Chairman, in order to achieve its priorities,
and pursuant to the Ministry of Finance’s Business Plan, the Unit will undertake the following key strategic ownership goals in 2025/26:

1) Matters Related to the European Union
Hon. E. David Burt: The International Affairs and
Regulatory Unit will work with the Cabinet Office, the
Bermuda Monetary Authority, the Brussels Office and
EU Counsel to coordinate Bermuda’s compliance with various EU directives.
This will include the provision of technical and
strategic advice on legislative and policy matters. This
work also includes preparation for regular visits by the
Minister of Finance to meet with key EU stakeholders.

2) Matters Related to the National Anti -Money Laundering Committee and Compliance with the Financial
Action Task Force International Standards on Combating Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism and Proliferation

Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Chairman, the International
Affairs Unit will contribute to and support the implementation of Bermuda’s Anti -Money Laundering
Strategy together with the National Anti -Money Laundering Committee (NAMLC). This work includes the provision of strategic and technical advice regarding
matters related to the Bermuda’s compliance with the standards set down by the Financial Action Task
Force.
3) Matters Related to the United Kingdom
Hon. E. David Burt: International Affairs Unit will work with the Cabinet Office on matters related to the fi-nancial services sector together with the Bermuda
Monetary Authority, the London Office and specialist
partners. This work includes the provision of technical and strategic advice on matters related to equivalence
and transparency including [public] registers of beneficial ownership and the legitimate interest access in
accordance with international standards.

4) Matters Related to the Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development (the OECD)
Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Chairman, the International
Affairs Unit will work with the Registrar of Companies to coordinate the Ministry of Finance response to OECD assessments as and when required. This includes providing technical and strategic advice on all
aspects of Bermuda’s corporate and regulatory framework. 5) The Gaming Commission
Hon. E. David Burt: The International Affairs Unit will
work with the Gaming Commission to further assess the supervisory framework. As for other sectors, this work is expected to include the provision of technical
and strategic advice on the relevant aspects of the
regime in Bermuda.
6) The Bermuda Deposit Insurance Corporation

Hon. E. David Burt: The International Affairs Unit will
work with the Bermuda Monetary Authority and the
Bermuda Deposit Insurance Corporation to continue
with the development of Bermuda’s bank resolution
framework.
Mr. Chairman, in [these] ways, the Regulatory
Unit helps supervisors and businesses articulate the
regulatory, market access and related challenges they
face to the Government and to the public.
Mr. Chairman, looking back to 2024/25, the
International Affairs Unit was primarily focused on
technical and strategic assistance regarding the financial services sector. Additional milestones achieved by
the International Affairs and Regulatory Unit in the
prior fiscal year included:
• Maintained regulatory stability by ensuring the
completion of the Ministry of Finance component of 10 financial services sector Bills
and/or statutory instruments including but not limited to banks; investment business; currency/coins and the corporate framework.
• In collaboration with the Ministry of Finance
colleagues, provide strategic advice on supervisory assessments and in sovereign rating
meetings. This includes participation in technical meetings with rating agencies, government to government meetings with other
Overseas Territories together with participation in meetings with the Financial Policy
Council.
• As appropriate, the International Affairs Unit
provided technical advice on relevant UK, US
and European Union matters, as well as assisted in advocacy and domestic and external
engagement initiatives. This includes participation in monthly executive and technical
meetings with the Bermuda Monetary Authori-ty, quarterly meetings with the Financial Policy
Council, or as I said, meetings three times a
year with the Financial Policy Council and annual meetings with the Fiscal Responsibility
Panel.
Mr. Chairman, the unit’s primary role going
forward in the next year will be to continue to work with the relevant Finance teams; the Cabinet Office;
the Attorney General’s Chambers; the Bermuda Monetary Authority; the Gaming Commission; the Bermuda Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Bermuda


Bermuda House of Assembly Public Accountability Board to meet Bermuda’s domestic and international commitments and to continue
to implement the structural adjustments to the International Affairs Unit as outlined earlier in this particular
statement.
Mr. Chairman, the salary provision of
$433,500, accounts for 59 per cent of this unit’s allocation which covers three posts, an increase of $19,000 which is due to Union mandated pay increases. The remaining $36,000 increase in expenditure is
necessary to support the cost of external specialists required to assist the Ministry in accomplishing its financial services mandates.

Cost Centre 20030, Domestic Affairs & Economic
Policy

Hon. E. David Burt: The budget allocation for this
unit is $306,000. This unit is led by the Deputy Financial Secretary, Domestic and Economic, where, as I
mentioned earlier the Budget Direction Ms. Tina Tucker, who leads the Budget Office is currently acting as the Deputy Financial Secretary in this role. This
will provide leadership and oversight to the Accountant General’s Department, the Department of Social Insurance, the Office of the Tax Commissioner and
Customs (as it relates to revenue matters). The team
also provides research and analysis of economic and international conditions to help facilitate sound decisions on public policy, fiscal, debt and guarantee
management. The unit also manages relationships with credit rating agencies.
Of course, Mr. Chairman, I am pleased that
this unit has supported the assessment of several rat-ing throughout 2024/25 and has resulted in Bermuda’s
ratings continuing to be affirmed by Standard & Poors, Moody’s and KBRA. Standard & Poors issued their 2025 report only this week and they have re- affirmed
Bermuda’s A+ long- term rating and A1 short -term rating with an outlook of Stable . Equally of note we are
hopeful that Bermuda’s already impressive standing will be further upgraded if the economic targets that
have been set with the implementation of corporate
income tax do manifest as expected.
Once the budget is complete, the Deputy Financial Secretary can turn her attention to the post of
successful oversight of domestic and economic matters, support the tax reform work and enhance financial reporting.
Other key initiatives of this particular unit include:
• Continuing to improve the sustainability of the
government’s pension funds, particularly the
Public Service Superannuation Fund (PSSF)
and the Contributory Pension Fund (CPF) in
an updated framework that allows for progressive contributions. In addition to the pro-posed change in the contribution structure,
adjustments will also have to made to the oth-er levers, namely the time that persons can
receive or the age of which persons can re-ceive social insurance benefits and also, as
we said, contributions as well.
• Working with a leading audit firm who has
provided a draft scope designed to assist the
Accountant General’s department in bringing the outstanding audits of the Pension Funds
up to date. We recognise the importance of
these particular efforts as part of the wider
work on pension reform and sustainability and
have taken the decision to enlist additional resources to address both challenges within the current fiscal year.
• Continuing to work on the development of
economic models for the forecasting of key
economic indicators and Government medium
term fiscal data to, among other things, enhance the execution of the government’s fiscal and economic management strategy and
considerations for the reform of the tax system. We do have very complex models inside
the Ministry of Finance, Mr. Chairman, but we are going to look to update those particular
models. And we update those models every
year in line with the projections that are made
and the actual outturns to make sure that those things can be better fine- tuned to give
better projections going forward.
• Working with the relevant teams to ensure a
more coordinated and effective approach to
debt collection. We have stated the successes of which we have seen in this area.
• In conjunction with the Ministry of Public
Works, I am sure that the Shadow Minister for
Public Works who is not in the Chamber currently, which is fine, but something that he
would certainly want to know, is completion of
the long- overdue plan for the formation of a
Government -owned captive insurance company to further reduce costs and create effi-ciencies in relation to the provision of insurance for Government assets. Something, Mr.
Chairman, that I am particularly bothered that
we have not been able to advance to completion but we are going to continue to press to
try (hopefully) to get that done this year.
• Working with the teams in the division to effectively progress systems upgrades and digitalisation work to promote more effective provision of tax and pension collections and gov-ernment services. And of course, the Budget
Statement mentions some of the progress that
is being made in certain areas of the Ministry on that.

Cost Centre 20100, Office of the National Anti -Money
Laundering Committee

598 16 May 2025 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Spend Analysis and Employment Numbers

Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Chairman, the Office of
NAMLC's budget for the fiscal year 2025/26 is $936,000, an increase of $57,000 from the previous financial year. The increase is in part due to the increase to accommodate the union agreed pay increases but also to allow for more necessary travel in
2025/26. This budget represents the minimum level of
funding required to successfully provide core secretariat services to NAMLC, including Bermuda meeting its financial obligation to the Caribbean Financial Action
Task Force [CFATF]. A separate grant of $415,000
was received in 2024/25 from the confiscated assets
fund to progress a range of national initiatives in preparation for Bermuda’s upcoming mutual evaluation in
2025/26. The balance as of 31 March 2025 is $242,243. This balance will be spent in 2025/26. And
that balance, Mr. Chairman, represents out of the
$415,000 that was used from the confiscated assets
fund to support the work of NAMLC through various ministries as is allowed under the Proceeds of Crime
Act.
The salary provision for the Office of NAMLC
in 2025/26 is $536,000, represents 57.28 per cent of
the total cost and covers three posts. This is in line with the 2024/25 budget. Mr. Chairman, you will note
that on page B -109 the revised headcount stands at
two. Recruitment for the post of Junior Legal is now
closed and we are assessing the suitability of the
candidates who applied. It is hoped that this position can be filled in short order. As already mentioned, the
NAMLC office has an increased travel budget of
$30,000 in 2025/26. This is to facilitate participation in several critical overseas conferences and training
sessions which will enable the Office of NAMLC to prepare for Bermuda’s forthcoming mutual evaluation. Notably the CFATF plenaries in May and November
2025. Provision is also made for Bermuda’s annual
membership contribution to the CFATF of $100,000.
Mr. Chairman, the purpose of the Office of the
National Anti -Money Laundering Committee (Office of
NAMLC) is to provide secretariat support to the Na-tional Anti -Money Laundering Committee, and to enable the Government to advance its anti -money laundering, anti -terrorist financing and counter proliferation
financing policy initiatives thereby ensuring an effec-tive regime. You can see the detailed objectives on
page B -107 (objective 10).
NAMLC ensures that Bermuda has a strong
and effective regime to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and the financing of proliferation;
and the competent authorities within NAMLC assist
international counterparts in the effort to address
these issues on a global scale through its established
coordination, cooperation, and accountability mecha-nisms.

Highlights of Achievements During 2024/2025 Hon. E. David Burt: During the prior fiscal year the
Office of the NAMLC has continued its critical focus on maintaining and, where needed, enhancing the
effectiveness of Bermuda’s AML framework through
the progress of several initiatives geared towards en-suring that we are technically compliant with the revised FATF standards and ensuring our preparedness
for the 5
th Round Mutual Evaluation which is scheduled to commence in October 2026. The 5th Round is
focused on the effective implementation of AML/ATF and counter proliferation laws.
It is in this vein the following actions were undertaken by NAMLC in the previous fiscal year:
(i) Due to the changes in the FATF standards and also some deficiencies highlighted in our
2020 Mutual Evaluation Report, NAMLC completed a technical and operational gap analysis which sought
to identify any gaps within our legislation and operational frameworks.
(ii) NAMLC has also organised and managed the review of the updating of Bermuda’s National AML Policy to reflect Bermuda’s updated understanding of money laundering and terrorist financing and
proliferation financing risks, as well as to reflect the
changes to the international standards and best prac-tices. Updates to this policy were approved by Cabinet
in November 2024.
(iii) Further, NAMLC has coordinated, managed and updated Bermuda’s understanding of its
money laundering and terrorist financing risks and the
financing thereof are documented in the 2024 Money
Laundering and Terrorist Financing National Risk Assessment report. This risk assessment is completed
and will be subjected to ratification by Cabinet prior to publication.
(iv) NAMLC procured technical assistance
for conducting Bermuda’s first Proliferation Financing National Risk Assessment which commenced in Jan-uary 2025 with work being undertaken with AML/ATF
supervisors and competent authorities. The expected
completion date is 2 July 2025.
(v) In preparation for the 5
th Round Mutual
Evaluation NAMLC secured training from the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) for all
competent authorities on the revised FATF standards.
This training was conducted virtually on 6 February
2025.
(vi) NAMLC developed an internal assessment which focused on the FATF’s immediate out-comes and revised technical standards to ensure that
Bermuda identifies any gaps within its AML/ATF framework and corrective measures are undertaken
prior to Bermuda’s upcoming evaluation. An independent reviewer was contracted to ensure Bermuda’s written submissions are reviewed against the
standard followed by an onsite which took place last
week, 5 May through 9 May) which probes further into
our AML/ATF framework. The reviewers will then proBermuda House of Assembly vide their findings to AML/ATF competent authorities,
permanent secretaries and heads of agencies.

Key Initiatives for Upcoming Financial Year

Hon. E. David Burt: NAMLC’s focus continues to be
to ensure that Bermuda maintains its position as a global leader in the fight to combat money laundering,
terrorist financing and proliferation financing. Of critical importance is our 5
th Round Mutual Evaluation
scheduled to commence in October 2026. This evaluation will focus on technical compliance where deficiencies were identified and those standards with significant revisions which are termed Recommendations
Under Review [RUR]. The evaluation is primarily one
of effectiveness which requires Bermuda to demonstrate how effective it has been for the last five years since its mutual evaluation in implementation of the
FATF standards.
Mr. Chairman, the key national initiatives for
which the office will provide support to NAMLC during
the financial year 2025/26, the majority will be funded
by a grant in accordance with section 55A of the Proceeds of Crime Act 1997, are as follows:
i. Agencies are required to develop an action
plan to ensure that all gaps identified are remediated prior to the end of this year to allow time to demonstrate effectiveness. The identification of technical and effective compliance
gaps was completed last week for which the
final report was produced.
ii. Continue to coordinate, manage and provide technical leadership in the publication of the 2024 Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing National Risk Assessment and ensure the
proliferation financing risk assessment is
completed within the timeframe.
iii. Continued training of NAMLC’s senior executives, technical officers, public service executives and responsible Ministers in relation to
the revised FATF Standards and Methodology, as well as to expose them to the new procedures that will apply to Bermuda’s 5
th
Round Mutual Evaluation.
iv. Providing of technical support to the supervi-sors for the Designated Non- Financial Business and Professions (lawyers, accountants,
real estate, high- value dealers and dealers in
precious metals and stones) through second-ment of supervisory expert to the Office of NAMLC.
v. Keeping abreast of any further revisions to
FATF standards that may impact Bermuda’s
5
th Round Mutual Evaluation which may require legislative changes to ensure technical
compliance.
vi. Organise and manage NAMLC’s review of
Bermuda’s National anti -money laundering
policies to propose updates for the considera-tion of Cabinet and to ensure that Bermuda’s national policy is updated to reflect Bermuda’s
updated understanding of money laundering
and terrorist financing and proliferation financing risks which arise out of the aforemen-tioned risk assessments.

Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Chairman, in order to progress all of these initiatives, and you can see there
are quite a few, especially running up to a mutual
evaluation, the Chair and Office team will continue to work closely with the National Anti -Money Laundering
Cabinet Committee, NAMLC member agencies and
other stakeholders.
I wish to at this point in time thank Ms. Cheryl
Lister , OBE, who after her time as Acting Financial
Secretary and advisor to the Ministry of Finance returns to the position of Chair of the National AntiMoney Laundering Committee. Equally, I would like to
thank Ms. Kozel Creese, our national co- ordinator
who since joining in January 2024 has significantly advanced the department in our coordination work in
this particular area.

Cost Centre 20070, Pension Commission

Hon. E. David Burt: Grant of zero, which is a 100 per
cent decrease. Mr. Chairman, as a result of significant
cash reserves held by the Commission which have
grown over the last few years due to the increase in
regulatory fees and effective cost control, no grant
was allocated to the Pension Commission for this upcoming year.
As we know, Mr. Chairman, the Pension
Commission is a corporate body established under
the National Pension Scheme (Occupational Pensions) Act 1998. The Commission has responsibility
for the administration of the Pension Trust Funds Act
1966 and pension trusts established and administered under this Act.
In 2024 the Commission provided policy advice and guidance to the Ministry of Finance relating to the capping of administration fees charged by pen-sion plan administrators, providing for greater domestic investment opportunities for plan members and
first-time homeowner refunds.
With respect to the capping of fees, the
Commission is working to introduce the regulations
later this year. Government has announced and we of
course legislated the fact that there will be limits for
defined contribution employer plans, that the fees
should not exceed
• 1.25 per cent per year for members with balances over $50,000
• 0.75 per cent per year for balances between
$25,000 and $50,000
• 0.5 per cent per year for balances less than
$25,000
600 16 May 2025 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly With respect to first -time homeowner refunds
specific legislation commenced in December 2024 in
which members or former members of a defined contribution pension plan or local retirement product who
has not attained normal retirement age may apply to the Commission for a first -time homeowner refund for
the purchase of a principal residence in Bermuda, by
themselves, husband, wife or child.
An applicant under the age of 45 years of age
may receive a refund of up to 30 per cent of their pension plan account balance and an applicant who is 45
years of age or older but has not yet attained the age
of 65 years of age, may receive a refund of up to
15 per cent of their pension plan account balance to
be applied directly toward a downpayment further boosting all the work, Mr. Chairman, that this Government is doing to promote home ownership and as the Junior Minister of Finance said in his presentation
last week, Let the numbers speak for themselves .
With respect to other areas of responsibility,
the Commission experienced a significant year over
year increase in the following:
• fielding queries and providing assistance via
email;
• 25 per cent lump sum refund applications;
• financial hardship refund applications;
• financial hardship withdrawal meetings; and
• meetings with plan members;

During 2024 the Commission
• approved 409 lump sum refunds compared to
321 in 2023;
• wound- up 54 plans compared to 69 in the prior year;
• registered 117 plan amendments compared to
157 in the prior year;
• approved zero plan trustees in comparison to
15 in the prior year;
• initiated 6 civil actions against delinquent employers and their directors and officers compared to 15 in 2023;
• conducted 365 compliance meetings with employers and plan members compared to 176
in the prior year;
• held 4 compliance meetings with plan administrators compared to 10 in 2023;
• participated in 27 public and/or advisory
[committee ] meetings compared to 9 in 2023;
and
• Completed 6 transactions under the Pension
Trust Funds Act 1966 compared to 16 in
2023.
As of 31 December 2024 (based on estimates), Mr. Chairman,
• The National Pension Scheme contained
47,455 Plan Members/Former Members . • There was a total of 3,255 Employer Plans, of which 3,240 of them were Defined Contribution and only 15 Defined Benefit .
• The total value of assets under the National
Pension Scheme is estimated at $4.36 billion,
Mr. Chairman (that is billion with a “ B”).
• There were 498 Self -Employed Plans; and
• $87,108 of plan assets were transferred to Overseas Retirement Vehicles, compared
with zero dollars in 2023.
Mr. Chairman, the National Pension Scheme
(Financial Hardship) Regulations 2010 allows Bermudians with a demonstrated financial need to get access to a portion of their private sector pension funds,
based on prescribed criteria for hardship. Every year I
do provide statistics on this and I will provide these as well as follows.
As noted for 2024:
• Total applications received —169;
• Approved applications —120;
• Declined applications —32;
• Applications pending and/or withdrawn— 17;
• Total amount approved for withdrawal from
pension balances was $2,056,304. Which, of
course, is a small amount when compared to
the $4.6 billion amount that is there.

Applications Approved by Type:
• Eligible Educational Expenses —69;
• Imminent Threat of Loss of Principal Residence— 10;
• Imminent Eviction from Home for Rental Ar-rears —27;
• Eligible Medical Expenses —10;
• Funeral Expenses —4.

Please hold there, Minister.
For the benefit of the listening public and
Honourable Members, we are now in Committee of
Supply for further consideration of the Estimates of
Revenue and Expenditure for the year 2025/26. We
are now debating the Ministry of Finance. The Hon-ourable Premier, who is also the Minister of Finance,
is giving the presentation on Head 10. This debate
began at four o’clock exactly. It is now five o’clock , so
we have exactly three hours remaining.
Sometime thereafter, and within those three
hours, the Shadow Minister of Finance will be given
clinical questions.
Minister, you may resume.
Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Looking ahead to the current fiscal year with
regard to the upcoming fiscal year, the Pension
Commission has a number of goals:
1. to continue to review issues and challenges
facing the occupational pension plan sector in Bermuda in order to make recommendaBermuda House of Assembly tions to the Minister of Finance on further
legislative and/or policy adjustments;
2. to improve the understanding and compliance by regulated entities with key regulatory issues;
3. to introduce a financial awareness campaign
on the importance of saving and retirement
planning and the important role occupational
pension plans play in achieving successful outcomes;
4. to continue to enhance the Commission’s financial independence and sustainability via
the identification of additional sources of
revenue;
5. to further the completion of the aforementioned regulations to ensure that the matters
that have been legislated by this House are able to be put in effect, specifically with the
caps on pension plan balances; and finally
6. to continue to complete outstanding audits.

2025/26 Projected Revenue and Expenditure Items

Hon. E. David Burt: The Commission’s projected
revenue for 2025/26 is $1,350,000, primarily from
regulatory fees and collections. The projected total
expenses for the year is $2,000,000, which is salaries
for 10 staff members and makes up $1.6 million of the budget.
The 2024/25 cost estimate is $1.52 million, an
increase of $540,000. An increase in salaries, and headcount from seven to ten, accounts for $380,000
of the increase.
The resulting projected position is a net deficit
of $710,000, which will be funded from cash reserves.
Before I move on, Mr. Chairman, I would like
to extend my thanks to the staff in the Pension Commission for their continued work in the past year.
Now, Mr. Chairman, I will move on.

Cost Centre 20110—Gaming Commission

Hon. E. David Burt: The budget estimate for the
grant contribution for the Gaming Commission is $800,000. This represents partial funding for the
Commission. The remainder of their income will be
generated by the collection of external fees, primarily
from cruise ship operators who apply for permission to
open their casinos whilst in port in Bermuda.
The total projected expenditure of the Commission for 2025/26 is $1.5 million, which is a signifi-cant reduction from the 2024/25 budget of $1.9 million, and a reduction from the 2023/24 budget of $2.4
million.
The funding will support the Commission in
executing the programmes set out in the 2025/26 workplan, which includes continuing to support the
resolution of banking services being provided to casino operators and exploring potential new lines of business for the jurisdiction to ensure that the Commission can be self -funding.
During fiscal year 2024/25, the Commission’s
focus has been on investigating new lines of business
and matters related to corresponding banking chal-lenges. And those new lines of business of course,
Mr. Chairman, revolve around sports betting, national
broader lottery issues and matters related to online
gaming as well.
I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the team at the Commission who have general-ly exercised significant fiscal prudence. We know they
come under a lot of criticism. And of course we understand that it is politically difficult to have a Gaming
Commission that regulates the gaming sector in Bermuda. But recognising that there are no operating casinos in the country due to the banking challenges, we are continuing to work through these particular matters. And we recognise that they are being funded at a
bare level to continue their particular operations and
have worked downsized or reduced, including moving
officers and making sure that they are being fiscally
prudent in that regard.

Cost Centre 20120—Corporate Income Tax , Grant

Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Chairman, in late 2023, as
we all will know, we passed the Bermuda Corporate
Income Tax Act 2023. We know that it was a significant achievement representing strong and positive
collaboration and consultation with our international
business sector. The genesis of this initiative and subsequent work was Pillar 2 of a global agreement reached in 2021 under the auspices of the Organi sation for Economic Co- operation and Development
[OECD] and signed by more than 140 countries. This
agreement requires a 15 per cent tax to be levied on a
jurisdictional basis for in -scope entities and is commonly referred to as the Global Minimum Tax (GMT) Agreement.
The OECD has issued model rules as part of
this framework for the implementation of the GMT ,
and these rules were the foundation for the develop-ment of Bermuda’s regime to be considered compliant
with these requirements. The Act imposes a 15 per cent corporate income statutory tax that will be applicable to Bermuda businesses that are part of a multinational group with annual revenue exceeding €750
million. The Corporate Income Tax legislation came into effect on the 1 January of this year ; that would be
2025.
In formulating its position and moving forward
with legislation, Bermuda held multiple consultations on corporate income tax administration. The two public consultations held this year (2025) have focused on
enforcement and broader provisions relating to the
administration of the Corporate Income Tax Act 2023.
Under the new legislation, Mr. Chairman, full -
year tax filings for the 2025 tax year will be due in
602 16 May 2025 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly 2026. The first instalment of tax is due for payment in
August 2025. As per page B -109 of the Budget Book ,
this is estimated at $187.5 million for fiscal year
2025/26.
The administration of the regime will be the
responsibility of the Corporation Income Tax Agency
[CITA ]. This entity was created and enacted in July
2024 after the implementation of the Corporate Income Tax Agency Act 2024. The aim of the agency is
to continue to develop and implement an appropriate
and effective corporate income tax regime to meet the changing global tax environment. Operationally its
primary functions include taxpayer services, return
filing and processing, audit and compliance, enforcement and collections, dispute resolution, and law interpretation and International Tax Cooperation.
CITA is being developed on the basis of incorporating the appropriate key structural elements of
our well -respected financial services regulator with
modified characteristics to take into account the difference in responsibilities between a regulator and a tax authority.
As we know, Mr. Chairman, the Corporate
Income Tax Agency has hired an experienced tax pro-fessional as CEO at the beginning of 2025. His task is to build out and deliver the strategy for the Corporate
Income Tax Agency, which includes the hiring of other employees required to build out and operate the agency.
The Corporate Income Tax Agency has been
granted an operational grant of $4.78 million in 2025/26 (a $3.5 million or 274 per cent increase ]
which is in line with the current year spend. Further funding will be required in the current year to support successful implementation of the IT systems and infrastructure and to ensure there are the required staff and related resources. It is envisaged that the Corpo-rate Income Tax Agency will be self -funding in future
years through the interest from revenues that they collect , and any additional funding for this year will
likely be as a loan against that future expected reve-nue.
I wish to, Mr. Chairman, thank all of the team
in the Ministry of Finance Headquarters, which has been led by Financial Secretary [ Chidozie] Ofoego,
who as mentioned took on the role in April 2024, and
all of the deputy financial secretaries and the staff in
the Ministry of Finance, for their remarkable work in
supporting the Minister of Finance and the Junior Min-isters of Finance in ensuring that we continue to execute these items for the benefit of the citizens of this
country.
Mr. Chairman, this concludes remarks for the
Estimates of Head 10.
I shall happily defer the podium or microphone
to the Junior Minister of Finance for Heads 11 and 12.

Thank you, Minister of Finance. The Chair now recogni ses the Junior Minister
of Finance, Wayne Furbert.
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I
am carrying the baton on for the Premier and Minister
of Finance for Head 11 and Head 12.

HEAD 11 —ACCOUNTANT GENERAL

Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Mr. Chairman, I now present
the budget for the Accountant General’s Department (Head 11) which is found on pages B -111, B-115 and
C-11.
The Accountant General’s Department was
established under s ection 4 of the Public Treasury
(Administration and Payments) Act 1969. The de-partment has responsibilities for the administration of the Consolidated Fund, and accounts for and reports
on the other public funds which are all subject to their
own legislations. The functions and responsibilities of
the Accountant General’s Department are critically
important in the role of governance. The d epartment is
key in helping to undergird the financial controls and
processes that are in place with respect to the public
purse.
The department’s mission statement is , To
develop and maintain quality financial reporting, em-ployee health insurance, treasury function, internal
control and effective use of technology to aid in decision-making.
The department is divided into two programme centres, as follows:
1101 —Consolidated Fund Administration,
which oversees all of the activities of the Consolidated
Fund. This is further broken out into six sections :
• Policy Planning and Management —
developing long- term goals and strategies in
alignment with governmental priorities and general administration of the department;
• Financial Reporting—accounting for and reporting on the Consolidated Fund and the other public funds;
• Compliance and Disbursement —execution of
payments for purchased goods and services;
• Revenue Receipting and Treasury Management —collecting and recording of Government revenues including fees and taxes, cash
management and forecasting, administration of the investment of the pension funds under
management and risk management , and insurance. The total pension funds’ investments
under management are $2.76 billion, broken out as follows: PSS Fund—$613.2 million,
and CPF —$2.16 billion;
• Bank Reconciliation—reconciliation of all
Government’s bank accounts;
• Financial Systems —management of the E nterprise system supporting the Government’s
accounting platform; and


Bermuda House of Assembly • The department also has legislative responsibility for benefits (employee pension deductions) administration.
1102 —Fund Administration, which represents
the Government’s share of employee benefits programmes, namely,
• Public Service Superannuation Fund (PSSF);
• Contributory Pension Fund (Social Insurance)
(CPF);
• Government Employees Health Insurance Scheme (GEHI) and administration of the
scheme and payment of health claims; and
• Ministers and Members of the Legislature
Pension Fund (MMLPF).
The department continues to operate at staffing levels below its total complement. Forty -one posts
are budgeted in 2025/26, an increase of three heads
from the 2024/25 budget. The increase is predominantly down to full year impact of staffing, following recruitment of two key posts to support the audit process. Currently there are five vacancies within the department. Notwithstanding the vacancies, the d epartment persists in efforts to identify efficiencies within its
approved organisational structure.
General accomplishments in fiscal 2024/25
are as follows :
• Completion of the online payment portal, one
of the first revenue stream utili sing, is for the
payment of parking tickets .
• Work ed with several government departments
to increase automation/digiti sation of financial
processes .
• Worked closely with the Office of the Auditor
General and Ministries to complete the annual
audit of the Consolidated Fund and progress
the audits of the other public funds .
• Delivered scheduled Financial Instructions training in conjunction with the Department of
Employee and Organi sational Development .
• The Compliance and Disbursement section
continues to make vendor payments timely
and accurately notwithstanding staffing challenges .
• Treasury functions and other operational service levels were maintained throughout the
year.
• As well as these accomplishments , as you will
see from the KPIs on page B -114, the department has managed to succeed in 17 of its
18 measures, or a 94 per cent success rate.
The only measure that was not achieved was timing of year -end files. This was due to a labour shortage which has now been rectified
by the recruitment of two management accountants.
Mr. Chairman, t he Accountant General’s Department has been allocated a total budget of $106.7 million for the fiscal 2025/26 year which is broken out as follows:
• Consolidated Fund Administration estimate—
$6.31 million;
• Fund Administration estimate— $100 million;
and
• Capital estimate—$153,000.
This budgetary allocation represents an increase of $20.15 million, or 23 per cent above the
2024/25 original estimates —which is primarily due to
the additional $19.3 million of Government’s contributions to the GEHI scheme of which $18 million is part
of the Government’s investment in health care and a
start in funding the recent years of shortfalls from the GEHI Fund. Also, to support the shortfall GEHI rates
will be increased for public sector employees and the
remainder of the increase is due to the Government’s
matching contribution.
The 2025/26 Revenue estimate is $500,000, a
decrease of $1.4 million, or 75 per cent, below the
2024/25 original estimate. This revenue primarily relates to interest earned on the investments in the
Sinking Fund.
The Current Account Estimates can be found
on pages B -111 and B-112.

Explanation of Significant Programme
Expenditure Changes

1101 (PAGE B- 111): CONSOLIDATED FUND
ADMINISTRATION
($6.31 million —Increase of $342,000, or 6 per cent)

Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: The current year’s request
reflects an increase of $342 ,000, which is primarily
reflective of the uplift in salaries from the recently con-cluded salary negotiations and increases in staffing
level from the recruitment for two vacant posts. It
should be noted that the items that drive the d epartment’s overall expenditures are salaries, technical
support maintenance fees for the various software
systems used by the ACG and rent for premises occupied at 51 Church Street.

1102 (P AGE B-111) FUND ADMINISTRATION
($100.24 million —Increase of $19.8 Million,
or 25 per cent )
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: This progra mme represents
the Government’s cost for employees’ benefits. These costs are a function of the number of Government
employees and the rates relating to the respective
benefits (Employer Overhead). For example, Contributory Pension (Social Insurance) is directly related to the national Contributory Pensions rates of contribution.
As the employer, the Government ordinarily
matches its employees’ contributions to the PSSF,
Social Insurance contributions (CPF), GEHI contribu604 16 May 2025 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly tions (premiums), except for Police, Corrections, and
the Regiment, for which the Government pays both
the employer and employee share, and the Ministers’
and Members’ contributions to the MMLPF. Contributions made into the PSSF and CPF are invested to fund future pension payments to vested retired Government personnel. The increase in the 2025/26 estimates for the Government’s cost for employees’ benefits is primarily reflective of the additional overheads
expected from funding increases for PSSF and GEHI
contributions and the additional $18 million being pro-vided to fund the annual GEHI deficit.
The GEHI Scheme has experienced annual
deficits in recent years. This year the estimated deficit of $31 million will be partially funded by an additional
$18 million from the Consolidated Fund. As part of the
agreement with the Unions for public sector employ-ees the GEHI contribution rates will be increased by
$600 per year over the next three years to close this
shortfall. The Minister of Finance will also continue to
review further options for delivering value for money to GEHI to protect the public purse, including the recent
measure to ensure that the lowest cost is paid to
pharmacies for identical medication.

Capital Estimates

PAGE C-11: CAPITAL FUNDING
($153,000 —A Decrease of $127 ,000)

Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Technical support and ongoing maintenance will be required in the 2025/26 fiscal
year as the Oracle E1 System is continually enhanced
to improve the business processes and other im-portant services provided. The department’s focus
remains on leveraging the latest advancements in JDE E1 to optimi se financial operations and drive continuous improvements.
The 2025/26 capital allocation will be used to
progress the following projects:
• Implementation of a purge and archive solution for JDE Enterprise I;
• JDE Enterprise One 9.7 update. This update promises enhanced user experience and performance and expanded cloud capabilities;
and
• Replacement of office equipment, photocopiers desktop PC, et cetera.
Mr. Chairman, the key initiatives planned for
the Accountant General’s Department for fiscal year
2025/26 are to,
• continue working with the Government departments to automate/digiti se their financial
process;
• review and update financial instructions to
align with current needs and priorities;
• complete the Audited Consolidated Fund Financial Statements for the year ending 31 March 2025 no later than 14 November 2025; and the
• March 2021 PSSF and July 2021 CPF state-ments have been submitted to the Auditor
General for a full audit. The Financial Reporting Section within the Accountant General’s
department which is currently staffed with four full-time employees continues to work to progress the backlog on the other funds. The sta-tus of the public funds are as follows,
1. Government Reserves Fund—2024;
2. Unemployment Insurance Fund —
2020;
3. Government Borrowing Sinking
Fund— 2016;
4. Ministers and Members of the Legislature —2015;
5. Government Employees Health In-surance—2012; and
6. Confiscated Fund —2010.
• continue to deliver scheduled Financial Instructions training in conjunction with the De-partment of Employee and Organizational De-velopment;
• timely processing of outgoing vendor payment; and
• 100 per cent of clean health insurance claims
paid within 30 days in line with legislation.
Mr. Chairman, I would like to extend my appreciation for the work undertaken by the management and staff of the Accountant General’s department under the leadership of the Accountant General,
Mrs. Dionne Morrison- Shakir.

HEAD 12 —BERMUDA CUSTOMS

Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Mr. Chairman, I will now
speak to Bermuda Customs Department Revenue,
which is included under the Ministry of Finance. Customs expenditures are included within the Ministry of
National Security which will be debated on Monday,
26 May.
Total 2025/26 budgeted customs revenue,
shown on page B -116, is $220 million. This is a decrease of $18.8 million, or 8 per cent, on the prior year budget of $239 million. Compared to the 2024/25 re-vised estimate the 2025/26 budget is a reduction of
$9.8 million, or 4.4 per cent.
Mr. Chairman, world conditions in recent
years have caused inflation rates to climb and Bermu-da is not immune from its effects. We all know only
too well how the cost of living has risen and the anxie-ty that comes from the economic uncertainty that
these conditions foster, and the distress caused when
families are forced to make hard choices between one
necessity and another. The pain is felt by all but those
who can least afford it are hit hardest.
Consequently, it is this Government’s goal to
lower the cost of living for Bermuda. In doing so, we


Bermuda House of Assembly are confident that we will not only ease the daily burden of making ends meet but also offer new opportunities for our economic development. One of the major
tools that we have at our disposal in achieving this
aim is by reducing the costs of selected imported goods by lowering rates of customs duty.
During the 2024/25 financial year, we responded to the cost -of-living crisis by introducing a
reduction in the [customs] d uty due on fuel used in the
production of electricity by 60 per cent. This relief
came into effect on 19 July 2024 and from that date
up to March 2025 this relief has lowered the fuel cost
on the Bermudian electricity bill by $9.2 million.
During the 2025/26 financial year, we will offer
additional wide- ranging reliefs and concessions with
respect to parts for motor vehicles, air conditioners,
building materials, and further concessions on the fuel used in the production of electricity.
Analyses of the major revenues are as follows.

Customs Duty

Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: The customs d uty forecast
for 2025/26 is $214.0 million which is $19 .0 million, or
8 per cent, lower than the 2024/25 original forecast of
$233 .0 million. You will also note, Mr. Chairman, that
the forecast of customs duty collected for 2024/25 has
been revised down by $9 .0 million to $224.1 million ,
based on more recently available information on actu-al collections of customs d uty for 2024/25.
It is expected that customs d uty collections
will decrease during 2025/26, which compared to the revised estimate of 24/25 is a reduction of $9.8 mil-lion. This reduction is due to an increase in several
reliefs which I will outline. Broadly, these reliefs will fall into four main categories designed to lower the cost of living and stimulate economic growth,
• We shall raise the duty-free travellers personal allowance for returning residents from $200 per person to $300 per person. Based on prior
years’ travel, this is expected to ease the collective tax burden on returning travellers by an
estimated $2 million;
• We shall provide wide- ranging reliefs on parts
and supplies for motor vehicle repairs, including but not limited to: engines , transmission
shafts , gaskets , electrical, glass , belts , tubing,
and interior furnishings. We will amend from
35.0 per cent to zero per cent, the customs
duty rates associated with 43 tariff codes
providing cost reductions of an estimated $2.5 million; from 25.0 per cent to zero per cent,
the customs d uty rates associated with 20 tariff codes providing cost reductions of an esti-mated $176,000. It is estimated, based on
prior years’ data, to reduce the cost of repairing Bermuda’s motor vehicles by a total of $2.7 million; • We shall provide wide- ranging reliefs on selected building materials, including but not limited to: block , stones , glass , plastics , fabrics ,
wood, metal , chemicals including glues, resins, and paint. Pre- fabricated supplies as well
as raw materials for both interior and exterior
work. We will amend: from 25.0 per cent to
10.0 per cent, the customs duty rates associated with 429 tariff codes providing cost re-ductions of an estimated $4.9 million; from
25.0 per cent to zero per cent, the customs
duty rates associated with two tariff codes
providing cost reductions of an estimated
$41,000; from 15 .0 per cent to 10.0 per cent,
the customs duty rates associated with eight
tariff codes providing cost reductions of an es-timated $293,000; from 12.5 per cent to
10.0 per cent, and the customs d uty rates associated with 44 tariff codes providing cost re-ductions of an estimated $325,000. It is esti-mated, based on prior years’ data, to reduce
the cost of construction and building repairs
by a total of $5 (I assume that is million );
• We shall also provide reliefs on the imports of air-conditioning units and parts. We will
amend from 35.0 per cent to 10.0 per cent,
the customs d uty rates associated with six tariff codes. It is estimated, based on prior years’ data, to reduce the customs duty cost on
these items by over $1.8 million;
• Finally, we shall provide further customs duty
reductions on imported fuel used in the production of electricity. It is estimated, based on prior years’ data, that this will cut the Bermudian electricity bill by $1.7 million in addition to
the concessions introduced during 2024/25.
You will note that the sum of these reductions
is $13.8 million, compared to the overall reduction of $9.8 million to the revised forecast. Therefore, within
general customs revenue due to inflation and economic growth the department is expecting an increase
of $4 million in total across all areas.

Other Revenue Sources

Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Forecasted revenue sources
other than customs duty, are expected to contribute a
total of $5.9 million during 2025/26 which, based on
our forecast, would equate to 2.7 per cent of the revenue collected by Customs. There is little indication that receipts in these areas will change significantly
from the r evenue levels received during the 2024/25
fiscal year to date.
Also, within 2025/26 the department of Customs will work with the Cost of Living Commission to
analyse duty on essential commodities to look at what
else could be added to the Essential Commodities
Schedule of their Act, thereby reducing customs duty
606 16 May 2025 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly that can provide price reductions of those goods to the
consumer.
Most importantly within 2025/26 the Customs
Department will work to streamline the process to obtain duty relief by making the process more efficient
by aligning with industry best practice which will also
strengthen compliance. The aim of the project is to
ultimately support economic growth.
The customs team will review the administrative burden and processing time regarding duty relief
and improve transparency and accountability within the process , all with the aim to reduce the red tape,
time, and cost for both customs and the entity requesting the relief.
Customs will therefore be looking at the following;
• Implementing a trusted trader progra mme —
This will enable certain entities to have priority processing, reduced paperwork and lower inspection rates. Eligibility for this progra mme
will be based on historic compliance, volume
and financial stability .
• Develop the digital platform for duty relief —
This will be a secure, user -friendly portal for
applications, with the functionality to track sta-tus, enable two- way communication and allow
digital signatures .
• Develop delegated approval authority —At
present a certain number of requests are approved by the Minister. Customs will seek
delegated authority to senior members of the Ministry’s headquarters so that routine cases
can be handled efficiently. Develop a digital
platform for duty relief. Ministerial involvement
will be limited to large, strategic, complex
cases .
• Simplify paperwork and pre audit requirements —In line with industry best practice
Customs will move to post clearance audits
for low -risk traders.
Mr. Chairman, the above is, as already stated,
expected to reduce clearance times and reduce costs
for businesses, large and small, whilst improving government efficiency.
Mr. Chairman, sincere thanks to the Collector
Lucinda Pearman and the Customs team for their
work in support of Bermuda’s economy in this area.
I will now turn this back over to the Premier
and the Minister of Finance.

Thank you, Member from constituency 6, in the Bible Belt.
Premier, you now have the floor.

Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you.
I thank that Honourable Member from the Bible Belt for his assistance, Mr. Chairman.
I am going to cover Head 28, which is social
insurance, before I turn it back over to the Junior Min-ister for Head 38, which is the Office of Tax Commissioner, which he is well familiar with. I will then take
the Registrar of Companies and the Head 58 to close
out this particular section of the debate.

HEAD 28 —DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL INSURANCE
Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Chairman, the Department of
Social Insurance’s Current Account Estimates are shown on pages B-117 to B-119 of the Budget Book.
The estimate for 2025/ 26 is $2,894,000 which is
$200,106 or 4 per cent less than the original 2024/ 25
budget. This b udget is solely for War Pensions and
Gratuities.
Mr. Chairman, the Department of Social Insurance and its staff administer the Government of
Bermuda’s Contributory Pension Fund and benefits to the Second World War veterans.
• War Pensions and Gratuities are 100 per cent
funded by the Consolidated Fund;
• Contributory Pension operations within the
department are 100 per cent funded by the
Contributory Pension Fund (CPF). Expenditures are paid through the Consolidated Fund
(CF) and recharged to the CPF in accordance
with Section 3(3) of the Contributory Pensions
Act 1970.

Mission Statement

Hon. E. David Burt: The mission statement for the
Department of Social Insurance is: We are committed
to serving current and future generations by ensuring
compliance with the legislation, collecting contributions, and paying benefits timely and accurately,
through education, best practices, and the use of
technology.

Department of Social Insurance Vision

Hon. E. David Burt: And the vision for that department is: To be a trusted and essential source of financial security for all beneficiaries.

Core Functions

Hon. E. David Burt: The department operates under
two main Acts of Parliament to administer the Government of Bermuda’s S ocial Insurance Programme
as well as the War Pensions and G ratuities.
1. The Contributory Pensions Act 1970—This is for all employed and self -employed individuals
over age of 18 or under the age of 26, in the
instance of full -time students who work for
more than four hours per week and are re-quired to pay contributions.
There are two major classes of benefits paid
out of the fund:


Bermuda House of Assembly a) Contributory benefits for old age pension
and gratuity, widow’s and widower’s allowance and gratuity, and disability benefit; and
b) Non- contributory benefits for old age
pension and disability benefit s.
2. The War Pensions and Gratuities (War Ser-vice) Act 1947—Under this Act benefits are
payable to Bermudian war veterans (or their surviving spouses) who served during World
War II. There are currently 58 veterans or their surviving spouses in the programme.

Highlights for 2024/25

Hon. E. David Burt: Moving on, Mr. Chairman, to the
highlights for 2024/ 25.
• The department completed the actuarial review for the CPF in June 2024. The actuarial
review is required every three years per section 35 of the Contributory Pensions Act, and
that was tabled in the House of Assembly on
21 March 2025.
• In September 2024, Contributory Pensions (Amendment of Benefits) Order 2024 was tabled in this House, increasing pension benefits by 2.4 per cent effective 16 August 2024.
• The department adopted recommendations of
the Management Consultant Services (MCS) section review and began to implement the
following review in the last financial year :
o reviewed and updated the documentation
of our systems and processes;
o reviewed all updated all job descriptions;
o began the recruitment process to fill va-cant positions to serve the population better; and
o these measures have assisted in the improved pension administration and collec-tion of outstanding debt, streamlined operations, and improved the execution of
the Department of Social Insurance’s
mandate.
• The department has continued to maintain effective working relationships with the Debt Enforcement Unit of the Attorney General’s
Chambers, Department of Public Prosecutions, Department of Immigration, Office of the
Tax Commissioner, and the Transport Control
Department with respect to efforts to assist in
debt collection;
• As part of the Government of Bermuda’s
commitment to modernise public services, the
department successfully launched the following two online services:
o In May 2024, the launch of the online service that allows contributors to search for
their social insurance number so they no
longer have to call the d epartment; and o In February 2025, online applications and
requests from employers or contributors
for services [was launched] . This initiative
has streamlined processes, improved efficiency by serving the public through this
digital site . This [digital site] can be found
at: https://socialinsurance.gov.bm.

Expenditure Overview
Hon. E. David Burt: The department operates with
five main c ost centres . The first is:

38000— Senior Management & Administration

Hon. E. David Burt: The Administration S ection provides overall direction and management of the department.
The budget estimate for this c ost centre is
$2,270,500 which is an increase of $148,800 from the
2024/25 original budget. This increase is due to the planned go- live in Quarter 2 for our new pension administration system that has been implemented for
quite some time, PX3000.

38010— War Pensions & Gratuities
Hon. E. David Burt: The War Pensions section
(Budget Book page B -117) administers the benefits to
war veterans under the Pensions & Gratuities (War Service) Act 1947.
The budget estimate is $2,894,000, which is
$106,000, or 4 per cent less than the previous year.
The budget is based on 58 w ar veterans (14 less than
the prior year).
Currently, the significant benefits provided
under the programme are:
• All veterans or spouses receive a monthly
pension of $1,000.
• Medical benefits are 100 per cent covered.
The benefits covered are FutureCare insurance premiums, hospital visits, hospitali sation,
all tests at KEMH, air ambulance, and prescription drugs over the $3,000 covered by FutureCare, moving up to $5,000 this year .
• Palliative and long- term care are covered up
to $7,000 per month and a $5,000 funeral
grant is refunded to their estate.
• Regular and specialist doctor visits have small
co-pays, which are reimbursed by the programme.

38025— Benefits
Hon. E. David Burt: The Benefits S ection is responsible for the administration of benefits to members of
the Contributory Pension Fund under the various Acts.
608 16 May 2025 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly The budget estimate is $499,000, which is an
increase of $9,200 over the original budget for the
year, which is mainly just due to salary increments.
Total benefits paid for August 2023 to July
2024 , which the Contributory Pension Fund’s financial
year was $211,392,900 compared to $204,408,600 in
2022/23, which is an increase of $6,984,300 or
3.4 per cent .
In 2023, the total benefits paid were $175.8
million , or 83 per cent, was paid for Contributory Pensions, $14.4 million, or 7 per cent paid on Widows’
and Widowers’ Allowances, Gratuities of $10.9 million
(5 per cent ) were paid and $7.3 million (4 per cent)
was paid on Non- contributory Pensions. The remaining $3.0 million (1 per cent ) of b enefits paid for the
period was for Contributory and Non- Contributory
Disabilities.
Those are the items which make up the
$211,392,860 payments from the Contributory Pension Fund.

38040—Compliance

Hon. E. David Burt: The Compliance S ection monitors the compliance of employers and employees in
accordance with the provisions of the Contributory
Pensions Act.
The budget estimate for this c ost centre is
$918,900 which is $114,600 less than the original
budgeted estimate for the prior year. This decrease is
related to the expected reduction in the number of debt collector local consultants planned for the Department of Social Insurance in the coming year. This
is because of work that is going to take place between the Debt Enforcement Unit at the Office of Tax Commissioner working together with the Debt Enforcement Unit in Social Insurance, combining the efforts across these departments in the Ministry of Finance to enhance debt collection with reduced use of external
debt collection assistance.
The total debt owed to the CPF as of 31 July
2024, was $71,478,100 which is a $36,400 decrease
from the prior year. There has been a staff shortage
that has impacted on the department's ability to further reduce the debt owed to the Contributory Pension
Fund. As I said, we are not only filling those posts but
having a better working coordination between the sections in the Office of the Tax Commissioner’s Department.
It is important to note that the Attorney General's Chambers Debt Enforcement Unit (DEU) works
in close collaboration with the department to assist in
the collection of outstanding contributions for Department of Social Insurance. In most cases, the employers at the Department of Social Insurance is unable to
contact those who are delinquent over 120 days are
then referred to the Debt Enforcement Unit .

38045—Contributions Hon. E. David Burt: The Contributions Section is responsible for the administration of records and accounts for employers and employees participating in
the Contributory Pension Fund under the Contributory
Pensions Act 1970.
The budget estimate for this c ost centre is
$565,900, which is $7,000 more than that of the original budget, mainly due to salary adjustments and expected overtime for the implementation of PX3000
pension management system expected later this year.
Total contributions received from August 2023
to July 2024 is $117,322,000 compared to
$112,622,600 in the prior fiscal period, which is an
increase of $4,699,400 or 4 per cent. It is important to
note that contribution rates were not increased. Which means the additional funds is due to the growth of
jobs in the local economy.

Comparative Analysis of Current Account Estimates —
2024/25 vs 2025/26

Hon. E. David Burt: This is found in the Budget Book
on page B -118.
• Salaries and Wages —An increase of
$138,000 reflects the salary increments
across the d epartment .
• Professional Services —The decrease of
$100,600 is primarily due to a decline in war
veteran’s medical claims and war pension
awards due to a reduction in the number of
veterans expected to be serviced.
• Receipts Credited to Programme—This
amount represents the cost to operate the
Contributory Pension Fund initially paid
through the Consolidated Fund. As stated earlier, a recharge to the Contributory Pension
Fund is made in accordance with the Contributory Pensions Act 1970, Section 3(3). The recharge for 2025/26 is budgeted at $4,254,300, which is an increase of $50,300
in the original budget for the CPF over the prior year. As stated, this increase is mainly the result of increased expenditure related to the
implementation the new pension administration system.

Activities/Plans for Fiscal Year 2025/26

Hon. E. David Burt: Moving on to the following aactivities and plans for the upcoming year.
• Continue to develop a portal to allow employers to view their accounts, pay invoices and
submit starters, terminations, and unpaid
leave adjustments online.
• The department will continue to participate in
various workshops and presentations where
they are able to provide clarity to attendees regarding pensions, benefits, and contribuBermuda House of Assembly tions managed by the Department of Social
Insurance.
• As mentioned, the implementation of the up-dated pension administration system, which is
of course necessary to support future social
insurance changes which may be implemented.
• Strengthen cross -ministry initiatives to develop supportive strategies to close gaps in legis-lation to make sure that we better and coordinated debt enforcement across the Ministry of
Finance .
• The department is also partnering with
the Department of Employee and Organi sational Development to encourage persons in the financial industry by creating opportunities
in the Department of Social Insurance through
the Government Bursary and Trainee programmes.

Significant Process Changes or New Initiatives

Hon. E. David Burt: I have highlighted the significant
process changes and new initiatives.
1. The Department of Social Insurance will
collaborate with the Ministry of Finance and
other agencies to leverage technology for the
government's digital transformation, and better aim to identify employers who owe funds
to the Contributory Pension Fund and to ensure effective and consistent management of these debts across the government;
2. We are also going to be engaging in a
succession planning exercise where current
employees will be given the opportunities to
be professionally developed and cross -
trained. Succession planning will facilitate
smooth transitioning when staff terminate service or retire .
3. Further modern isation of the departments technology and operations to better
serve the public.
The Public Officers in the Department of Social Insurance are to be commended for their com-mitment to providing valuable service to the local
community and beneficiaries.
I will now, Mr. Chairman, defer to Head 38,
Office of the Tax Commissioner, to Junior Minister
Furbert.

Thank you, Minister.
The floor recognises Junior Minister Wayne
Furbert from c onstituency 6.
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

HEAD 38 —OFFICE OF THE TAX COMMISSIONER
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: It gives me great pleasure to
present the budget for Head 38, the Office of the Tax
Commissioner (OTC), found on pages B -120 to B-124
of the Budget Book.

Mandate or Mission

Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Mr. Chairman, the mission of
the OTC is to leverage modern technology to ensure
taxpayer compliance through quality service and effective enforcement.

Expenditure Overview

Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: A total of $4 .638 million has
been allocated for this h ead across both cost and capital. This represents an increase of $87,000, or ap-proximately 1.9 per cent higher than the budget for
2024/25 and constitutes 1.6 per cent of the budget
allocated for the Ministry as a whole.
Mr. Chairman, the OTC is strategically divided
into four cost centres, as follows :
• The Administration Team (48000) provides
the overall direction and management of the
office, which includes strategic planning, staff
development, training, and general office support. The budget allocation for the Administration team in 2025/26 fiscal year is $1.27 million.
• The Stamp Duties Team (48050) is responsible for the administration and collection of
stamp duties under the Stamp Duties Act 1976. This includes the adjudication and pro-cessing of a variety of legal instruments including, but not limited to, conveyances,
transfers, leases and mortgages as well as
administering the Primary Family Homestead
Designation programme. The budget allocation for the Stamp Duties team for 2025/26 is
$356,000.
• The Audit and Compliance T eam (48070) is
responsible for ensuring that taxpayers are
compliant with the Taxes Acts throughout the
life of the taxpayer, starting with their initial
registration. The team conducts audits and inspections of taxpayer books and records and
is responsible for knowledge management
and taxpayer education. The budget allocation for the Audit and Compliance Team for fiscal
year 2025/26 is $912,000.
• The Operations T eam (48080) is responsible
for collecting and reporting on all taxes under the remit of the OTC. The team maintains
taxpayer accounts receivable balances, levies
penalties for late and insufficient payments,
and is responsible for debt collection and enforcement. The budget allocation for the Operations Team for 2025/26 is $1.76 million.

610 16 May 2025 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Subjective Analysis

Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: The Subjective Analysis, Mr.
Chairman, is found on page B -121. I will highlight the
material object code changes.
• Current Expenditure— $4.3 million for
2025/26;
• Capital Expenditure —$335[,000] ;
• Revenue—$827 million.

In 2024, we can compare:
• The Current Expenditure was $4 million, a difference of $252,000, or a difference of 6 per
cent;
• Capital Expenditure—$335 [,000] compared to
$500 [,000] in 2024/25, a difference of
$165 [,000] , or down 33 per cent ;
• Revenue—$827 [million], as I said before, for
2024/25 was $792 [million] , or a difference of
$34 [million], which is up 4 per cent .

Current Expenditure

Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Increases in Current Expenditure. The OTC’s current expenditure is estimated
to be $4,303,180. This represents an increase of
$252,000, as I mentioned earlier, 6 per cent higher
than the budget for 2024/25.
The increase is primarily due to the creation of
a Temporary Additional Department Comptroller position which is essential to address the increasing com-plexity of tax reporting and the resultant workload
within the department. The efficient running of OTC is
critical in the collection of a significant portion of the
Government ’s revenue and this role will ensure that
financial operations are managed efficiently, compli-ance with regulatory requirements is maintained, and strategic financial planning is enhanced.

Capital Expenditure

Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Decrease in Capital Expenditure. The capital expenditure allocated for the
department in 2025/26 was $335,000, down $165,000
compared to the 2024/25 year.
The capital expenditure budget will be dedicated to advancing modernisation and efficiency initiatives within the OTC —especially with respect to the
continuing focus on reducing the level of accounts
receivables. This includes upgrading the SmartCase
debt management tool to enhance debt collection outcomes, streamline year -end reporting, and to develop
performance management tools. These investments
aim to optimi se operational effectiveness and accurately measure operational activity.

Revenue Overview
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Increase in projected revenue. As I mentioned, the revenue is expected to be
$827 million for 2025/26, an increase of $34.9 million from 2024/25, which is 4 per cent . The material differences in projected revenue are as follows :
• Payroll Tax Revenue is anticipated to increase by 7 per cent to $621 million. This is
expected to increase due to the increase in
expected employment numbers —especially in
the International Business Sector .
• Corporate Services Tax is projected to increase by 10 per cent to $5.8 million based on
current activity in this industry .
• Financial Services Taxes are projected to in-crease marginally by 4 per cent for both Bank
Services and Insurance Services taxes to
$8.6 million and $6.1 million, respectively .
• Money Services Tax is projected to rise by 22 per cent to $435,000.
• Land tax revenue is expected to decline by 5 per cent to $87 million. As you are aware,
Mr. Chairman, we would be reducing the annual base rate from $300.00 to $150.00. That
is the reason for the decline.
• Projections indicate a 6 per cent increase in
the Foreign Currency Purchase Tax to $32.9 million, attributable to an anticipated rise in
foreign currency purchase transactions by
residents .
• The Hotel Occupancy Tax has been raised by
29 per cent to $7.1 million based on industry
trends .
• Transport Infrastructure and Cruise Ship De-parture tax estimates have been reduced by
9 per cent and 12 per cent to $10.9 million
and $23.2 million, respectively, based on expected cruise visits this year .
• Stamp Duty on Land Conveyance on sales is projected to decrease by 12 per cent or $16.8
million based on anticipated activity .
• The outlook on all other miscellaneous taxes remains stable.

Manpower

Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: The budget allocation for
salaries for the d epartment in 2025/26 is $3.17 million,
an increase of $247,000 , or 8 per cent from 2024/25.
This salary increase represents 98 per cent of the department ’s budget increase.
• The OTC had 33 full -time equivalent (FTE)
staff budgeted in 2024/25, which will increase to 35 FTEs in 2025/26.
• The two additional positions include the previously discussed Temporary Additional Comptroller and the recruitment of the currently vacant Administrative Support Clerk post. The admin section supports a busy office with


Bermuda House of Assembly many daily demands and the Admin Support
Clerk will work with the Office Manager to ensure that the office runs smoothly.

Performance Measures by Business Unit

Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Mr. Chairman, I am pleased
to report that the d epartment’s forecast performance
measures, on page B -123, for fiscal year 2024/25
were substantially achieved, and this has led to in-creases in performance measures for the 2025/26 in several areas, as the d epartment remains committed
to continuous improvement. In particular:

Business Unit 48050 —Stamp Duties

Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: In 2024/25, the Stamp Duties section had a target of 90 per cent for completing
the late stamping of instruments that are less than six
months out of time within 60 days of receipt. In
2025/26, the section expects to increase its perfor-mance for stamping such instruments to 100 per cent .

Business Unit 48080 —Operations

Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: In the 2024/25 fiscal year,
the target was to have 75 per cent of Payroll Tax returns filed electronically. For 2025/26, we are hoping to increase that to 80 per cent of Payroll Tax returns
filed electronically.
In 2024/25, the target for the Operations section was to reduce the Accounts Receivable by $10
million. The section exceeded this goal by collecting
$227 million in tax arrears by continuing taxpayer ed-ucation, managing payment plans and escalating matters for collection through the courts. It is worth noting that this is a sizeable increase from the prior year where a target of $7.5 million was set and the department collected $15.6 million. A most noteworthy increase.

Plans for the Upcoming Year

Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Mr. Chairman, in fiscal year
2025/26, OTC will continue its efforts to moderni se its
technology, to enhance its reporting capabilities and
operations to support effective debt collection, improved customer service and successful resolution of
taxpayer non- compliance.
In addition, the OTC will implement the following initiatives :
• Reduction of Land Tax for all categories —
which I mentioned earlier, from $300 to $150,
which is a 50 per cent reduction.
• Elimination of the Employee Portion of Payroll
Tax on Redundancy and Severance Payments —In line with the 2024 Throne Speech,
the Government will eliminate the employee
portion of tax on severance and redundancy payments, which demonstrates the govern-ment's commitment to supporting long- serving
employees facing unexpected unemployment
and income loss.

Conclusion

Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Mr. Chairman, I would like to
thank the staff of the Office of the Tax Commissioner, and in particular the A ssistant Commissioners; Ms .
Kim Richards, Ms . Joelene Li ndsay and Mr . Antoine
Lightbourne. These individuals have been overseeing
the Tax Office for the last year and their dedicated
service to the Government and to the people of this
country should be recognised.
I would now like to move to Head 39.

For the benefit of the listening audience we are Committee of Supply for further consideration of the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure
for the year 2025/26. The Honourable Minister of Finance has taken to his feet and will present this budget. Debate began approximately two hours ago, and
we have approximately two hours to go.

Hon. E. David Burt: All right. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Chairman, I will close out this section of
the debates on Head 39 and then I will do Head 58.

HEAD 39 —REGISTRAR OF COMPANIES
DEPARTMENT

Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Chairman, I now present the
budget for Head 39, the Registrar of Companies Department, found on pages B -125 to B -128 of the
Budget Book.
The Registrar of Companies has been allocated a total budget of $12,517,000. This is up
$474,000 (4 per cent) from the previous year.

Mandate or Mission
Hon. E. David Burt: The Registrar of Companies is
the Government’s third largest revenue generating
department and is projected to collect approximately
$75 million of revenue in fiscal 2025/26. Its operations
are regulated by several legislative mandates, including, but not limited to, the Companies Act 1981, the Limited Partnership Act 1883, the Exempted Partnerships Act 1992, the Limited Liability Company Act
2016, Overseas Partnerships Act 1995 and Government Fees Regulations 1976. These provide the
framework for maintaining the Register of Companies
and the timely collection of associated registration
fees.
The department is also responsible for the
administration of liquidations and personal bankruptcies as well as the regulation of Bermuda’s real estate
612 16 May 2025 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly and dealers in high value goods sectors. The legislative framework for the Registrar’s mandate in this capacity is the Companies (Winding- Up) Rules 1982,
Bankruptcy Act 1989, Bankruptcy Rules 1990, Real Estate Brokers’ Licensing Act 2017, Real Estate Bro-kers’ Licensing Regulations 2017 and the Registrar of
Companies (Supervision and Regulation) Act 2020,
respectively.
Bermuda continues to be impacted by ever -
increasing pressures and imposed requirements from
other jurisdictions or regions, mounting challenges from our competitors and increasing scrutiny from
global and regional standard setting and oversight
bodies, such as, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the Financial
Action Task Force (FATF), the Caribbean Financial
Action Task Force (CFATF) and the European Union oversight bodies. This changing landscape has driven
the Registrar of Companies’ evolution as a regulator
and this legislative mandate has been underpinned by
the Registrar of Companies (Compliance Measures) Act 2017 and the Economic Substance Act 2018. Indeed, Bermuda’s implementation of the Economic
Substance regime is closely monitored and reviewed
on a regular basis by both the European Union and OECD. Similarly, FATF and CFATF have looked to
the Registrar of Companies to enhance its AML/ATF
compliance framework with respect to Legal Persons, as well as in the Real Estate and Dealers in High Value Good sectors as the Competent and Supervisory
Authority charged with their oversight.
Still in the regulatory lane, Beneficial Ownership (BO) is another evolving space with policy posi-tions emanating from the UK, the European Union, the OECD, and International Monetary Fund and Financial Action Task Force, commitments having been made to both the European Union and United King-dom. Beneficial Ownership also features prominently
in Bermuda’s AML/ATF and Economic Substance regimes of which the Registrar of Companies has been
designated to oversee.
The Tax Treaty Unit that was in the Ministry of
Finance has been fully incorporated within the Registrar of Companies to take advantage of obvious syn-ergies with the Registrar of Companies’ economic
substance regime as both economic substance and
Bermuda’s tax treaty and information exchange regimes fall within the broader scope of the OECD’s
BEPS framework (that is Base Erosion and Profit
Shifting) for addressing international tax concerns.
For fiscal year 2025/26, the Registrar of Companies will continue to prepare for the pending implementation of the Cryto- Asset Reporting Framework
(CARF) following Bermuda’s commitment to commence exchanges under the CARF in accordance
with the generally expected timeline of 2027, or if un-foreseen challenges arise with commencing exchanges under the CARF in 2027, to commence exchanges
under the CARF in 2028. Mr. Chairman, the Registrar of Companies
has embarked on striking defunct companies from the
Register in accordance with Section 261 of the Companies Act. Simultaneously, Bermuda continues to
attract new businesses with continued registration of new companies and partnerships throughout the past
year. It is projected that the total number of companies and partnerships on the register will remain consistent at approximately 16,000,000.
Mr. Chairman, the Registrar’s mission is to
leverage technology, enhance the user experience and facilitate regulation, accurate data collection and
analysis.
The department’s mission and objectives can
be found on page B -125 of the Budget Book. Objectives can similarly be found on that page.

Expenditure Overview

Hon. E. David Burt: The expenditure overview, as I
mentioned, Mr. Chairman, is up $474,000 from last year, to $12,517,000.
The budget for the Registrar of Companies is
set out under the following seven cost centres:
• Policy, Planning & Administration
• Finance & Revenue
• Entity Registration
• Insolvency & Liquidations
• Real Estate & Licences
• Treaty Management & Administration
• Compliance
The total current account expenditure, found
on page B -126, is as mentioned. The increase of
$474,000 is predominantly due to agreed pay in-crease. It is important to note that although the overall
headcount is increasing from 50 to 59, this cost has
been offset by a reduction in professional services as
the Registrar of Companies moves toward full implementation of its revised staff structure. As a result,
there is no significant change between the budget estimates for the 2024/25 and the 2025/26 fiscal years for the overall department.

Cost Centre 49000—Policy, Planning and
Administration
Hon. E. David Burt: Policy, Planning and Administration can be found on page B -126. Estimates of
$5,244,000 is down $859,000 (14 per cent) from the
previous year.
This cost centre includes planning, strategic
direction, administration and other activities associated with the daily operation of the Registrar of Companies Department. Information technology, financial
and administrative support, budget development, accounting, personnel administration, and general office
administration are also included in this cost centre.


Bermuda House of Assembly The budget decrease of $859,000 for this cost
centre is the result of a reduction in the cost of engaging consultants as the new staff positions are filled.
With the continued increase in personnel, the
Registrar of Companies has outgrown its current of-fice space, located at the Government Administration
Building. The Estates Section of the Ministry of Public
Works has assisted in identifying alternative location
for the Registrar’s offices, which they are expected to
move into within the next few months. It is important to
note, if we look back over a few years, there has been a significant expansion of the size and remit of the
Registrar of Companies for all the reasons which I
have mentioned before, and some of which I will continue to get into as I cover the brief for this particular
head.

Cost Centre 49010—Finance and Revenue

Hon. E. David Burt: Finance and Revenue can be
found on page B -126. This expense estimate of
$692,000 is up $27,000 (4 per cent) from last year. And of course, under this is revenue of $74,866,000
which can be found on page B -127.
Mr. Chairman, the Finance and Revenue cost
centre is responsible for the collection of the annual
fees submitted by companies in accordance with the
Companies Act 1981, the Segregated Accounts Com-panies Act 2000, the Partnership Act, the Limited Liability Company Act 2016 and the Real Estate Brokers’
Licensing Act 2017. The Registrar of Companies col-lects approximately $75 million in revenue annually.
To ensure adequate controls around completeness,
accuracy and timeliness of collecting revenue the sec-tion, staff and processes come under the direct oversight of the departmental comptroller.
The estimated revenue for this cost centre, as
stated, is $74,866,000 or 99 per cent of the total revenue of $75,186,000 anticipated for the department. The balance of the revenue, the 320,000 outside of
those particular matters is derived from Licence(s)
General in the Licencing and Insolvency cost centre,
which I shall discuss shortly.

Cost Centre 49020—Entity Registration

Hon. E. David Burt: Found on page B -126, the Expense estimate is $1,904,000 which is up $572,000
(43 per cent) from the previous year.
This cost centre includes persons involved in
the registration of companies and the processing and maintenance of statutory and legal documents which
must be registered and available for public inspection
in accordance with the prevailing legislation.
In 2025/26, the Registrar of Companies will
take responsibility for managing and maintaining the Beneficial Ownership Register. The budget increase
will be used to pay for salaries of staff currently being
recruited for this new activity. Cost Centre 49040—Insolvency and Liquidations

Hon. E. David Burt: Insolvency and Liquidations,
found on page B -126, $697,000 up $229,000 (49 per
cent) from the previous year, and revenue, as I previously mentioned, $320,000.
This cost centre is responsible for the execution of court orders to administer liquidations in ac-cordance with the Companies Act 1981, the WindingUp Rules 1982, and personal bankruptcies in accordance with the provisions of the Bankruptcy Act 1989 and the Bankruptcy Rules 1990. Expenses under this
cost centre primarily encompass the salaries of five
full-time staff. Other expenses include costs of various
professional services (e.g., legal, accounting, contrac-tors, et cetera) in administering court -appointed corporate liquidations and personal bankruptcies. The
budget increase will be used to pay salaries of staff
who are currently being recruited.
As stated, the estimated revenue for this cost
centre is $320,000.

Cost Centre 49050—Real Estate and Licences

Hon. E. David Burt: As noted on page B -126,
$599,000 up $27,000 (5 per cent) from the previous
year.
This section is responsible for the processing
and issuance of licences and permits to exempted,
local and overseas companies to carry on business in
Bermuda, the processing and issuance of licences to,
and the regulation of, real estate brokers and agents,
and ensuring industry compliance through active mon-itoring and enforcement. Expenses under this cost
centre include the salaries of six persons.

Cost Centre 49070—Treaty Management and
Administration
Hon. E. David Burt: Cost centre 49070 is found on
page B -126. This is $1,503,000 down $70,000 (4 per
cent) from the previous year
Budgetary responsibility for the Treaty Unit
was transferred from the Ministry of Finance to the
Registrar of Companies effective 1 April 2024. The budget for this unit, as mentioned, is $1.5 million. This
represents a nominal decrease of $70,000 or 4 per
cent.
The work of the unit continues to diversify
from the original core activity that led to its creation
which was “the negotiation and processing of international tax cooperation on the ‘by request’ basis.”
Mr. Chairman, the Treaty Unit is responsible
for ensuring that Bermuda operates in keeping with
the common reporting standard for the OECD (known
as CRS), the Country -by-Country Reporting (CbCR),
standard of the OECD and the tax information ex-change of information on the by -request basis of the
OECD, the Global Forum’s Crypto- Asset Reporting
614 16 May 2025 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Framework (CARF) once implemented and any new
tax reporting standards of the OECD. The unit negotiates and administers agreements related to the Bilateral Tax Information Exchange with member countries
of the European Union, G20, Organisation for Eco-nomic Co- operation and Development [OECD], and
other key countries. The staff of this unit routinely participate in OECD peer reviews of Bermuda’s tax -
related legal and regulatory frameworks and contrib-ute to the peer review processes of the OECD by reviewing the legal and regulatory frameworks of other jurisdictions and their implementation in practice.
Mr. Chairman, the Treaty Unit in addition to
negotiating and managing Bermuda’s international tax treaties has also increasingly worked with Bermuda’s
international business stakeholders to address international tax policy threats. The international business sector continues to be the bedrock of our economy
and therefore the work of the Treaty Unit is critical to
the protection of this significant sector.
Mr. Chairman, as noted earlier, the Treaty
Unit’s main achievement in the current fiscal year was to play a key role in Bermuda’s response to the
emerging OECD global tax standard. The Treaty Unit
provided policy advice for Bermuda‘s input into the
G20 and OECD Inclusive Framework work on the Two
Pillar Solution and the negotiations which have been
occurring on the administrative rules and guidance.
Mr. Chairman, the Treaty Unit’s management
of Bermuda’s compliance to the OECD and European Union international tax policies has become the major-ity component of the Treaty Unit’s work, although the
unit continues to negotiate and manage tax treaties
and updates to Bermuda’s tax treaty relationships when required. The unit is also involved in managing
aspects of the threat posed by the EU listing process, which represents a constant but formidable threat.
Mr. Chairman, there are at least five separate
but equally volatile doors to EU listing, and those are:
1. EU Economic Substance and Corporate Income Tax regime;
2. OECD Common Reporting Standard;
3. OECD Country -by-Country Reporting Standard;
4. OECD Tax Information Exchange Agreement
for exchange of information on the by -request
basis standard; and
5. Participation in the OECD Multilateral Tax
Treaty.
Mr. Chairman, the Treaty Unit will continue
negotiating Tax Information Exchange Agreements and other agreements relating to Tax Information Exchange and associated agreements or negotiate revisions to existing tax agreements so as to maintain
Bermuda’s tax agreement relationships with member
countries of the EU, G20, OECD and other countries.

Cost Centre 49080—Compliance
Hon. E. David Burt: The estimate is $1,878,000 up
$548,000 (41 per cent) from the prior year.
The Compliance cost centre, found on page
B-126, is responsible for ensuring compliance, via
powers executed through the Registrar of Companies (Compliance Measures) Act 2017 with other relevant
Acts (most notably the Companies Act 1981 and the
Economic Substance Act 2018) including ensuring
adherence to the filing, registration and other corporate governance requirements of the relevant Acts; to
inspect registered entities for the aforementioned pur-poses and to investigate instances of a registered entity’s failure to comply with the provisions of the Registrar of Companies (Compliance Measures) Act 2017
and/or any other relevant Acts.
The Compliance Unit is being enhanced as a
consequence of requirements placed on Bermuda by the European Union and the OECD. It is the expectation of these international bodies that Bermuda not
only have sufficient people resources to fulfil its compliance requirements but that those people resources
have adequate prerequisite skills and training. Consequently, the organisational structure provides two
lanes, domestic compliance and international tax
compliance with the existing compliance posts being
amended along with new posts created to recruit an
increased number of technically proficient individuals in both areas. The budget increase will be used to pay
salaries for staff currently being recruited.
In relation to training [initiatives] on tax -related
matters, there are two that I will cover, Mr. Chairman.
• In fiscal year 2024/25, the additional officers
successfully completed assessment training
on Beneficial Ownership and Exchange of Information on Request delivered by the Global
Forum on Transparency for Tax Purposes (Global Forum). One of these officers is
scheduled to assess another jurisdiction’s legal and regulatory framework along with other
experts in 2025/26.
• For fiscal year 2025/26, two officers are al-ready enrolled in a training programme for the
Administrative Compliance Framework for the
Common Reporting Standard (CRS) delivered
by the Global Forum, while one officer is scheduled to participate in the first in- person
Workshop on the Global Forum’s CryptoAsset Reporting Framework (CARF) commitment process and implementation of the re-quirements.
With this experience and training, Bermuda
will continue to build and strengthen its capacity to prepare, respond and adapt to the evolving regulatory
environment.

Revenue

Hon. E. David Burt: Revenue is found on page B -
127. These figures note that the department is foreBermuda House of Assembly casting overall revenue of $75,186,000. This is a decrease of $1,322,000 or 2 per cent in projected revenue over the original revenue estimate of $76,508,000 from the prior fiscal year.

Capital Funding
Hon. E. David Burt: I would now wish to turn to the
new Electronic Registry System. In step with this Government’s modernisation effort, the department
introduced its online economic substance declaration platform in May 2020 and implemented its full online
registry system June 2021. This system now provides
real-time access to publicly accessible company data
and has streamlined the registration process.
The Registrar of Companies, as per page C -
11, was allocated $1.2 million in capital funding for
expanding the functionality of the system to include
the Beneficial Ownership Register, and to provide for
other improvements in system efficiency. These improvements were initially expected to be completed in the past year 2024/25. However, some development
work has been deferred and the previously approved
funding carried forward to 2025/26.
Additionally, $300,000 was allocated to enhance the functionality of the Treaty Unit’s tax reporting portal to include adding fields for customer date of
birth and tax identification number.

Manpower
Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Chairman, the department’s
budget supports an establishment of 59 full -time
equivalent positions as found on page B -127. This
reflects more than a 200 per cent increase from the 18
estimated FTEs in fiscal year 2017/18. It is important to note that the department itself has more than tripled in size due to the increasing requirements, whether it
is economic substance, various matters that are related to keeping up with the standards for our mutual
evaluation and now going forward to matters related
to tax treaty. And also the matters that are related to
the establishment of the Beneficial Ownership Register.
The importance and need for further increases in resources to meet the increasing external threats
has already been highlighted. Addressing these
threats is critical to protecting key sources of revenue
for the Bermuda Government, which in turn allows us
to provide services to the public. The department must have the resources to ensure that Bermuda’s corporate citizens are in compliance with Bermuda legislation relating to the carrying on of business in Bermuda
and from within Bermuda. Additionally, roles that were
previously performed by consultants in managing insolvencies and liquidations were converted into sub-stantive posts to generate greater operational oversight, efficiency and cost savings.
Plans for the Upcoming Year

Hon. E. David Burt: I will note, Mr. Chairman, there
are a lot of plans for the upcoming year for the Regis-trar of Companies.
The department manages and responds to
international pressures being exerted on our jurisdiction from various regulatory and other bodies. This
has meant that the department had a need to review
its organisational structure and resources with a view
of staying ahead of various international sanctions that could have detrimental impacts to our local economy.
Moving on to legislative matters, the department is reviewing the legislative framework around
several key initiatives with a view to making enhancements. These include:
• Amendments to section 129A of the Companies Act 1981 to remove the requirement for a
licence for a Digital Asset Business Act [DABA] licensed companies so as to hasten
the incorporation process for select digital asset companies, and amendments to apply
penalties for carrying on business without a
129A or 114B licence.
• Second phase modernising amendments to
various pieces of legislation administered by
the Registrar to accommodate the electronic
registry so as to ensure that the legislative
framework reflects the department’s ability to
work in a paperless virtual environment.
• With respect to Bermuda’s Economic Substance Regime the department plans to con-tinue their engagement with both the OECD
and the EU with respect to level -setting
amendments to the Economic Substance Act.
Additionally, the department is reviewing possible amendments to the Registrar of Companies (Compliance Measures) Act 2017 with a view to streamlining the enforcement processes.
• Amendments to the Real Estate Brokers’ Licensing Act 2017 to strengthen the AML/ATF
framework, streamline the licensing process
and ensure a high level of competence
amongst licensed brokers and agents by increasing the minimum experience requirements and imposing continuing education re-quirements to create greater efficiencies, as
we want to make sure that we minimise the
risk of money laundering through real estate
transactions.
• Overhaul Bermuda’s bankruptcy legislation to
bring the following in line with current international standards: the Official Receiver obligations, reduction of administration of debtor’s
and bankrupt’s estates and the period spent in bankruptcy for debtors and bankrupts before
being eligible for discharge.
616 16 May 2025 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Further amendments, it continues. As I warned, the
list is long.
• Amendments to the International Cooperation (Tax Information Exchange Agreements) Act
2005 and the International Cooperation (Tax
Information Exchange Agreements) Common
Reporting Standard Regulations 2017 to include the expansion of the competent authority’s access to powers to self -identified nonreporting financial institutions to ensure completeness of filing population; to enhance enforcement powers and also to make conse-quential amendments in line with the amend-ments to the OECD’s Common Reporting
Standard.
• Enactment of new regulations under the International Cooperation (Tax Information Exchange Agreements) Act 2005 to codify the
Crypto- Asset Reporting Framework.
Still dealing with the workplan for this upcoming year: The Registrar of Companies has laid out
strategic initiatives aimed at advancing the real estate sector and ensuring robust compliance standards. An
outreach and awareness strategy will be implemented
to deepen the sector’s understanding of its AML/ATF
obligations, coupled with timely licensing reminders to
support regulatory adherence.
Preparations for the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force Mutual Evaluation in 2027 are under-way, with targeted outreach efforts to ensure the sector is well -prepared for the evaluation. These forwardlooking plans underscore the department’s commitment to fostering transparency, efficiency and compliance across the industry.
Additionally, the Registrar of Companies has
been tasked with designing and implementing the
Beneficial Ownership Register and Disclosure framework transitioning the existing register and process
from the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) to the
Registrar of Companies during 2025/26. This is to end the infamous double- vetting that is taking place in one
place in the Registrar of Companies.
The Registrar of Companies will also review
and enhance the existing legislative requirements to support these commitments and to ensure alignment
with changed FATF recommendations relating to beneficial ownership whilst also building out an Electronic
Portal which will allow entities and external stakeholders to access relevant information where appropriate.
These enhancements will streamline the legislative regime through the harmonisation of existing
relevant Exchange Control and Beneficial Ownership
obligations that reflect the most current FATF recommendations. This will also result in increased disclosure requirements among registered legal entities in the new Electronic Beneficial Ownership Register Portal (eBORP). Finally, dealing with the work plan for this
year, additional technological enhancements are expected to be rolled out by the department by
• the establishment of a new website that will
improve user experience and additional automation of applications and requests;
• implementation of the liquidation/bankruptcy
module of the registry system which will facilitate online processing of corporate insolvency transactions;
• development of an electronic platform for the
receipt of real estate licence applications to
enhance efficiencies and streamline process-es; and
• effect recommended upgrades and refinements to IT systems to support functionality of
the tax information portal and ensure contin-ued compliance with international standards.
Mr. Chairman, I would like to extend my appreciation for the work undertaken by the Registrar of
Companies, and the entire management and staff of
the department —led by the Registrar, Mr. Kenneth
Joaquin. They have made significant progress over
the last year for Bermuda on the international front.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, this concludes my
remarks on the Registrar of Companies and I will now
move onto the final head for the Ministry of Finance.

HEAD 58 —INTEREST ON DEBT AND GUARANTEE
MANAGEMENT

Cost Estimate

5801 —Debt & Loan Guarantees (Page B -132)

Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Chairman, the 2025/26
budget allocation for interest on debt (Head 58) is
$127.5 million. Of this estimate, $127.1 million represents ongoing debt service costs for the various debt
instruments held by the Government of Bermuda,
while $400,000 is allocated to facility fees and other
related costs.
This does represent a reduction of $250,000
(0.2 per cent) from the prior year. That $250,000 reduction is due to the bringing of guarantee manage-ment in house, which was now recorded in the Minis-try of Finance Headquarters Budget, as the Fairmont
Southampton agreement was concluded in October
2024. Now, important to note: education time, Mr.
Chairman. The issuance of guarantees by the Government is not a cost, nor off balance sheet debt,
merely a contingent liability. The Ministry only sup-ports a guarantee if its in line with its prudent economic strategy which will advance the economy of Bermuda whilst ensuring there is no cost to the government.
If anything, the issuance of a guarantee can
result in additional revenues for the government. Within the terms of the Fairmont Southampton Princess guarantee, Government will receive an annual fee


Bermuda House of Assembly equivalent to 1 per cent of the outstanding balance of
the loan. Hence the $750,000 revenue projected for
2025/26 listed on page B -132 of the Budget Book.
The project is well underway and Bermuda can expect reopening of this iconic building in April 2026 and opening throughout the year.
Mr. Chairman, within the cost estimate on
page B -132 you will note that there is nil cost budgeted for Morgans Point and Other Guarantee costs. Any
costs that are incurred will be recharged to the relevant entity. (In this case, the Morgans Point Develop-ment Company.)
Mr. Chairman, a key achievement in 2025/26
was the launch of a $50 million mortgage guarantee scheme—well, that was actually launched the prior
year, but I am happy to give the updates. At the start
of April 2024, Mr. Chairman, 26 mortgages, with a value of $4.1 million, was covered under the guarantee scheme. As of today, as I think I reported in the
House last week during Premier’s Question [Period],
we have up to 74 mortgages either being closed on, or on their new homes or having receiving approvals
as they look for a home. Of the $50 million facility,
$11.1 million has been utilised to support these 74
applicants. So there is still considerable guarantee headroom left to support Bermudian homeowners,
and we can accommodate just shy, if current trends
go forward, an additional 300 homeowners. That is right, Mr. Chairman, this Government is delivering on
its pledge to build a nation of owners and doing it
through the Mortgage Guarantee Program and other matters which were mentioned by the Junior Minister
when discussing the Office of the Tax Commissioner.
Because it should be noted that we eliminated the Stamp Duty on the mortgage transfers.
Mr. Chairman, there is no further refinancing
of the $3.2 billion of debt until January 2027. Howev-er, with the increased revenues from CIT, the Ministry
of Finance is looking to reduce the Government’s debt
position. Within page A -1 of the Budget Book you will
note that within the estimate for 2026/27 a repayment of $500 million is included which will reduce the annual interest rate charge by circa $18.6 million. Of
course, Mr. Chairman, that is a prudent estimate that is put inside there. But if the collections are better than
expected we will expect to retire the full $605 million,
and we will conduct a debt management strategy going forward. If it is prudent and makes sense, if there
is excess revenues to purchase that on the open market which makes perfect sense, we will go ahead and do that as well. But that will come in due time and
possibly things we will be discussing next year during
this budget debate.
Mr. Chairman, work is continuing to ensure
that entities with loans or credit facilities guaranteed
by the Government, are effectively managing their obligations and are appropriately managing their financial affairs. The diligent execution of work in relation to the establishment and oversight of guarantees is consistent with this Government’s commitment to
ensuring appropriate and effective risk management,
the maximisation of economic benefit and prudent
economic and fiscal management while supporting
economic growth. And one thing I must note, Mr. Chairman, is that for matters that are related to government guarantees, the Ministry of Finance is currently undergoing an exercise which is similar to the
exercise that was undertaken by the former Minister of
Finance in 2021, ensuring that government guaranteed debt is given at preferential rates and not at regu-lar commercial rates. And we will be doing the renegotiation of those rates with local banks; in which case
they do not wish to reduce their rates we will be seeking and extending the option for external financing as
it is important and vital that the government of Bermuda and entities that are being guaranteed by the gov-ernment of Bermuda are getting the competitive rates,
as that is the purpose and portion and appropriateness of a government guarantee.

Conclusion

Hon. E. David Burt: In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, that
concludes my presentation on Head 58. I wish to
thank all the teams who are part of the Ministry of Finance for their dedication and professionalism. I am
ably supported in the Ministry of Finance by the Junior
Minister of Finance, Minister Wayne Furbert. And also
the Financial Secretary, Mr. [ Chidozie] Ofoego.
There have been many challenges faced over
the past year but they, the team, have persevered.
We continue to press forward, enhancing the number of things the Ministry of Finance is responsible for.
This submission today has highlighted the various
threats and challenges facing Bermuda. The Ministry
of Finance will continue to proactively address these
matters to ensure Bermuda’s continued stability and
security. We remain committed to serving and protecting the people of Bermuda through fiscal prudence
and effective management of our resources and extending economic relief where possible.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

[Mr. Scott Pearman, Chairman]

Thank you, Premier and Finance Minister.
Honourable Members, we are now in the
Committee of Supply for further consideration of the
Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for the budget
year 2025/26. This is the debate on the Ministry of
Finance and specifically Heads 10, 11, 12, 28, 38, 39
and 58. We have had the pleasure of hearing from
both the Premier and the Junior Finance Minister,
Wayne Furbert.
I will now open the floor for anyone else who
may wish to speak in this debate.

618 16 May 2025 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE CHAIRMAN

HOUSE VISITOR

That is well appreciated. And I
know that other Ministers have certainly also done that. It gives us a chance to have a robust debate as
the prior Chair indicated.
I will probably start with the Head 58, Debt &
Loan Guarantees. I did note that the Premier said that
the guarantees are at no cost to the government. But
of course, some of them we are earning money on, and I can assure you, Mr. Chairman, no one is paying
us money and not getting something in return. And
that something is a guarantee of the risk behind those
guarantees. It is okay as long as we are taking that
risk to attain legitimate policy objectives of the Government. So, I just wanted to provide that gentle cor-rection for the Premier there.
The $500 million debt refinancing on page C -
30. Perhaps the Government, the Minister can explain exactly how that is going to work? Because my under-standing is that the debt outstanding, the bond outstanding, in that time is going to be around $600- andsomething million. Are they able to do a partial payment of that? Do the terms allow that? Will there be a
penalty? Will they have to refinance the extra $100
million so they can pay down the whole $606 [million]? Some detail on how exactly they plan to do that repayment would be welcome. Very much appreciated.
While I am on that page C -30 here, I am also
looking at the . . . excuse me.

Yes. Debt & Loan Guarantees. Dr. Douglas DeCouto: I am also looking at the hospital guarantee. I appreciate that that number looks very
big. If I recall from previous debates, it is not just the
principle underlying the loan to the private organisation that built the hospital which we pay. It is also for the stream of all of the interest payments. Perhaps the
Minister could refresh us as to exactly what that guarantee is guaranteeing, both the principle and the interest payments being made. Who the guarantee is
actually to? Who the interest payments are actually to
and who is paying them? That would be much appre-ciated.

Okay. Since we are over in
the “C”s, page C -30, same page. I notice between this
Budget Book and some prior Budget Books, I believe the Sinking Fund decreased during 2023/24 by $58
million. And in 2024/25 it is projected to decrease by
$42 million. Could the Premier and Finance Minister
give us a description of what is the cause of those
decreases in the Sinking Fund? That would be appreciated, Mr. Chairman. So, there is that question.
And I might now actually flip and go back to
the front of the HQ, Head 10 on page B -107. While I
flip through my book, I need to find the appropriate
page. I am going to look on the Objectives on page B -
107, Mr. Chairman. I notice that one of the objectives
of HQ is to develop the framework for the Corporate Income Tax and support and guidance for the Corporate—slight misprint here —but the Corporate Income
Tax Agency, I assume (or CITA as we have now taken to calling it).

Could the Minister help elucidate the difference of responsibilities between the
Ministry of Finance and CITA when it comes to setting
our CIT [Agency] policies? Because from my understanding, we are going to fill that organisation, in fact,
with tax experts. If anything, I feel like the guidance would be going the opposite direction, where the tax
experts at the CIT Agency would, perhaps, be informing the Ministry.


Bermuda House of Assembly I am now going to turn the page over to page
B-109.

Could the Premier and Minister of Finance provide an explanation of how that number was derived? I know in the past he has referred to different estimates. For example, have we obtained multiple estimates to challenge that number
so we can stress test it? Because the strength of this
budget really depends on the quantity of that number.
He did mention payment, I believe in August if, I have got that right, for paying the Consolidated Fund. I also
know that in the CITA legislation, the CIT legislation,
there is a provision for the Agency to hold back some
money for reserves. So, my question to the Premier and Minister of Finance would be, if the $187.5 million
is the amount we are receiving, what is the estimated
actual amount that taxpayers are paying? Because it sounds like the Agency is going to hold some funds
back.
And I am actually going to refer back to page
B-107 and the Objectives, about guidance around the
CIT. I know some prior legislation made reference to
how the Agency would allocate these payments be-tween a refund reserve fund and the Consolidated
Fund. So, perhaps we could be informed if the CITA (I am going to have to get used to saying that now, Mr. Chairman) has perhaps set a specific policy.

If they do answer how much
of the total paid, that would answer my question of how much of that money is being held back for the refund reserve.
I asked about the policy. I will follow up on
that policy. Is there some approval? Is it something
that is going to be circulated within the Ministry? Some review of that policy, will it be made public? I
would like to know that.
Of that number . . .

How many registered taxpayers are there? Because my understanding is by the
legislation the taxpayers are supposed to register that
they intend to be paying tax. And perhaps the Finance
Minister and Premier can provide some indication of
how concentrated the payers are in that number. For
example, what fraction of that number will be paid by
the top 10 payers? That would help us understand
how robust we should feel about that number.

Yes.
The Gaming Commission Grant. Which I
guess is now nice and steady. We certainly appreciated the Premier’s comments about it. I think I heard
that there is actually gaming happening on cruise
ships, so perhaps the Premier and Finance Minister
620 16 May 2025 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly could confirm that I heard that right, that there is actual gaming happening on cruise ships.
My understanding is that there is not any
sports betting currently on the Island. We have had
some shops, and they have closed. I guess what we want to clarify is . . . we are hearing about plans for
future sports betting but otherwise there is no other
gaming actually happening on the Island. Just to clarify our understanding there.

The following item on page B -
108 is Corporate Income Tax, 20120. If we could have
an overview of what it is being spent on. Again, I am
just a little confused. The Premier was speaking very quickly, and I could not quite follow everything. If I
heard correctly, in the future the CIT Agency will be
funding itself. But there was something about a loan. So, should we consider this $4.8 million that is budgeted a loan that is then going to get back? Or is that
perhaps some of the future amounts that are in the budget? That would be good to [get] clarified, exactly
which part is going to be a loan, when the loan is being made and when it is going to be made back.

Remaining on page B -108
and moving down to the Subjective Analysis. I see
that the salaries for the HQ are up 20 per cent, but the
headcount is only up plus -1 per cent. I do know that
there have been the salary raises, we have heard
quite a lot about that. But that does seem a little bit
out of whack. So again, if we could have some clarifi-cation on that.

[Inaudible interjection]

I thank the Honourable Premier for his brief because I was certainly wondering
what this special insurance line is here. Because we
also have some insurance lines in other places of the
Budget Book, and he has clarified that was for cyber
insurance. I think we can all appreciate the im-portance of that. Could we get an overview of the
coverage that we are getting for that? How many limits? How much is the limit that we are getting? How
many events might be covered and what is scope of
the coverage? What types of cyber losses or risks it
would be covering?
I know when you buy this kind of insurance
you often get access to some kind of risk engineering
from the insurance company, it would be a value add.
Could the Honourable Junior Minister or the Honourable Premier and Finance Minister —whoever is going
to be picking these up —let us know, are we getting
access to any of that? So, for example, has the insurance company sent somebody in to audit? Sent professionals in to, perhaps, audit the Government’s IT
estate and provide tips and techniques or feedback on how we can harden our cyber posture, as they say?
And also, you sometimes have access to event response services that the insurance company will facilitate for you.

And of course we have the
Corporate Income Tax on $187,500. The Premier may not wish to answer this, but if they wanted to give us a
preview of what these payments might look like over
the next three or four quarters, that would certainly
help us understand and draw conclusion about how
confident to be about those payments.



Bermuda House of Assembly The Chairman: I will defer to your math. I am just a
lawyer, but I am guessing $187,500 is one- fourth of
$750,000.

Okay. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Still referring to the Corporate Income Tax
income on that same line. What risk factors has the Government considered around the robustness of that
estimate? We know that there has been some feedback from the OECD about our particular CIT legisla-tion. We know that under the Trump Administration to
the West there has been a pretty radical adjustment in
their stance towards these global minimum taxes. Does the Government have contingency plans in
place? How are they thinking about these changes
and how should we consider when we try to decide how confident we should be about the estimates for
the Corporate Income Tax year.
Still sticking with the HQ, I turn now to the
Performance Measures on page B -110.

The total expenditure has a
23 per cent growth of $20 million. I know that some of
that was covered. The GEHI, the increase in debt was
covered. I would like to get the answers to the prior
questions about the Sinking Fund because I think
some of that was spent on the GEHI. And that would
kind of lead me to a question, which is: Why in those years the GEHI shortfall was paid out of the Sinking
Fund but in this year the GEHI shortfall is being paid
out of a cost centre in the Budget Book. Perhaps if
there is some policy that the Junior Minister could refer to, or some evolution of thinking, we would love to
understand, Mr. Chairman.

I did hear something in the
corner. I know that some people think the legislation is
the reason. I note that there is some legislation in
place they might be referring to. But this year we have
chosen to pay it above the line and so I would like to
understand what happened. Yes, I would like them to
explain their choice. This is what we are here for. And
if they cannot explain their choice, I would find that
disappointing, Mr. Chairman. Disappointing.
Let us turn to the Mission [Statement] and
[Department] Objectives, page B -114. I am looking at
21001, Financial Reporting. I noted in the prior two
Auditor General reports that she was not able to provide a clean opinion.

And so I would like to understand what the Government is doing to fix that prob-lem so that the Auditor General can have the confidence to provide an unqualified opinion on the reports.
[Inaudible interjection]

622 16 May 2025 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Dr. Douglas DeCouto: Well, I have a very specific
question with regard to the Auditor General’s specific
comments about the asbestos and underground tank
liabilities not being able to be supported. So, I guess
my specific question would be how is the Government going to support those so that going forward they can
get a clean audit on our Consolidated Fund? I think
that would be a pretty important objective.
Then I noticed that in 2023/24 under business
unit 21001 the Auditor statements were not achieved.
And in 2024/25. I am presuming that is not a question of time. I am presuming that is a question of this issue
with the Auditor General’s opinion there.

There was quite a lot in the
brief but perhaps the Junior Minister could narrow
down precisely what was driving those changes, Mr.
Chairman, because it does seem quite volatile.
I see 21008 under Financial Systems. Again,
quite a lot of movement year on year. I think that was kind of covered in the brief about the various systems
and so forth. Clearly, we support anything that helps this department do its job better.
Mr. Chairman, I am remaining on the same
page. I am looking at 21100, Consolidated Reporting.

Yes. Dr. Douglas DeCouto: If I understand correctly, that
is the initiative to ensure that we can not only get accounts for the Government’s Consolidated Fund, but
we can get accounts for all of the various quangos
and bodies and so forth that are sort of related to the Government. So, we get a true, all -in picture of our
Government’s finances. I know that has been an outstanding goal for a long time. I was glad to see
$62,000 last year. I am not sure what that was spent
on, on this item 21100.

And now it is going down to
$7,000. I guess I should feel glad there is some mon-ey in there that I imagine would be to move this initiative along. But I see one headcount on page B -113,
again, for 21100. So, I do not understand how $7,000
is going to pay for one headcount and how that is going to be enough to move this project along? Could
the Junior Minister help us understand what initiatives
are being taken to arrive at some full consolidated
reporting?

Because I was expecting to
see that go up along with the salaries, Mr. Chairman. I think I have an inkling, but I just want to make sure I get that right. So can the Junior explain that?
I also see a slight decrease in the Contributory Pension contributions. Could the Junior Minister tell us about that? Thank you.
Remaining in the same panel, item 21030, we
have the Government Employee Health Insurance. We did hear quite a lot about the increase in costs. I
will repeat a question I had a little bit earlier which is
. . . Okay.
I do note that we did hear some intimation
from the Premier about the cost controls around
GEHI. We have heard a lot about the pharmacies and
programmes like CORE that have been cut. I guess
the question would be, is the GEHI approach to the


Bermuda House of Assembly prescription costs fully fixed and finished now? Or is
there perhaps some evolution that we might see on
that? Because I think there might be some kinks for
them to work out.
Okay. We discussed the Performance
Measures. If I turn to the Performance Measures
again, Mr. Chairman, on page B -114 I would suggest .
. . actually, page B -115 under GEHI business unit
21030, that there might be a performance measure as
to the sustainability of the GEHI fund. Because that
seems to be a pretty important outcome that we need to ensure here. So, of course, if you do not measure
or follow up you will not get the results, Mr. Chairman.
I think I am ready to move on the next head,

Oh, we are skipping Land Valuation.
All right.
In which case, we are doing Heads 10, 11, 12,
28, 38, 39 and 58. We have heard from both the Minister of Finance, who is, of course, the Premier, and from the Junior Minister of Finance. And we are now
hearing from the Shadow Minister, Dr. Douglas
De Couto of constituency 25.
I think the preference from the other side is for
you to continue with questions.

Perfect. Thank you, Mr.
Chairman.
All right, so we are on page B -116 and we are
looking at Head 12, Customs. We heard a lot about
the customs duty costs, customs duty cuts. Probably
there could be instances there where perhaps the
Government could consider giving even larger cuts,
let us say for low -cost housing. That would be, for example, under revenue item 8007 on page B -116. I
would urge the Government to consider that.
I am looking at Yacht Arrival and that would
be revenue source 8053. It is not a big number, but
we do know that when yachts come in that they are
not just spending on port fees, they are also in St.
George’s, the Town of St. George, they are going out to restaurants, they are buying fuel, they are stocking
up on provisions, things like that. I did see that in
2024/25 that that was budgeted at $82,000, and then it came in at $4,000, and is now budgeted for
$12,000. So, I do not understand what is going on
with that. Any insight would be welcomed from the
Junior Minister, Mr. Chairman.
Moving down to 8115, Customs Service
Charges. Again, in 2024/25 this was budgeted at
$852,000, but came in at $642,000. So that was a
pretty large reduction. So, I would welcome some context or information on that, Mr. Chairman.
I am going to move on to Head 28 at this time,
Mr. Chairman, [page] B -117. I am looking at the Department Objectives, item 7, To review legislation,
make recommendations for modernisation to the Ministry of Finance. Have any specific recommendations
for modernisation been made? And can we be in-formed of what those are? Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I am not going to . . . I have to be honest. I got
a little lost here because the brief started covering
quite a few items and I was starting to not necessarily
find all of the line items on here. For example, I am
looking on page B -118, and there are five different
cost centres that have staff, but on page B -117 under
expenses, none of those costs have been listed. I do
not know if that is just a glitch, perhaps there is an
erratum to come for the Budget Book. I know that the
Budget Book teams work very hard and are under
pretty tight time pressure. So, that is something that I
noticed there, Mr. Chairman.
If I do turn to page B -118, and I look under
Professional Services, and I look at Salaries, could we be reminded as to what the professional services are,
and why they are so high, relative to salaries? I am
thinking it was for debt collection that was discussed,
but if we can get a specific answer that would be
much appreciated.
Speaking of collection, I am going to turn to
page B -119, Mr. Chairman, and I am looking under
the Compliance Unit, 38040, and their objective is to
collect $4.6 million of debt annually that is more than
90 days late. And the forecast was for $3.1 million,
and revised forecast was $2.2 million. And their budget forecast is $3.1 million.

Can we have an explanation
as to what changes have been made to let them actually achieve that $3.1 million? Also, if the objective is
$4.6 million, I am not sure why they are budgeting $3.1 million. Perhaps the subjective should be $4.6
[million].
Remaining under that business unit, Compliance, 38040, on page B -119, I think it is pretty viable
that they are out there inspecting because we often hear of employers who are not making the deductions.
We have heard about that. Or they are making the
deductions, but they are not sending money for social
insurance, and this is a valuable and important thing,
and I would urge all employees out there to check
624 16 May 2025 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly their paperwork and to make sure that the right payments are being made on their behalf. And, certainly,
any employers who are not doing right by their employees I would ask them to sort themselves out and
make all of the right payments so that their employees are not left up the creek later on.
But I see the target here, Mr. Chairman, on
page B -119 is for 2,600 routine inspections per year.
And they forecast 1,800 last year but achieved 1,400.
And then they forecast 1,800 a go. The note there
says 10 inspections per week per inspector. And I
looked at the headcount under Compliance and I have
to be honest, that doesn’t make sense to me because
it only makes sense if never took any holidays. And
the actuals came in at about half, so, again, I feel like
they almost have to double the number of inspectors if
they want to achieve that goal. So again, any com-mentary from the Junior Minister would be welcomed.
Again, I am sticking with the performance
measures, and I think it would be . . . I ma de the same
comment about the GEHI. It would be useful to have a performance measure about the stability or health of
that fund. And I think it would be good to have a performance measure for the health of the CPF or Social
Insurance Fund here to create the accountability for
that.
Mr. Chairman, those are my outstanding
questions for Head 28.

That’s right. We are glad to
hear about the various initiatives in the Office of the
Tax Commissioner. I certainly had to interact with it a
few times over the year s, and they are often very
helpful. One thing that we can say about G overnment
departments is that people often do like to complain, but they have often been very helpful and some departments doing interesting and innovative things. I think we did hear in the brief about some examples of
that. So, I would like to thank them for applying some
creative thinking and initiatives there.
Remaining on page B -120, and looking at the
objectives, the objective was to reduce receivables by
$15 million, and we would like to know how that par-ticular number was arrived at. And then looking at the
expenditure summary on page B -120 under Operations, 48080, there is a 12 per cent increase, but no
increase in headcount. And I suspect that the answer is going to be about fewer consultants, or something
like that. But I would like to have some specific an-swers on that, Mr. Chairman.
I am turning now to page B -122, Mr. Chairman, and I am looking at the Revenue Summary. I might have some particularly detailed questions here.
The Premier did talk quite a lot about the Government’s initiative and changes to the payroll tax structure. I think it would be interesting for the Government
to consider moving around some of the payroll tax bands, for example, raising up some of the bands because, as we know, the cost of living is going up.
Some people are lucky enough to get salary increases
to cover their cost of living. But then it may cause their
salaries to go into a higher band. For the employers,
certainly, if they are good employers and they are raising their payments with the cost of living, they can
actually be penalised by having those raised salaries
go up into a higher percentage band. So, I think it
would make sense to consider adjusting the bands
with the cost of living on an occasional basis.
Another example, Mr. Chairman, to consider.
Another huge cost, of course, is insurance. And we
know that health insurance costs are going up very,
very fast. So, again, here is a case of an employer,
let’s call it a good employer. The [employer] says, I
want to make sure my employees are not losing money because of the health insurance costs. So, I have
grossed up their salaries, so that at the end of the
year they are taking home the same amount even after we have paid the increased health insurance cost.
But now that employer is being hit twice; both by covering the cost for the employee and by the taxes on
that grossed- up amount. So, again, what the Government might consider, if they are really serious about
impacting how these tax . . . and, by the way, Mr.
Chairman, information for the people out there, it was the One Bermuda Alliance that first put in place the progressive table of tax system.
So, here is another innovation that I would like
the Government to consider. Perhaps look up the net
pay that employees are taking, because that would
de-couple it from these health insurance rises and
things like that. Again, also with the structure, another
way that those bands impact us, as many people may
know if the employers pay costs at a certain band over $1 million, then their overall tax rate goes up. So,
they are di sincentivised across that band and it may
cause them to not hire that additional person. Or, if their cost per person goes up, they might fire a per-son, because, ultimately, they are going to end up
paying a lot more tax. So, again, that is another reason why I would urge this Government to consider reexamining the bands. And I do see the Minister of
Home Affairs here, so I hope she is taking notes on that.
But let me get back to the payroll tax and my
specific . . . that was a suggestion related to comments in the brief. So, my specific question is can the Junior Minister . . . we hear quite a lot about this
growth, the $41 million of growth in the payroll tax.
Can they tell us which industries this is being driven
from? How much of that is due to estimated number of
employees growing verses wage growth? I would be


Bermuda House of Assembly very interested to know what fraction of that dollar
growth is coming from exempted companies —