December 18, 2023

Thank you, Madam
President .
Madam President, I hereby present for the information of Senate the Bermuda Airport Authority
2021/ 2022 Annual Report. Senators may access copies of the Report on their tablets and/or the Parliament
website.
Thank you.
The President: Thank you, Senator Dill.

ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

SENATE VISITOR

The President: I would just like to acknowledge the
presence of the Permanent Secretary —

[Crosstalk]

The President: I am sorry, Senators. Just . . .

[Crosstalk]
The President: Mrs. Marva[ -Jean] O’Brien. Welcome
to the Senate this morning.
Minister, you can continue with your first Motion.

NOTICE S OF MOTION S

TOURISM INVESTMENT
(ARIEL SANDS) ORDER 2023
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President .
I hereby present for the consideration of Senate the Tourism Investment (Ariel Sands) Order 2023
proposed to be made by the Minister responsible for
Tourism under section 3 of the Tourism Investment Act
2017 with the written agreement of the Minister of Fi-nance in exercise of the power conferred by section 5
of the Tourism Investment Act 2017.
I give notice that at a later point in this meeting
I will move that the said Draft Order be approved.

The President: Thank you, Minister Darrell. I believe
you have a second . . .

TOURISM INVESTMENT (BERMUDIANA BEACH
RESORT) ORDER 2023

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President .
I hereby present for the consideration of Senate the Tourism Investment (Bermudiana Beach Resort) Order 2023 proposed to be made by the Minister
responsible for Tourism under section 3 of the Tourism Investment Act 2017 as applied by section 13B of the Bermuda Housing Act 1980 with the written agreement
of the Minister of Finance in exercise of the power conferred by section 5 of the Tourism Inves tment Act 2017.
I give notice that at a later point in this meeting
I will move that the said Draft Order be approved.

The President: Thank you, Minister Darrell.



Bermuda Senate PETITIONS

The President: There are none.

STATEMENTS

The President: There are none.

INTRODUCTION OF BILLS

The President: There are none.

FIRST READING OF PUBLIC BILLS

CORPORATE INCOME TAX ACT 2023

BERMUDA MONETARY AUTHORITY
AMENDMENT ACT 2023

The President: The following public Bills have been received from the Honourable House of Assembly and
are now read for the first time. Their titles are, respec-tively, the Corporate Income Tax Act 2023, and that is
in the name of Senator Arianna Hodgson; and secondly, the Bermuda Monetary Authority Amendment
Act 2023, and that is also in Senator Hodgson’s name,
[Junior Minist er of] Finance.

FIRST READING OF PRIVATE BILLS

MEANWHILE INSURANCE BITCOIN
(BERMUDA) L IMITED ACT 2023
The President: Vice President Kiernan Bell, you have
the floor.
Sen. Kiernan Bell : Thank you, Madam President .
I move that it is the opinion of the Senate that
adequate public notice of the general nature and objects of the named Private Bill has been given in accordance with the requirement of Standing Order 45.

The President: Thank you, Senator Bell.

QUESTION PERIOD

The President: Yes, Senator De Couto.

1QUESTION 1: TRAVEL ITINERARY OF CABINET
MINISTERS

Thank you, Madam President .
I did want to follow up on our last session
where Minister Darrell did undertake to provide us with
the rest of the answers to our questions on ministerial

1 See Question Period [ Recommitted] , Page 120 travel. Specifically, the Premier’s travel which I have not yet seen appear on the Government travel calendar.
Thank you, Madam President .

The President: Thank you, Senator De Couto.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President . I did check and the technical officers are still
working to get all of that together and it will be on the
travel site as soon as it is done.
Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Minister Darrell.
Senator De Couto.

Minister, do you have a —

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, the
Senator will know that I did commit to a time previously
and that time has not been met. I will repeat my answer:
the technical officers are still working to get that information and as soon as they have it, it will be on the ministerial travel website.
Thank you.
The President: Thank you, Minister Darrell.

ORDERS OF THE DAY
The President: Moving on, the first Order of the Day is
consideration of the Tourism Investment (Ariel Sands) Order 2023, and that is in the name of the Honourable
Owen Darrell the Minister of Tourism, Culture and
Sport. As I had indicated, we do have the Permanent
Secretary here this morning to assist in responses.

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 71(2)

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President .
I move that Standing Order 71(2) be suspended so that the Senate may now proceed with con-sideration of the Tourism Investment (Ariel Sands) Order 2023.

The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
Carry on, Minister .

[Motion carried: Standing Order 71(2) suspended.]
94 18 December 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, I
move that the Senate do now take under consideration
the Tourism Investment (Ariel Sands) Order 2023, proposed to be made by the Minister responsible for Tour-ism under section 3 of the Tourism Investment Act 2017 , with written agreement from the Minister of Finance, in exercise of the power conferred by section 5
of the Tourism Investment Act 2017.

The President: Mm-hmm.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President .
The President: Thank you, Minister Darrell. Would any
Senator —
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President —

The President: Carry on.

DRAFT ORDER

TOURISM INVESTMENT
(ARIEL SANDS) ORDER 2023

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: The purpose in bringing
this Tourism Investment (Ariel Sands) Order 2023 before this Honourable Senate is to enable the grant of tax relief to the developers investing in this tourism
product Ariel Sands Ltd., which is in the national economic interest of Bermuda. Madam President , I am
pleased to invite the Senate to take this Order under
consideration.
Madam President, a key element of success in
business is investment in the product to ensure it is al-ways fresh and serves to meet the demands of the customers that the business aims to serve. Madam Presi-dent, the hospitality business is no different. Destinations, hotels and attractions that seek to trade only on
reputation can often lose their edge, proving to be more
of what they were than what they need to be. Success
in this aggressive and competitive tour ism marketplace
demands that every affiliated tourism business consist-ently stays at the cutting- edge.
Madam President, the Order before the Honourable [Senators] presents that kind of investment in
a product proposed to be made by a key tourism site in Bermuda. Ariel Sands Ltd. is a Bermuda- registered
company and a joint venture between Michael Douglas,
the Hollywood actor, and JTRE Holdings. JTRE Holdings was foun ded by Peter Korbač ka, who has been in
the real estate market for over 25 years, operating in
the United Kingdom, Central Europe and Asia. Madam
President, JTRE Holdings’ mission for Ariel Sands is to
create a successful tourism product that will create
jobs, become an employer of choice, delight guests
and, most importantly , increase awareness of Bermuda
as an important destination for leisure and business. Further, Madam President, Ariel Sands Ltd.’s
vision is to convert the 13.8 -acre beachfront plot into a
unique 131- key five -star lifestyle hotel resort consisting
of 21 private five- star villas, 33 hotel suites and 30
condo hotel suites and amenities including pools as
well as a pickleball court. This resort will be operated
by the internationally recognised operator, Kempinski
Hotel group. Madam President, Honourable Members
will note that the terms of the Order are consistent with the Tourism Investment A ct 2017 and provide the relief
sought for a period of 15 years. That relief is set out in
clause 3 of the Order and again is consistent with the
principal Act, which was amended in 2023 to permit the
Minister responsible for Tourism greater discretion in
granting of relief.
Madam President, I would invite the attention
of the Senators to clause 4 of the Order, which sets out
the important means by which the hotel qualifies for the
exemption from the employer’s share of the payroll tax,
which is that a management trainee programme is in
operation for Bermudians employed at the hotel.
Madam President, Kempinski’s commitment is
to support the management teams of their hotels by ensuring that every training initiative optimises the quality
of the guest service experience, drives profitability and
that the hotel team are professionally developed.
Madam President, I remind the Senate that the
Tourism Investment [Amendment] Act 2023 provides
full exemption from land tax for a new hotel for 10 years
starting from the sixth year of the hotel’s opening date
to year fifteen of the same date. Madam President,
clause 4 also sets out the important means by which
Ariel Sands qualifies for this exemption, which is that
70 per cent of the hotel staff must be Bermudian in
years six through fifteen. Madam President, Ariel
Sands proposes a 60 per cent Bermudian s taff at the
time of opening in 2025, with the percentage increasing
to the required 70 per cent with local training and incentives.
Madam President, the advantages and benefits for the Bermudian economy by way of this Order
include an increase of hotel beds, increase d employment in tourism and the tourism- related sector, a promotion of Bermuda as a destination to Europe and Asian markets. Madam President, I am pleased to commend this Order for the support of the Senate.
Thank you, Madam President .
The President: Thank you, Minister Darrell.
Would any Senator care to speak on this Order?
Senator Dwayne Robinson, you have the floor.

Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Thank you very much,
Madam President, and good morning to my colleagues
and the listening audience.
The Opposition welcomes investment into Bermuda and into our tourism product. This Order comes
with our support. I will just point out that looking at the


Bermuda Senate 15-year concessions in certain areas , it was mentioned
by the Opposition when this was done previously
whether or not this would be the norm and whether it
may be a bit steep when trying to attract investment.
But if this is the norm and the Government has done its
analysis as far as remaking that profit back through this
investment then we look forward to seeing that.
I just wanted to ask for my own personal question is if there is any kind of etch- out or carve- out for the
creatives or any entertainment, or are they considered
in that 70 per cent Bermudian employment? Just for my
clarification because I know that we have constantly
heard that they are such an integral part of our culture
to have our local entertainers on display at these events
and venues, so I just want to make sure that we have
thought of them in this initiative.
As far as the 70 per cent Bermudian mark, I
think that the Government . . . I commend the Government for this threshold. I just caution that, you know, we
have seen a bit of cannibalism in the industry right now
as far as being able to retain Bermudians and Bermudians going from various locations, so it may be a bit
difficult to maintain 70 per cent . But I do hope that
through their training and their initiatives that we are able to maintain that level of training. I also want to highlight and commend the training for Bermudian
management because I think this is something that will be welcomed by most (and us across the aisle as well) to show that we are invested in Bermudians and looking to progress them through to hotel management and eventually leadership roles in these new ventures and new developments that are coming.
In the spirit of collaboration, we will not make
too much hay about this particular Order because it is pretty straight forward, and I think in reading the legislation it covers its bases as to why these decisions were made.
With that, we support it and hopefully we [will]
see it come to fruition and can monitor this and make sure that it stays that way.
Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Senator Robinson.
Would any other Senator . . . Senator John
Wight, you have the floor.

Sen. John Wight: Thank you, Madam President .
I support this [Order] and I think it is appropriate
to have all hotels on a level playing field so they can
compete on price and service like every other business does in Bermuda. I fully support this [Order].
Thank you.
The President: Thank you, Senator Wight.
Senator De Couto, you have the floor.

Thank you, Madam President, and I will just follow on from my colleagues’ support with a couple of questions. I was pleased also to see that this [Order]
made the relief conditional on the construction being complete within three years. As you know, that is the
kind of thing that we have mentioned from the OBA’s
perspective to ensure that these projects do get mov-ing. It would perhaps have been better to have that kind
of condition also applied with the Fairmont project ,
which I believe we also mentioned.
On the training, [I am] really glad to see the
training thing and also, if you will recall in the past, we
have advocated if possible to extend that training to the staff in general. But as we remember , the Government
did not support that, which I do not understand.
I do have a question and hopefully the Minister
can educate me as to why the land tax concession
starts in year six from the opening of the hotel as opposed to at the time of opening.
Thank you, Madam President .

The President: Thank you, Senator De Couto.
Senator Tucker, OBA Leader in the Senate,
you have the floor.

Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, Madam President,
and I just have one question. I am just curious to know
whether there is going to be any direct collaboration
with Workforce Development and any other entities to
ensure that the 70 per cent Bermudian threshold is
met.
Thank you, Madam President .

The President: Thank you, Senator Tucker.
Senator Robinson, you have the floor.
Sen. Leslie Robinson: Madam President, I just want
to say that I stand in support of this [Order]. Just the
mere fact that we are putting in concessions in order for
properties to continue to stay fresh and cutting edge, I
think that is a wonderful thing for us as Bermuda and it
just bodes well to our total product. It is also great that
we have Michael Douglas who has his Bermudian roots
partnered with JTRE Holdings . And their primary reason for the hotel is to help increase awareness of Bermuda as a prime destination for business and leisure
travel. I think that also bodes well.
I also did some research on the Kempinski
group. They do like to create luxury hotels and they say
whether its lovingly renovated iconic landmarks or
modern architectural masterpieces, style, quality and
individuality permeate every one of their hotels. Again,
with these concessions in place it means that the
Kempinski group can continue to do what they have
done in other destinations.
I also fully support the management training
programme. It is just wonderful that Bermudians are able to be a part of that and again it is just helping our
overall tourism product. We continue to hear about
there is the lack of beds , but it is just wonderful at the
96 18 December 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate end of this year we can actually say that we are moving
forward with some hotel development.
Thank you, Madam President .

The President: Thank you, Senator Robinson.

ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

SENATE VISITORS
The President: Before I go on, I would just like to
acknowledge the presence in the Gallery of MP Scott
Pearman of the OBA , as well as MP Craig Cannonier.
Welcome to you both.
[Tourism Investment (Ariel Sands) Order 2023 debate,
continuing]

The President: Minister, when you are ready you can
respond.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President .
The first question from Senator Dwayne Robinson was one around Bermudian entertainment. You
will recall that there was a carve- out, and there is a
carve -out already in place for this and we are dealing
with this and you will see more information regarding
support of Bermudian entertainment in the near future.
But that carve- out actually was a component of the former Hotel s Concession Act. So , there is a piece in this
that speaks to local Bermudian entertainment and how
we will incorporate them. They are actually also incorporated into the 70 per cent requirement for Bermudian
entertainment.
There was a question about how is it monitored
that the 70 per cent Bermudian employment is
achieved. As Senators will know, the Department of
Workforce Development is actually the government en-tity that has representatives that actually monitor that
portion of it. They oversee the administration of it. They
oversee the training co mponent of the Order and as
was stated in another place on Friday is that if you look
at the statistics around the Island, 70 per cent is a mark
that almost every hotel is currently meeting anyway.
But to that end, there was a question asked as
to why the relief starts in year six . One of the reasons
is a follow on to that, it gives the hotel time to get up and running and reach the required 70 per cent requirement. But in this one, as I would have said in the Statement, when they plan to open in 2025 their projections
are that they will already be at 60 per cent —and that is
opening for their training.
Thank you, Madam President .

The President: Thank you, Minister Darrell.
You can now move your Order.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President .
Madam President, I move that the said Order
be approved and the following message be sent to Her Excellency the Governor:
May it please you, Your Excellency, the Senate
having under consideration of the draft Order entitled
Tourism Investment (Ariel Sands) Order 2023 proposed to the made by the Minister responsible for Tourism under section 3 of the Tourism Investment Act 2017
with written agreement from the Minister of Finance in
exercise of the power conferred in section 5 of the Tourism Investment Act 2017 has the honour to inform Your
Excellency that the Senate has approved the said draft
Order.
The President: Thank you, Ministe r, and a suitable
message will be sent.
Thank you, all Senators who have participated.
[Motion carried: The Tourism Investment ( Ariel Sands )
Order 2023 was approved.]

The President: Moving on then, we have the second
item on our Orders of the Day and that is consideration
of the Tourism Investment (Bermudiana Beach Resort)
Order 2023 and that is also in the name of Senator Owen Darrell, the Minister for Tourism, Culture and
Sport.

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 71(2)

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President .
Madam President, I move that Standing Order
71(2) be suspended so that the Senate may now pro-ceed with the consideration of the Tourism Investment
(Bermudiana Beach Resort) Order 2023.

The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
Carry on, Minister .

[Motion carried: Standing Order 71(2) suspended.]

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, I
move that the Senate do now take under consideration the Tourism Investment ( Bermudiana Beach Resort )
Order 2023, proposed to be made by the Minister re-sponsible for Tourism under section 3 of the Tourism
Investment Act 2017 as applied by section 13B of the
Bermuda Housing Act 1980 with written agreement of
the Minister of Finance in exercise of the power conferred by section 5 of the Tourism Investment Act 2017.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.



Bermuda Senate Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President .

DRAFT ORDER

TOURISM INVESTMENT (BERMUDIANA
BEACH RESORT) ORDER 2023

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, the
purpose of bringing this Tourism Investment (Bermudiana Beach Resort) Order 2023 before the Senate is
to enable the grant of tax relief to the developers investing in the tourism product Bermudiana Beach Resort which is of national economic interest of Bermuda.
Madam President , I am pleased to invite the Senate to
take this Order under consideration.
Madam President, a key element of success in
business and investment of the product to ensure that it is always fresh and serves to meet the demands of its customers that the business aims to serve. Madam
President, the hospitality business is no different.
Destinations, hotels and attractions that seek
to trade only on reputation can often lose their edge—

proving to be more of what they were than what they
need to be. Success in this aggressive and competitive
tourism marketplace demands that every affiliated tourism business consistently stays at the cutting edge.
Madam President, the Order before the Senate
represents that kind of investment in a product proposed to be made by a key tourism site in Bermuda.
The Bermudiana Beach Resort is a conversion of the
former Grand Atlantic Hotel into a mid- market condo
hotel. It is owned 100 per cent by the Bermuda Housing
Corporation.
Madam President, this Honourable House will
recall that in February 2019 the Tourism Investment
(Bermudiana Beach Resort) Order 2019 was issued. Madam President, this Honourable House will be advised that the Order expired in February of 2022. As the
requirement to complete construction of the project
within [three] years of the operative date of the Order
was not met, the project lost two years of construction due to the COVID -19 pandemic. Madam President, the
Bermudiana Beach Resort is being developed in one
phase, which includes 94 condos for sale, providing
110 hotel keys for rental. The redevelopment of the
property includes work on the interiors; kitchen and
bathroom upgrades; construction of eight elevator towers; and amenities including a pool, a pool deck and a pool bar. In addition, a new building has been added to
the project for the reception area, hotel offices, as well
as storage.
Madam President, Senate members will note
that the terms of this [draft] Order are consistent with the Tourism Investment Act 2017 and provide the relief
sought for a period of 15 years. That relief is set out to
clause 3 of the Order and it provides for the following: 1. from the operative date of Order, 15 years of
relief from customs duty in respect of the building, furnishings and equipping of the hotel;
2. from the hotel’s opening date, 15 years of relief from the employer’s share of payroll tax;
3. from the hotel’s opening date, 15 years of relief
from the hotel occupancy tax;
4. from year six through fifteen of the hotel’s
opening date, 10 years of relief from land tax; and
5. a deferral of the landholding charges.
Madam President, I would echo comments that
I have heard in a different place with respect to the Tourism Investment Act. The relief provided by the Act
is not just available to hotels. The Schedule of the Act
sets out how new and existing restaurants can qualify for the relief and likewise how an attraction can qualify.
Madam President, the Government ’s goal is to
create the conditions that inspire investor confidence at every level of the tourism economy, sparking a desire to invest and reinvest as we continue to see the recovery of tourism for Bermuda.
Madam President, I am pleased to commend
this Order for support here in the Senate.
Thank you, Madam President .
The President: Thank you, Minister Darrell.
Would any Senator care to speak on this Bill?
Senator Dwayne Robinson, you have the floor.
Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Thank you, again, and similar to the previous Order, we support investment in Bermuda . We have concerns about the new norm of the
15-year concessions which was mentioned, again, in
the previous Order.
In regard to the Bermudiana property, as it is
100 per cent owned by Government , or Bermuda
Housing Corporation, I should say, just to seek a little
bit of clarity as to providing concessions to ourselves in
a sense and how that kind of translates in the best interests of Government . Also, just to highlight as well
that while we are doing these concessions, you know,
we have an Airbnb market that feels as though it is being neglected, that is it not necessarily being supported by Government , so even though this is not the scopes,
I will not get too far into it. But I just wonder, you know,
as far as the overall tourism investment and strategy
that we are seeing here, will there be any additional relief given to that market since we have increased from
10 to 15 years.
Thank you, Madam President .

The President: Thank you, Senator Robinson.
Would any other Senator care to speak on this
Order?
Senator Dill, you have the floor.

Thank you, Madam
President .
98 18 December 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate I would just like to take the opportunity to commend the Minister on these two Orders that have been
presented today and to say how delighted I am to see
that we have investors who are coming on board, we
have partners who will join with our Government in
helping to reinvigorate the tourism industry and to help
to build a better Bermuda.
When we think about the hospitality industry
and what it has been to Bermuda over the years, I can
remember a few years ago working on a project and we
went out and interviewed industry leaders throughout Bermuda in various areas. The majority of them, as
many of us here in the Chamber, can remember a time
when it was almost a right of passage for a young person to work in the hospitality industry, whether it was to
make money to go to college in the summers . . . sometimes you would be working at two or three establishments as we did what was necessary in order to
achieve our goal s.
But the tagline at that time that the individuals
used at the end of speaking about what it is that they
were doing and how they were excelling in their fields
having started out in the hospitality industry was that
Hospitality opened a world of possibility for me. Because it is the soft skills that we learned in the hospital-ity industry that actually provide a foundation for us to
excel no matter what it is that we wish to do in life. In
order . . . to see that these organisations have engaged
in this proc ess and making a commitment to train Bermudians, making a commitment that 70 per cent of
their workforce will be Bermudian, it helps me to know that there are people who are committed to helping Bermuda to become that beacon in the world. That even
though we are just a little dot in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, that we have the potential to be a leader in
whatever it is that we endeavour to do. That we can set the example for the rest of the world of what it means to live and work together in harmony f or our people to
be able to work and have a sense of pride in what it is that they do.
Madam President, I just want to commend the
Minister and the Government of Bermuda for having
the foresight to put mechanisms in place that will en-sure the future of the hospitality industry in Bermuda.
That will ensure the continued growth of our economy.
That will ensure that the world at large will have an opportunity to come and visit Bermuda, to experience the
beauty not only of the natural . . . the beaches, the nature and all of the things that are there, but most importantly to experience the beaut y of Bermuda and her
people.
Thank you, Minister. Thank you, Government
for putting these Orders in place and we look forward to a prosperous Bermuda and the revitalisation of the
tourism industry.
Thank you, Madam President .

The President: Thank you, Senator Dill. Would any other Senator care to speak on this
[Order]?
Senator Robinson, Leslie Robinson, you have
the floor.

Sen. Leslie Robinson: Thank you, Madam President .
I just want to speak a bit about the actual conversion of the Grand Atlantic into a hotel property which is fully owned by the Housing Corporation. And I am
speaking really from this sort of Public Works Ministry,
which all of this falls under.
The Minister of Public Works stated in another
place that he has now actually visited this site at least half a dozen times and partnering with Hilton hotel, that
is what this particular property is doing. It is partnering
with Hilton Hotels groups and so it is exciti ng for us because it gives us another area, I guess, to be able to
advertise and to advertise a brand- name that most, the
average Bermudian and the average traveller would
know. You travel anywhere and you will see a Hilton hotel. Unlike say, St. Regis, where people might have
to figure out that it is part of the Marriott chain, you don’t see them as often. The Hilton you see everywhere. And
so when it comes to the redevelopment of the property
and even the concessions, we are looking at making
sure that the proper infrastructure is in place for a Hilton property.
As we continue on with doing renovations and
then even for the concessions thereafter, it is important
to understand that we are trying to make sure that this
is how Hilton would want this hotel to be. We are in
partnership with the Hilton business and so we want to
make sure that the property is maintained in a Hilton
fashion. For example, construction is supposed to be
finished beginning of July and Hilton still requires a couple months before the property can actually be opened.
They want to make sure, I guess, do like a stress testing whereby they want to make sure that all lights are
coming on at the same time, all toilets can be flushed
at the same time, and to make sure that no matter what
and whatever the capacity is that on any given occasion, that everything will work and be in order.
With this also, with this partnership it is important to note that Bermudians will be taught the Hilton
way. In particular, the Hilton hotels actually have what
they call a Hilton University. Bermudians will be able to
go Hilton University and actually be taught how to conduct themselves, how to work, how to brand themselves even as part of the Hilton family.
Finally, Madam President, I want to commend
the Board of the Housing Corporation led by MP Chris Famous. They have done a fantastic job in making sure
that the project is monitored and they have actually improved the payment process. The project itself is fully
funded and so we co mmend them for the work that they
have done and continue to do. It is just so exciting that we, as Bermuda, can be partnering with the Hilton family.
Thank you.


Bermuda Senate The President: Thank you, Senator Robinson, Leslie
Robinson.
Would any other Senator care to speak on this
[Order]?
Hearing none, then it is over to you, Minister,
when you are ready.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President .
Madam President, I move that the Senate . . .
sorry, I move that the said draft Order . . . oh, sorry. Let
me answer the questions.
[Laughter]
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Apologies.

The President: No problem.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: I’m getting ahead of myself here.
There were some questions by Senator
Dwayne Robinson, and I will just make a few comments
that the vacation rental market is a privately owned one
where hotels are actually commercial enterprises. With that being said, the tourism industry is currently in consultation with the vacation rental property owners. You
would have known that I have met with them in an effort to address their concerns. Additionally, the vacation
rental industry and the hotel industry complement each
other. In the end, an increase i n hotel beds whether it
be vacation rentals or hotels will ultimately benefit the
Island. An increase in employment in tourism as well as
tourism- related sectors, Madam President . That is what
I have to say with regard to that.
Madam President, with that said, I move that
the said draft Order be approved and that the following message be sent to Her Excellency the Governor.
The President: Read the message.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: May it please Your Excellency,
The Senate having taken under consideration
the draft Order entitled Tourism Investment (Bermudiana Beach Resort) Order 2023 proposed to be made
by the Minister responsible for Tourism under section 3
of the Tourism Investment Act 2017 as applied by section 13B of the Bermuda Housing Act 1980 with the
written agreement of the Minister of Finance in exercise
of the power conferred by section 5 of the Tourism Investment Act 2017 has the honour to inform Your Excellency that the Senate has approved the said dr aft
Order.
The President: Thank you, Ministe r, and a suitable
message will be sent.
Thank you, all Senators who participated.
[Motion carried: The Tourism Investment ( Bermudiana
Beach Resort ) Order 2023 was approved.]

The President: We will now move on with our Orders
of the Day and that is the second reading of the Corporate Income Tax Act 2023 and that is in the name of
Senator Arianna Hodgson, the Junior Minister for Finance.

PRESIDENT’S RULING
[Ruling on Proposed Opposition Amendment to the
Corporate Income Tax Act 2023]

The President: But before we deal with this, I would
like Senators and anyone listening to know that the Leader in the Senate of the OBA had contacted us over the weekend with respect to asking whether or not they
are allowed to go into Committee to present their
amendm ent. I think it is important for me to read to you
. . . I did send a written response and I would like to
share what I had written.
Good day, Senator Tucker. Thank you for your
query. In the House it was confirmed that the Corporate
Income Tax Bill is a money bill and as such there are
restrictions for the Senate within the Bermuda Constitution insofar as the Senate’s powers concerning
money bills. Please be advised that the Bermuda Constitution [clause] 36 poses restrictions on the Senate
with regard to certain financial measures . You can find
that on page 43 and it reads as follows:
Restrictions with regard to certain financial
measures 36 (1) The Senate shall not — (a) proceed
upon any money bill, other than a money bill sent from
the House of Assembly, or upon any amendment to a
money bill; (b) proceed upon any other bill, other than
a bill sent as aforesaid, that, in the opinion of the person presiding, makes provision for any of the following purposes — (i) the imposition, repeal or alteration of taxation; (ii) the imposition, repeal or alteration of any
charge upon the Consolidated Fund or any other public
fund of Bermuda.
I had intended to read this for the Senate on
Monday (and I am doing that now); however, since you
were asking the question, I am providing you with the
information here and that my decision that the amendment would not be allowed today.
I want all Senators to know that and that was
my decision.

ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

SENATE VISITOR
The President: We will now proceed with the Bill, but
before we do that I would like to acknowledge in the Senate Ms. Cheryl[ -Ann] Lister, the Acting Financial
Secretary.
Welcome to you.
100 18 December 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Mr. Collin Anderson, Policy Advisor, also. Welcome to both of you.

[Corporate Income Tax Act 2023, second reading debate, continuing]

The President: This Bill is in the name of Senator Arianna Hodgson, the Junior Minister for Finance. Senator
Hodgson, you may proceed.

STANDING ORDER 25

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President , I move that the provisions of
Standing Order 25 be granted so that the Senate may now proceed with the second reading of the Bill entitled the Corporate Income Tax Act 2023.

The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection. Carry on.
[Motion carried: Leave granted for the Corporate Income Tax Act 2023 to be read a second time on the
same day as their first reading.]

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
I move that the Bill entitled the Corporate Income Tax Act 2023 be now read a second time.

The President: Is there any objection to the second
reading?
No objection.

BILL

SECOND READING

CORPORATE INCOME TAX ACT 2023
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, it is my distinct honour and
privilege on behalf of the Government to rise this morning in this Honourable Senate to introduce the Bill entitled the Corporate Income Tax Act 2023. In light of recent developments in international standards of taxa-tion, when over 140 Organisation for Economic Co- operation and Development (OECD) member countries
agreed to make material changes to their tax regimes
in accordance with the OECD’s Pillar Two rules to incorporate a 15 per cent global minimum tax.
Madam President, this brief is divided into
three parts where I shall outline the following matters:
• First, provide an introduction to the Bill, outlining the purpose and the relevant background.
• Second, I will review and summarise the important policy matters. • Finally, we will highlight some of the important technical provisions of the Bill and the policy
and principles that underpin these provisions.
Madam President, the debate of this legislation
is of particular significance because it represents promises made and fulfilled by this Government. This Bill fulfils the pledge made in the November 2023 Speech from the Throne to enact legislation that ensures that
Bermuda complies with the Global Minimum Tax
Agreement. The Bill fulfils pledges made to maintain
Bermuda’s competitiveness as a quality international financial centre and to reinforce the Island’s hard- earned
reputation for transparency and international coopera-tion.
The Bill continues to demonstrate the Government’s commitment to prudent fiscal management,
sound economic policies and it ensures that Bermuda’s
longstanding reputation for quality is upheld.
The purpose of this Bill is to implement a corporate income tax [CIT] that has a statutory tax rate of 15 per cent, which is consistent with the key requirements in the Global Minimum Tax Agreement. This tax is applicable to Bermuda businesses that are par t of a
multi -national enterprise group (herein referred to as
MNEs) with annual revenue of at least € 750 million.
Madam President, since 2013, the Organisation for Economic Co- operation and Development in
collaboration with a group of 20 industrialised countries (the G20) worked to address the issue of base erosion
and profit -shifting (BEPS) . In October 2021, over 135
inclusive framework members agreed on a two- pillar
solution to reform international tax rules to ensure that
large multi -national enterprise groups pay a minimum
level of corporate income tax in every jurisdiction in
which they have a corporate footprint. This agreement
is what is commonly referred to as the Global Minimum
Tax Agreement.
The Bill is aligned with several key principles
the Government identified in determining the way for-ward including to
• maintain compliance with international stand-ards;
• apply a corporate income tax only to MNEs in
scope for Pillar Two;
• design a tax regime to capture corporate income tax that would otherwise be payable to
another jurisdiction; and
• take active steps to ensure that Bermuda remains competitive and therefore encourages
international business’s presence on the Is-land.
Madam President, the Government worked
collaboratively with tax, accounting and legal experts in international business to develop this legislation and will continue to do so as we chart the way forward. This
is the first step in the development of the corporate income tax regime. Next steps include the following:
• First, a new and/ or reformed body to collect
these new taxes will need to be designed and


Bermuda Senate implemented via legislation during 2024 following public consultation.
• Key operational aspects must be in place by
year-end 2024 with the intention for the new
body being fully functional during 2025.
• Various administrative aspects of the Bermuda
CIT regime will be developed and introduced in
2024 likely through a separate administrative
Act covering Bermuda corporate tax return filing requirements which would include the format, due dates, et cetera, covering other matters including Bermuda corporate tax return filing requirements to include format, due dates,
et cetera, tax election requirements, compliance and enforcement requirements, civil and
criminal sanctions for non- compliance.
• We will w ork on the design and development of
a qualified refundable tax credit regime which
will also happen in 2024, and details regarding
this regime will be provided later in this brief .
• Work will also be completed on recommendations to ensure good governance over future
tax revenues to be received and how to account for variability in tax receipts. This is work
that is specific to the Tax Reform Commission’s mandate, which will be informe d by the
commissioners with submissions from the Fiscal Responsibility Panel and the Financial Pol-icy Council.
Madam President, as highlighted in this year’s
Budget Statement delivered in the House of Assembly ,
the Ministry of Finance formed an International Tax
Working Group consisting of specialists in international
tax matters and representatives of various industry as-sociations. This working group was tasked with examining how Bermuda should respond to the implementa-tion of the OECD’s Pillar Two global minimum tax, taking into account the diversity and complexity of Bermuda’s international business sector. The group included members from industry associations including
the Association of Bermuda International Companies
(ABIC) , the Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers (ABIR) , Bermuda International Long Term Insurers and Reinsurers (BILTIR) , the Bermuda Bar Association as well as CPA Bermuda.
In addition to examining how Bermuda should
respond to the Global Minimum Tax Agreement, they were also tasked to provide input related to the creation
of an effective and efficient framework that would uphold Bermuda’s attractiveness and continued compliance with existing commitments to the OECD and European Union.
The International Tax Working Group considered three options to address challenges surrounding
the Global Minium Tax [GMT]. Including to (1) retain
Bermuda’s existing tax regime with no changes,
thereby not implementing a Global Minimum Tax; (2) to
implement the GMT Pillar Two rules in their entirety; or
(3) to introduce a corporate income tax to tax the profits of Bermuda entities that would be In Scope for the
Global Minimum Tax.
The International Tax Working Group, having
done a thorough assessment of the potential risks and benefits of each option, recommended to the Cabinet that Bermuda should choose option 3 by introducing a
corporate income tax regime.
Madam President, as previously noted, a key
consideration in deciding which path to take was the
fact that under the GMT Agreement, companies that
are In Scope are required to pay the minimum tax in
every jurisdiction in which they would have a corporate
footprint. Therefore, if Bermuda did nothing, companies
in Bermuda would still have to pay the GMT to another
country while also paying their taxes and other relevant
expenses here in Bermuda, from which they would not
get the tax relief in other countries. This would make it
unattractive and expensive for companies to remain in
Bermuda. Therefore, it was determined that Bermuda
needed to create a tax regime so that companies could
fulfil their commitments imposed by the GMT in Bermuda in a way that would al low any such payments to
be recognised under the global minimum tax framework.
In light of the above, the Government considered all three options presented by the International
Tax Working Group and agreed with the recommendation to proceed with option 3. Option 1 was not considered a viable alternative for Bermuda, given that taking
a status quo approach would do nothing to assuage the
concerns regarding the potential for double taxation in
Bermuda and would be anticipated to erode Bermuda’s
competitive position. Option 2 was also not considered a viable alternative, as adopting the GMT Pillar Two
rules in their entirety would mean that Bermuda would
be potentially expanding its taxing rights beyond Bermuda’s borders, taxing profits earned overseas by affiliates of Bermuda- based companies. This would go beyond the Government’s stated intent of only taxing Ber-muda- derived profits which would be paid otherwise to
another jurisdiction. It should also be noted that devel-oping the infrastructure to administer the GMT Pillar
Two rules in their entirety would be significant.
Adopting a corporate income tax regime, option 3, provides the most flexibility and allows for the introduction of policy -driven design features that will
benefit Bermuda which are common in many other
countries. It would also allow for appropriate introduction of transitional arrangements so that companies would not be severely disadvantaged by choosing to
remain in a jurisdiction that did not previously have a
corporate income tax regime.

Part 2: Policy Matters

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam President, it is appropriate to discuss a few questions that repeatedly arise in public discourse. One consistent question is, How
will this new corporate income tax affect Bermuda
102 18 December 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate businesses? Madam President, local Bermuda businesses which are not part of large multi -lateral entities
will not be impacted by the proposed corporate income
tax. The proposed Corporate Income Tax Act 2023 only
affects large multi -national companies with revenues of
€750 million or more. This point could not be clear as
this Bill provides for the imposition of the corporate income tax to large multi -national companies.
Madam President, following this, another question immediately asked is, Will international business
pack up and leave if Bermuda implements this new cor-porate income tax? Bermuda has consistently positioned itself internationally as a first -class international
financial centre. For decades Bermuda has encour-aged and welcomed quality businesses with robust
business models and good governance to be established here on the Island. We have encouraged eco-nomic substance along with the resulting economic impact on the country through greater economic activity.
With the introduction of any proposed tax, companies
will assess it from their own strategic and operational perspective. H owever, as highlighted previously, for
companies that will fall In Scope of the OECD’s global
minimum tax, if the company’s jurisdiction or domicile
does not charge a 15 per cent minimum tax, that company will be required to pay appropriate taxes to another jurisdiction.
To put it simply, Madam President, it is important to reinforce that if Bermuda took option 1, as
discussed earlier, and did nothing, as some jurisdictions have chosen to do, those companies would still be required to pay the tax to another jurisdiction while
also paying their taxes in Ber muda. Therefore, the argument falls flat on its face because if a company were
to move to a jurisdiction that decided not to implement
a covered tax, that is one that is recognised under the international tax rules, that c ompany would still need to
pay the tax. So there would be little benefit to move to
another jurisdiction due to the fact that this tax is a
global tax.
After the implementation of the global minimum
tax, it will not be whether companies that are In Scope
must pay the tax; but the question will be to which country they will pay it. It is the view of the International Tax Working Group and key constituents of the international business sector supported by the Government
that it is in Bermuda’s best interest to create a structure
that will encoura ge companies who value Bermuda as
their home to remain and to continue to invest in Ber-muda and pay the taxes under the global minimum tax to Bermuda. That is the path that Bermuda is embarking on through this legislation and the work will continue
through the next phases, on which work has already
commenced.
From the widespread consultations held so far
there is substantial support for the implementation of the corporate income tax from the international business community. And we expect this sector to continue
to grow in the future. As this tax is global in nature, it will be important for Bermuda to compete in other areas, which is precisely the remit of the Tax Reform
Commission, a matter which we will touch on later,
Madam President .
Madam President, to quote Robert Moncrief,
who is a global insurance international tax and transaction services leader for the EY region of the Bahamas,
Bermuda, British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands,
and is ABIC’s representative on the International Tax
Working Group, he said, “ The zero rate was definitely
an asset but it was never the driver for the majority of
companies operating in Bermuda . . . Access to talent
and the regulator were always more important, especially for the commercial insurance an d [re] insurance
industry. ”
Madam President , a third question arising
when this matter is discussed is, What are the projected
revenues for the new corporate income tax? This Government is modelling projected revenues with the assistance of external advisors and will provide detailed
economic modelling and forecasting to further refine
ranges of estimates in due course. As part of its terms
of reference, the Tax Reform Co mmission will be making recommendations for a framework for appropriate tax credits. This is a feature that is comm on in other
income tax regimes and allowed for under the GMT framework. Having an appropriate framework for such credits is key to ensuring that Bermuda remains competitive.
However, it is important to note that currently
other countries are also reviewing their system of tax credits to introduce further incentives that are allowed
for under the GMT framework. Therefore, the Tax Re-form Commission’s work in this area is certainly very
timely. The recommendations made for tax credits and
any other relevant changes proposed to the existing tax
regime will have a material impact on potential revenue
associated with this initiative. It will also be important to
get a better understanding of the nature and type of actions taken by companies to address the introduction of
the global minimum tax.
For all of these reasons, it would not be prudent
to place a definitive number on gross or net forecasted
tax revenue from the proposed corporate income tax in
the absence of those additional critical inputs which are not yet available. It must be highlighted that t he regime
will not come into force until 2025. Therefore, the Government has adequate time to refine its forecasting in
time for the 2025/26 budget cycle, which is the earliest time that the Government may receive revenue from
this new tax.
Madam President, though we cannot put a firm
number of the estimated revenue, given the above figures, the estimated annual revenue from the tax is likely
to be substantial and in many years likely exceed the
collections that the Government currently collects from
payroll tax, which is currently the single largest tax for
the Government. However, it is important to note that
payroll tax collections are relatively stable and are paid


Bermuda Senate regardless of if a company makes a profit or not. A corporate income tax is by its very nature variable, especially when it comes to Bermuda’s main international
business sector of insurance.
There may be years where there are minimal
catastrophe losses and the profits of Bermuda- based
insurers are high leading to high tax collections. Con-versely, there may be a season with multiple hurricanes
that affect major population centres or another significant natural disaster which may significantly impact the
profits of Bermuda- based insurers leading to low corporate income tax collections or even losses, which under the tax accounting rules could result in no tax payable in the specific year and reduce taxes for an extended period of years, not just the year in which the
losses were incurred.
This is why careful planning is needed by the
Tax Reform Commission on how to best restructure existing taxes for this variability to ensure that after the
implementation of this tax Bermuda as an international
financial centre remains a competitive jurisd iction.
Madam President, often we are asked, How
will the Government reduce the cost of living in Bermuda? Madam President, in our 2023/24 budget
speech, it was highlighted that the Government did not
intend for actions taken to address the corporate income tax to be revenue accretive, meaning the policy
position was to ensure that new revenues could be used to offset existing taxes rather than be layered on
top of existing taxes. Adopting such a policy position allows for the Government to utilise the potential ad ditional revenues to make other significant reforms to the
current tax system where the existing tax system is a
significant contributing factor to Bermuda’s cost of liv-ing and cost of doing business.
In light of the anticipated implementation of the
Bermuda corporate income tax, as highlighted in their
terms of reference noted previously, the Government
will receive recommendations from the Tax Reform
Commission in 2024 that aim to reduce the cost of living
and doing business in Bermuda by the possible reduction of existing taxes. This will encourage job creation
and stimulate the economy, enhancing Bermuda’s attractiveness as a jurisdiction to both work and live.
Madam President, finally, a practical question
often posed is, How will the Government administer the
new corporate tax? Madam President, to paraphrase a
famous quote from Winston Churchill, Today is not the
beginning of the end; but the end of the beginning. This
Bill today is just the start of the construction of Bermuda’s corporate income tax regime and there is still
significant work that will need to be done to complete
this regime. As mentioned earlier, next year Parliament
can expect additional amendments to this Act that will
make provision for the body that will be created to collect this new tax. The Government will design and launch the body that will be capable of administering
the complex income tax provisions to large multi -national organisations operating across multiple busi-ness sectors for this new tax regime to function effectively.
The Government recognises that the creation
of a body to administer this regime within the required
timeframes will be a challenging undertaking. Work is
already underway and a public consultation on these
matters is planned for 2024. The Legislature’s Honourable Members should anticipate that legislation will
come to this Chamber during next year’s budget session. Following the passage of the legislation, the body
will need to recruit the necessary resources and put in
place the technical systems required to administer this
new tax. The intention is for the body to be operating
and functional when the legislation comes into effect in
2025, such that the Government is prepared to receive
corporate income tax payments starting in 2025 and corporate income tax return filings that will be due in
2026. In addition, legislation supporting various administrative aspects of the regime are required to be introduced in 2024, such as tax return filing requirements
and compliance and enforcement requirements.

Part 3: Technical Provisions
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam President, the corporate income tax legislation contains technical tax terminology, mostly taken from the OECD ’s GloBE (Pillar
Two) Rules , which describe the process for calculating
income and the tax payable, including the relevant adjustments allowed.

Regulations

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam President, under
clause 3 the Minister responsible for the Act has broad
scope to make regulations to make amendments to the
legislation. The Government had a limited time frame to enact the legislation and with a matter as complicated [and] technical as international tax matters, there
is a possibility that minor refinements may need to be
made to the legisla tion during periods when the House
is not in session. This is necessary under the circum-stances, but consistent with what would be appropriate
for matters of this nature. I can assure t he House that
no substantive changes will be effected through this
mechanism. And any substantial changes will be
brought to the Legislature for appropriate examination
and debate.
Further , we do anticipate that this power will be
amended in the future Bills that would allow for advanced parliamentary scrutiny for regulations, which is
standard for tax legislation .

Imposition of Corporate Income Tax

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam President, the Government believes it is reasonable and proportionate for
any new Bermuda corporate income tax regime that is
104 18 December 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate based on the key requirements of the GMT to supersede any existing tax assurance held by entities within
the scope of the new Bermuda corporate income tax.
This is reinforced by the fact that the Bermuda framework is based, to the extent appropriate, on the global rules developed in relation to the GMT agreement and
is structured to pay tax that is payable under that regime.
It is anticipated that such assurances will continue to apply for entities outside the scope of the Bermuda corporate income tax; however, assurances issued following the enactment of the corporate income
tax would be adjusted to ensure consistency with the
provisions of the new regime. The Government believes it is sound policy rationale for its position based
upon three important factors that are further expounded upon below , including:
1) responsible international citizen;

2) little difference between paying tax elsewhere
and paying tax in Bermuda; and
3) tax assurance certificates.

Responsible International Citizen

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam President, Bermuda
is recognised for its commitment to global compliance
and transparency and is considered by the EU to be a
fully cooperative tax jurisdiction. Bermuda currently has
41 bilateral tax information exchange agreements and more than 125 multilateral treaty partners. Bermuda,
along with over 138 other countries in the OECD G20
inclusive framework on BEPS [base erosion and profit shifting] signed up to the two- pillar solution to address
the tax challenges arising from digitalisation and glob-alisation. The Government believes this proposed tax
regime is supportive of Bermuda’s status as a leading
international financial centre.
Implementing a CIT largely based on these
rules is a crucial step for Bermuda to demonstrate its
commitment to international cooperation and responsible governance. By aligning with global standards, Bermuda signals its willingness to collaborate with other
countries in addressing the complexit ies of cross -border taxation. This approach reinforces the Island’s rep-utation for transparency and cooperation which will
maintain and further the competitiveness of Bermuda
as a leading international business centr e.
Analysing the OECD’s Pillar Two global minimum tax rules and determining to implement a Bermuda corporate income tax based on that agreement,
is a strategic and forward- thinking policy decision for
Bermuda that goes beyond mere compliance. This
move positions Bermuda as a responsible international
actor while furthering domestic policy initiatives.

Little Economic Difference Between Paying Tax
Elsewhere and Paying in Bermuda
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam President, at present
the Government’s annual operating budget is funded
by payroll taxes, customs duties, and various other
taxes and fees. While the current system has historically proven to be relatively effective and predictable
means of funding general government expenditure,
none of the existing Bermuda taxes meets the requirement s to be treated as covered taxes for calculating a
jurisdictional effective tax rate for the purposes of the
GloBE rules. As a result many, if not all, multi- national
groups within the scope of Pillar Two, with business operations in Bermuda will have jurisdictions outside of
Bermuda seeking to collect top- up tax on profits earned
in Bermuda which may not have been taxed at an effective rate of at least 15 per cent. This top- up tax could
be collected either from the shareholder under the In-come Inclusion Rule [IIR] or from an affiliate under the Under taxed Payment s Rule [UTPR]. For these groups,
the tax on Bermuda profits may be payable to other jurisdictions if not collected by Bermuda. There is little
economic difference between paying tax in Bermuda or
paying that same tax to foreign jurisdictions.
Madam President, there are additional advantages that may flow from collecting the tax in Bermuda rather than allowing it to be paid to foreign jurisdictions. First, Bermuda has the flexibility to restructure
its existing tax systems, potentially reducing customs duties and payroll taxes which would in turn reduce the cost of living and doing business in Bermuda. The proposed CIT Bill provides for qualified refundable tax
credits [QRTCs], which present s an opportunity for
groups who have Bermuda entities to invest in the jurisdiction in a manner consistent with the Government’s
policy objectives. As noted previously, the Government
has embodied a tax reform commission t o examine
how to best reallocate tax revenues to support key policy initiatives including reductions in the cost of living,
job creation and other programmes to stimulate the
economy and enhance the jurisdiction’ s attractiveness
to MNEs.
The Government also believes it is critical to
ensure that the cost of living, doing business, and the
ability to work in Bermuda are properly managed and
that it seizes opportunities to increase the highly skilled
jobs resident in Bermuda necessary to stimulate the
wider economy in the future while also providing benefits to entities doing business from and within Bermuda.

Tax Assurance Certificates

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam President, Bermuda’s current consumption- based tax system was developed in the 1800s and reflected the expected scope and nature of expected economic and business activity at that time, given the Island’s size and position in the
global landscape. This system was fir st codified in 1956
in the Exempted Undertakings Tax Protection Act
which was subsequently re- enacted in 1966. In the intervening years the international tax landscape has


Bermuda Senate changed dramatically. The development of what was to
become the European Union [EU] and the increase in
the level of interest related to global tax policy in groups
like the OECD have given rise to an interest in significant cross -border tax protection measures dating back
to the commencement of the original OECD base erosion and profit shifting ( BEPS ) project in 2013. The
BEPS project resulted in the agreement and publication
of the BEPS reports in October 2015, making a fundamental shift in the international tax landscape as regards the taxation of multi -national companies. The report commenced an intensive period of legislative
change throughout the EU and OECD countries.
In 2018, the OECD introduced measures requiring jurisdictions, including Bermuda, to maintain adequate economic substance for activities that involve
mobile income and mandate increased transparency, disclosure and international tax cooperation. The most
recent of the se measures is a Pillar Two initiative, otherwise known as the global minimum tax. The stated
policy aim of this measure is to subject profits of a multi -
national group regardless of the jurisdiction in which
they are earned to an effective tax rate of at least 15 per
cent.
Madam President, in this context, the Government believes it is reasonable and proportionate for any new Bermuda- corporate income tax regime developed
to appropriately reflect the requirements of the GMT
framework to supersede any existing tax assurance
held by entities within the scope of the new Bermuda
corporate income tax. Once enacted, the Corporate In-come Tax Act will amend the Exempted Undertakings
Tax Protection Act such that all certificates issu ed before or after the 1
st of January 2024 will be s ubject to
the corporate income tax.
Moving forward, the process for applying for
and issuing Tax Assurance Certificates will be the
same, although new assurances will be adjusted to en-sure consistency with the provisions of the new regime.

In Scope Entities
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam President, the Bill
makes provisions for companies to be In Scope of the
corporate income tax if they are:
• Bermuda constituent entities comprised of Bermuda tax resident entities; and
• Bermuda permanent establishments that are
members of MNE groups with consolidated annual revenue in excess of € 750 million in at
least two of the four preceding fiscal years.
Bermuda constituent entities meeting this
threshold will be subject to Bermuda corporate income
tax subject to certain exceptions , including a five- year
deferral for MNE groups with a limited international
footprint (that is, presence in six or fewer jurisdictions );
excluded entities, for example, non-profit organisations
or investment funds; and Bermuda entities that are less than 80 per cent owned by ultimate parent of the MNE
group.

Foreign Tax Credits

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam President, the Government had considerable discussion with s takeholders to analyse the approach to foreign tax credits in a
reasonable and responsi ble way. While the Government continues to consider this issue, the legislation includes a two- year provision in section 21(6) to mitigate
the potential for double taxation in the near term, pending further developments in the global debate regarding
the long- term approach to foreign tax credits. We are
committed to monitoring the external environment for global developments on th is issue and will react accordingly when things become cl earer internationally.

Qualified Refundable Tax Credits

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam President, the Bill
makes provisions to introduce qualified refundable tax
credits which are allowed for under the global tax rules.
The objective of the qualified refundable tax credits is
to support Bermuda’s economic goals and maintain the
global attractiveness of the jurisdiction.
In other jurisdictions it is common to offer specific tax credits to enhance jurisdictional competitive-ness and to incentivise certain taxpayer behaviours.
Given the relevant provisions of the GloBE rules in this
regard, countries are establishing qualified refundable
tax credits under their GMT compliant framework.
Qualified refundable tax credits offer benefits over
other types of tax credits. In exchange for investments that meet the QRTC requirements in specified investment areas, corporations will rec eive refundable tax
credits.
The Bermuda Government will determine the
target of investment areas such as development of the
workforce, investments in Bermuda- based infrastructure, sustainability, innovation, housing, health care,
and philanthropy. Qualified refundable tax credits are
subject to specific eligibility criteria. They must be qualified under the GloBE rules. If a tax credit is not used, it must be refunded within four years. Accordingly, appropriate legislative frameworks, governance and policy guardrails will be important to ensure reserves are
maintained to pay future qualified refundable tax credit
refunds, as well as other relevant matters related to this
corporate income tax regime.
As noted above, several jurisdictions have indicated their intention to develop QRTCs in the coming
months. In 2024, following recommendations from the
Tax Reform Commission, the Government will work to
design, develop and model a QRTC regime for implementation in 2025. The required effort includes policy
development and additional public consultation prior to
the introduction of legislation to effect this policy proposal.
106 18 December 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Definition of Taxable Income or Loss

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam President, for those
Bermuda constituent entities that are liable for the cor-porate income tax, the first step in deriving the amount payable under the CIT is the computation of taxable income or loss. In general, the computation of taxable income or loss for the corporate income tax follows the
rules that it starts with the financial statement of net income or loss and th en adjusts such net income by prescribed taxable adjustments. T he taxable adjustments
incorporated into the c orporate income tax are largely
imported from the GloBe rules. There are, however, certain additional adjustments provided for in the CIT
that properly transition the new CIT into effect and address certain accounting mismatches that can occur for
certain segments of our international business commu-nity.

Adjustments Due to International Financial
Reporting Standard 17 (IFRS and LDTI)

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam President, the IFRS
17 adjustment mitigates issues associated with implementation of the IFRS 17 and LDTI in accordance with an acceptable financial accounting standard. I will now
provide further details on the impact of these matters.
The implementation of IFRS 17 requires longterm insurers and reinsurers to measure insurance
contracts using updated estimates and assumptions for
purposes of preparing their financial statements. In transitioning to this new accounting standard, life reinsurers are required to make certain adjustments in their
financial statements to recast historic reporting to align
with future accounting. The provisions in the Act ensure
that the adjustments made to implement IFRS 17 do
not provide a distorted result when applied to the computation of taxable income.

Economic Transition Adjustment (ETA)

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam President, the ETA
provisions relate to the fair value adjustment for assets, including intangibles and liabilit ies. The purpose of the
ETA provision is to revalue balance sheet items at fair
market values as opposed to historical carrying values
for tax purposes. Companies will need to provide appropriate support for the values used. The principle behind this approach, which has been seen in other jurisdictions and similar transitional scenarios , is to recognise upon entry into a taxing regime that the assets
which will generate future taxable income may be undervalued.

Matching Adjustments

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam President, the matching adjustments provisions mitigate potential accounting mismatches applicable to long- term insurers. The matching adjustment s provisions have the most significant impact on the life insurance sector. The provisions
aim to address the concern that for some long- term life
insurance contracts, the assets and liabilities reflected on the balance sheet are not accounted for on a con-sistent basis. The most common fact pattern is assets
being carried at fair market value and liabilities being
carried under a prescribed reserving methodology that
does not equate to fair market value. The result is a
mismatch in the income statement, potentially causing
distorted net income amounts. If uncorrected, this sce-nario could mean that life re insurers experience significant net income or losses in their financial statements
which will translate to distorted results in the computation of taxable income or loss for purposes of the corporate income tax. The Bill addresses th e abov e issue
by allowing a Bermuda constituent entity to elect to
match the asset and liability accounting in the computation of taxable income or loss for the corporate income tax.

Commencement

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam President, the corporate income tax legislation will come into force in its entirety on the 1
st of January 2025 and will be effective for
tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2025, providing MNEs time for transition. However, an enactment
date on or before December 31, 2023 allows for companies to make the necessary elections in relation to
tax residency, accounting standards and other relevant
matters as well as required accounting adjustments for effective transition on the commencement date.
It is important that Honourable Member s take
note that some elements of the legislation will come into
force on the 1
st of January 2024 to ensure that certain
elections of the nature noted above are properly recognised in foreign jurisdictions in 2024. An example of
such an election would be a Bermuda company that
wants to elect fiscal transparency entity status in 2024
such that status is recognised internationally.

Conclusion

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: The Government believes
that the corporate income tax framework reinforces
Bermuda’s continuing commitment to global compliance and transparency and reinforces Bermuda’s
strong international reputation. Today would not have
been possible without the significant work done by the
members of the International Tax Working Group who
have so ably represented their organisations and provided key input throughout this critical work. A special
thank you goes to ABIR, BILTIR, ABIC], CPA Bermuda,
and the Bermuda Bar Association who have all supported the work of their representatives. We also wish to thank the firms by whom the members of the Working
Group are employed who allowed for considerable
man- hours and other resources to be invested in this


Bermuda Senate project. Today is a landmark day in Bermuda’s history
and one that has been achieved through collaboration,
consultation, consideration and commitment.
Thank you, Madam President .

The President: Thank you, Senator Arianna Hodgson,
Junior Minister of Finance. That was quite a comprehensive brief.
Would any Senator care to speak on this Bill?
Senator De Couto, you have the floor.

But I wanted to actually
start off by acknowledging the visitors we have today,
the Financial Secretary, the people working on this pro-ject, the various technical staff. Madam President, as
you know, they of course gave several great briefings
to all of the legislators which were very informative and very useful. I have occasion to work with some of them
in my TRC (Tax Reform Commission) capacity and I
am incredibly grateful for their har d work and dedication
to this project. Their patience with people who are always getting up to speed (and even though I started
back in August, I put myself in that category) and for
answering the various technical questions. I just really
want to reiterate my gratitude to them and everybody
working on these projects with them. I am quite confi-dent that as they continue to work on this critical national initiative that any successes that will come out of it will no doubt be a large part due to their dedication, competence and expertise. I know these things go without saying, but this project, I think, is of a magnitude
that should not be underestimated.
Madam President, I also want to thank the numerous groups and individuals who took the time to
meet with the Opposition. We have been researching
this topic and developing our understanding and our policy views since the summer, since the first consultation was announced. What views we have, have not
come out of a vacuum. And while our policy views are
ours alone, they are informed by many, many perspectives of individuals and groups who have views or [who]
could be impacted by this. I think it is importan t that the
people understand that. We don’t just sit around making things up. We have really spent a lot of time to truly
understand about this and what the ramifications could
be.
Madam President, I also want to acknowledge
the extensive consultation the Government has done
with the business. Again, we clearly received the message from key stakeholders that the Government did do a good job here on that, and I just want to make sure people understand that we recognise that.
With that said, Madam President, I do feel that
the level of information provided to the general public
has been quite narrow and perhaps not as fulsome as I would have liked to have seen, as we in the OBA
would have liked to have seen— especially providing a
realistic assessment of the possible outcomes of this
CIT (corporate income tax). I will say CIT hereon,
Madam President .
With those preliminary remarks, we do support
this Bill, Madam President, guardedly you might say,
and very mindful of the risks to our country and its econ-omy and the possible downsides. It is our view that Bermuda as a jurisdiction is leaping first among other jurisdictions who do not already have this corporate tax.
While that may turn out to be the right decision, we won’t know until we land the jump, and that will be for a
while, Madam President .
We want to highlight the fact that the impact of
this is not known. The financial impact is unknown and
the Premier, the Finance Minister, has been busy advertising quite widely all the possible benefits. I know
he was on the radio yesterday saying that t he CIT will
allow us to reduce or eliminate customs duty. But on
the other hand doesn’t know or can’t provide estimates
of what kind of money the CIT will bring in. The reality
is that it is complicated to work out. The fact that we
don’t know what those numbers are, Madam President,
is not a reflection on the people doing the work, or really
even of the Government . Like I said it is complicated to
work out. But we would suggest that the Government ,
and the Finance Minister, particularly, be judicious in their conclusions when they communicate about this to
the public. If I might use the words from the Junior Minister’s brief, it wouldn’t be prudent for the Government
to perhaps set up the public expectations too high.
Madam President, by the way, these views that
we have, they do come from information and research
that has occurred either before or outside of my participation in the Tax Reform Commission. I will comment
on that a little bit later.
The Junior Minister did outline some of the
risks, but I wanted to perhaps run through them again
and perhaps it is a slightly different explanation. I find that everybody likes to get things explained [in] perhaps
different ways, and that can aid underst anding. But we
know, Madam President, that some of the biggest corporations in Bermuda that might fall under this tax are
in the insurance industry, the international insurance industry, and many of those are insuring worldwide for
things like hurricanes a nd earthquakes, as we say natural catastrophes, and when they happen (and we don’t know when they will happen), they can have a big impact on the results of those countries. The amount of
payments for the CIT and the volatility around that will
really depe nd on those business outcomes which,
again, are very hard to predict and plan for.
108 18 December 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate If we think about the timing of income, Madam
President (and the Junior Minister did allude to this, but
I would just like to present it in a slightly different way),
the first tax year will be 2025, when corporations will file
their taxes in perhaps the end of . . . late 2026. So the
earliest we might know wh at we even get in year one is
not going to be until almost three years from now. So
that is important as well to set expectations, Madam
President, for the people.
We heard about the QRTCs, the qualifying refundable tax credits. We have worked hard to develop
our understanding, in part grateful to the technical experts who have briefed us, Madam President . My understanding is the “Q” means Q ualifying , which means
they have to meet the OECD rules. “R”, that’s the
kicker, Madam President, Refundable. It is not like a
normal tax credit where you just offset your tax each
year. With these QRTCs, if the company does something to earn the tax credit, they have earned that. Let’s
say the have earned a $10 million tax credit, perhaps
through donations or hiring a certain number of Bermu-dians or investing or what have you. And then let’s say
they lose money for four years and they don’t pay any
taxes. A normal type of tax credit, well, that’s it. You
don’t get to use the credit. With these QRTCs, the Gov-ernment will still have to write them a cheque for $10
million.
Now, there is a reason we have to do it that
way and it basically comes down to the OECD, Madam
President . But why do I raise this? It is another very
complicated problem that we as a country will have to
manage. We will have to very carefully manage our
cash. We will have to very carefully manage how we
use the proceeds. And that is why I, again, recommend prudence on how we talk about how this money can be
used, Madam President .
And then we have to understand that there are
softer things. I say soft; they are going to have quite
hard implications, Madam President . Companies may
not choose to pay tax here. They may elect to pay it in
another jurisdiction, even if they continue to operate
here. They may just leave. They may just restructure.
They may optimise their finances as legally permissible
to minimise their t ax bill. We know that they will have all
the experts on their side. Madam President, those are
things that will only reduce the amount of income we
will see from the CIT.
And then, this is actually really more of the
softer things, they are going to be looking for concessions in immigration; they are going to be looking for all the right QRTCs. They are going to look to be welcomed in Bermuda. And while all of those above things
and challenges are possible to address, Madam President, it certainly is not guaranteed we can keep everybody happy. And I would submit to you that it requires a kind of change in responsiveness that we have yet to see from this particular Government in changing some
tough policies. On policies, Madam President, I would say our
differences with the Government are less on the technical aspects of the Bill. As mentioned before, we have
consulted widely and we have a good understanding of
why the details of the Bill have gone the way they have. But we really differ on thinking about the timing of how
this will im pact and how the Bill is being sold to the public, Madam President, and of course how we should
best use the proceeds. It is no surprise to anyone today, probably, that the OBA w ould suggest a policy that
would create a very firm requirement —that is, a law,
Madam President —to use any unbudgeted CIT upside
to first pay down the debt, and second, to invest in our infrastructure, Madam President .
And we would like to see the ring- fencing of
any of this excess above the budget written into law and
that is an OBA policy that we would put forward. What led us to this conclusion, Madam President ? It is due to
a specific fact pattern based on behaviours —
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, point
of order.

—and decisions of this —

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Point of order, Madam
President .
The President: Minister Darrell, what is your point of
order?

POINT OF ORDER
[Standing Order 51(2)(a) ]
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: I am pretty sure that the
content of what the Senator has just spoken is an exact
extract of the proposed amendment that they wanted to lay in this Chamber, which you ruled was inadmissible,
Madam President . I would like to please point to Standing Order 51(2)(a) and ask that the Senator who is debating on this Bill stick to points of this Bill and do not
bring any matters that are in that amendment that he
wanted to bring to this Chamber into this debate.
Thank you, Madam President .
The President: Senator De Couto, I did give a direction
about the amendment and I am asking you to pose your
questions generally rather than specifically.

Yes, Madam President .
I would put forward that since the Government ’s statement spoke to the use of the proceeds of
this income and how it might impact how the Government spent its money and how they were used that that
would be an acceptable topic of debate, Madam Presi-dent.
The President: You may continue —



Bermuda Senate Sen. Dr. Douglas De Couto: Thank you, Madam President .

The President: —with your general comment.

Thank you.
There are those who have said that the OBA’s
policy is based on some kind of personal characteris-tics of the Government ’s Ministers. I do not know, but
like I said, our conclusions are a response to what I would term a specific fact pattern based on specific de-cisions and outcomes of this current Government . I
would give some examples of those . . . and this is why
it is important, Madam President, that we believe the
right policy would be for the Government to ring- fence
these revenues in law.
The Government has paid $800,000 to a recording studio that has disappeared. The Government
has made very questionable judgments about Bermuda’s valuable brand, —
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, point
of order.

—chasing crypto currency —

POINT OF ORDER

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, I am
not sure that any of what he is speaking about speaks
to the actual corporate income tax of which we are supposed to be debating.
Madam President, I would ask that you ask the
Senator who is speaking to refer again to your judgment and ask that he come back to speaking to this
Senate about what we are actually here debating. He is bringing a whole lot of other stuff that has nothing to
do with corporate income tax. And when we talk about
confusing the public, Madam President, this seems to
be the modus operandi of the One Bermuda Alliance
and it is unacceptable and I would say that it is outside
of the Standing Orders.
Thank you, Madam President .
The President: Senator De Couto, please be general
in your comments rather than specific with respect to
how the money is to be used, the tax revenues, are to
be used.

I will provide one specific
example that I think is highly relevant, and that is the
use of the sugar tax revenues which were promised
by—

POINT OF ORDER

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, point
of order. Again, after you have just asked the Senator to go back to debating the corporate income tax, he is going on a tangent about other stuff that has already
been debated and has nothing to do with the Bill that
we have at hand, Madam President .
Please!

The President: Senator De Couto, I have given you a
specific direction with respect to this Bill and the use of
any revenues. So I am asking you to speak generally
on the Bill.

Thank you, Madam President .
The Government has spoken quite generally
about how the proceeds of this CIT Bill will be used.
The OBA feels those needs to be ring- fenced. There
are many examples I’d be happy to give at the appropriate time as to why we want to see that in writing. If
you would permi t me to quote something from the Fiscal Responsibility Panel Report that was laid today,
which I believe is pertinent to this.
The President: You may.

—eventually converting
it to a net asset position. ”
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: This is the exact ethos of
the amendment that they wanted to put in place. And you have made it clear, Madam President, that you are
not going to allow that. It is outside of the Standing Orders of the Senate and Senator De Couto and the One
Bermuda Alliance are doing everything they can to possibly bring attention to what they would like to see in the
form of amendment which has already been said to be
inadmissible.
So, Madam President, please, if Senator De
Couto can listen to and heed your ruling and actually
take his debate back to the corporate income tax, I am
sure the public will be happy.

The President: Minister, this is a debate. And he can
. . . I have given a directive about the amendment, but
he can speak generally. And any of the Senators here
can speak on the Bill.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, respectfully, that is not generally when his points are exactly to the amendment which you said cannot be admissible.
110 18 December 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Thank you, Madam President .

The President: Senator De Couto, you may continue.
You were commenting on the Fiscal Responsibility Panel.

Thank you, Madam President .
Look, let me cut to the chase, Madam President. It was suggested that the One Bermuda Alliance
policy came out of nowhere, out of a place of arrogance, our view on how these proceeds of this tax
ought to be used for the betterment of our country. I
gave you one example from the Government ’s own
consultants in their report that was tabled today. It is quite clear, and I am going to translate some of the bureaucratese . . . actually, you know, they didn’t even
use bureaucratese. They used the word burning platform, which I found exceptional and remarkable in their
report from the Fiscal Responsibility Panel, because as
you know, these things are quite measured. Burning Platform . That Bermuda’s financial future is a burning
platform and while the Government wishes to talk about
the upsides of the corporate income tax, which could exist, we must put out the fire, Madam President , and
that is why it is the OBA’s policy that the Government
needs to put in writing and pass a law to protect the upsides of this. Now, Madam President, I [would] also
like to say that that idea, literally, everybody we have
spoken to is in agreement of it.
But let me turn to the TRC, because I believe
my point has been made, and I wish to be quite respectful today, Madam President .
The TRC, the Tax Reform Commission,
Madam President . I am of course working fully with
them. We have had a handful of meetings. They are
what I would call stellar minds, and I feel it to be an immense privilege to work with them on this vital national issue.
Now, Madam President, unfortunately a lot of
what we discuss I am not permitted by law —the law put
in place by the Progressive Labour Party Government
as confidential —I am not permitted to say what we discuss with them, so I cannot comment on that. I notice that the Premier and this Government seem quite free
to comment on it, so people will draw their own conclusions. I will say that any comments that I have around
the corporate income tax are drawn from either independent research, information taken from outside the
confines of the work in that committee, or from work
done prior. As I mentioned, we did a lot of research, a
lot of consultation into this topic.
I understand some Cabinet Members have
said I should not be on the TRC. I would be curious to
know what the rest of the Cabinet thinks. This Commission has been mentioned by the Government as a key
part of what we do going forward to deal with the implications of the corporate income tax. I wonder if that is
a statement of their Cabinet’s collective view. Madam President, I would have thought that the point of the Tax
Reform Commission would have been to bring a contrasting opinion and a diverse set of views to ensure
robust exchange to get the best outcome for Bermuda.
I would be disappointed to be removed from
the TRC, which we have heard from the Junior Minister
will be a vital part of how we deal with the implications
of the CIT going forward. As I mentioned, I do consider
it a privilege. But I do suspect that my emp loyer and my
family would be quite pleased should that unfortunate outcome happen.
There were many other personal comments
made by Government Minister s over the weekend, but
I am going to leave them there because I am here to speak about the policies.
My last comment would be a little bit on the timing of the Bill. We fully understand the strong need to pass this Bill this calendar year. That has been adequately explained. For those listening, it has to do with
technicalities around accounting for companies in
2024. I do note that the Bill itself came late and had
some very last -minute changes. I don’t actually draw a
conclusion about the people working on that. I think it
is natural for a Bill of this length— 60 pages, I can’t quite
remember the number —to have various issues, you
know, typos. In fact, I do wish the Government had
brought this Bill forward sooner to allow even further
input into it because as we know, we have had some
last-minute issues, we can only imagine there might be
some more lurking in there. Again, that is just normal I
think for a piece of legislation as long and as technical
as this.
But to conclude, Madam President, we support
the Bill with serious reservations, and we counsel re-straint to the Government on how it communicates the
benefits of this Bill to the people of Bermuda lest they
find the public becomes disappointed.
Thank you, Madam President .
The President: Thank you, Senator De Couto.
Would any other Senator care to speak? Senator John Wight, you have the floor.

ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

SENATE VISITORS
The President: But just before you start, I just would
like to acknowledge the presence of the Minister of
Economy and Labour, the Honourable Jason Hayward
and I see the Minister of Education, [the Honourable
Diallo Rabain] has just come in.

[Corporate Income Tax Act 2023, second reading debate, continuing]

The President: Anyway, Senator John Wight, you
have the floor.



Bermuda Senate Sen. John Wight: Thank you, Madam President . This
legislation may not be as topical as certain others that
have been brought to the Senate, but in my view, this
is as important as any in 2023.
This corporate minimum tax legislation is critically important for Bermuda so that we can continue to
be seen as the gold standard for regulated companies based in Bermuda who do so much to support Bermuda ’s economy. A tremendous amount of work has
been done by many stakeholders in Bermuda to draft
the legislation being brought to the Senate today for review. I would like to give particular thanks to the Ministry of Finance.
Without question there are both opportunities
and risks to this new tax. The opportunities start with
the potential for larger tax revenues over many years.
Albeit they will be difficult to estimate and quantify be-cause they are dependent on the taxable incomes of
those companies based in Bermuda subject to the new
tax that have global revenues in excess of € 750 million.
A risk that Bermuda will face is whether any
companies that currently domicile in Bermuda will
choose to redomicile elsewhere. In theory this shouldn’t be the case because this 15 per cent tax on Bermuda
profits will be taxed somewhere globally, either in Bermuda or elsewhere, so the decision to be domiciled in
Bermuda for reasons such as world- class respected
oversight by the BMA should offset any perceived benefits for relocating elsewhere.
There is much more work to be done, such as
the qualified refundable tax credits and how they work, the recommendations to come out of the Tax Reform
Commission to ensure a fair and equitable solution for
taxes paid in Bermuda, so that companies now paying
the new tax will not result in an unfair double taxation
for them.
In addition, I am conscious of the latest Fiscal
Responsibility Panel’s December 2023 annual assessment of Bermuda. The report highlights Bermuda’s
debt-to-GDP ratio, for a country such as Bermuda , being on the high side, in addition to the debt -to-revenue
ratio of 270 per cent being higher than Government ’s
stated objective of 80 per cent, which I fully support.
While I wouldn’t have supported any legislation if it was
permissible to use these surplus corporate minimum
tax receipts to pay down the debt, I fully support a commitment by Government to prioritise this action.
As further noted in the Fiscal Responsibility
Panel 2023 report, annual interest on Bermuda ’s debt
is $141 million. By prioritising paying down the debt, I
would much rather see funds being used for public education, elder health care, and repairing Bermuda’s
roads. But these discussions, Madam President, will
take place in 2024. Today’s session is to approve the
Bill, which I stated earlier I support 100 per cent. And
again I commend the Ministry of Finance and all other
stakeholders for a job very well done.
Thank you, Madam President .
The President: Thank you, Senator John Wight.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Senator Kiernan Bell, Vice President, you have
the floor.
Sen. Kiernan Bell: Thank you, Madam President .
First of all, I wanted to provide my absolute
100 per cent full -throated support for this Bill. I think it
is appropriate to adopt the thanks that have been given
to those who have worked very hard to get this Bill done
in a very rapid time frame. As I think has been said by the Junior Minister in her statements today, and I will
paraphrase, Now the hard work really begins .

The President: Mm-hmm.
Sen. Kiernan Bell: I am looking today in the Chamber
at some of those people who will be responsible for doing that work. And I look forward to supporting them to
the extent this body is able to during the course of the
next year.
I also wanted to express my thanks to the Minister in another place who heard the comments that
were raised in a technical briefing with respect to con-cerns with regard to section 3 of the Act in its current
form which, somewhat unusually for tax legislation, provides for the Minister to amend the primary Act by regulation. I am grateful for the assurance that was given in the other place and was paraphrased by the Junior
Minister in the Senate today to indicate that the Act will
come back and that that section will be amended in due
course once we have gone through this transition period, if I can put it that way.
Finally, I would only observe and note that the
pre-budget report was also lodged very recently, and I
didn’t see expressly mentioned in that pre- budget report the likely investment that we are going to have to
make as a jurisdiction in the infrastructure, both physical and digital and people to support what is a seismic
shift in our taxation system in Bermuda. I would simply
say I look forward to seeing more detail around that investment and I would hope that that investment, which
can be translated as a cost as well in this short -term, to
being invested very rapidly because while I think others have mentioned when it is that we can expect to see the revenue coming in from the corporate income tax
which will . . . may perhaps be pre- payments made in
2025, but really we will not know until 2026, the cost of
course will be incurred much . . . much earlier than that.
And the cost will be significant and we shouldn’t . . .
worry about that. In fact, I would actually worry if we
weren’t making a significant investment. What I would
hope to see is more detail around that and I expect to
see that to be an investment that is made in 2024, not
pushed to 2025.
Those are my comments today, Madam President. Thank you.

112 18 December 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate The President: Thank you, Vice President Kiernan
Bell.
Would any other Senator care to speak on this
Bill?
While we are waiting, I would just like to announce [again] the presence of the Minister of Economy and Labour, the Honourable Jason Hayward in the
Gallery. Welcome to you, sir. And the Minister of Education, the Honourable Diallo Rabain.
So, do we have any other Senator who would
like to speak on this Bill? Hearing none . . . which one?
Sorry, I didn’t see the hand.

[Crosstalk]
The President: Senator Lindsay Simmons, you have
the floor.

[Pause]

The President: Senator Simmons, if you need more
time—

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Just one second, Madam
President . I just want to gather my thoughts . . .

[Pause]

The President: Because Senator Dill has also indicated she will speak.
[Pause and inaudible interjection ]
The President: I beg your pardon?
Senator Dill, you can speak on the Bill. Both of
you have indicated you wanted to speak, but she is not quite ready, so I am giving you the opportunity to speak at this point.

Thank you, Madam
President .
Madam President, I will preface my statements
today by two quotes by the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King. And it is interesting because one of the quotes he actually did this . . . made that speech during Christmas
time. And one of the things that he said was that we are
all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied
[together] in[to] a single garment of destiny. I can never
be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to
be. And you can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be. This is the interrelated structure
of reality.
Another quote that he made is that faith is taking the first step, even when you don’t see the whole staircase .
Madam President, I will honestly say that I am
humbled to be able to be a part of this historic under-taking. It is important for us to understand that these
policies have come into effect and this agreement came into effect after having come through the 2020
COVID -19 pandemic. Countries all over the world
came together and they recognised . . . because one of
the things that COVID -19 showed us, and I will quote
Ibukun Awosika who said that no matter how rich you
are, your wealth alone cannot keep you alive and safe ,
that we need each other .
This Bill that we are debating today is something that will not only impact Bermuda, but this undertaking, which will take place in parliaments all over the
world . . . and I am excited about the fact that Bermuda
is leading the way. I am excited about the fact that we
understand how important it is for all of us to work together. This is an undertaking that will set the world on
a trajectory that will ensure that the least of us is provided for, and that all will have access to opportunity
and experience equity in this life.
This is not important . . . not just for Bermuda
but for the world at large. The fact that these multi -national entities, these corporations, will come and contribute to economies all over the world that historically
they have not had to contribute, that sometimes it has
been at their own will but that countries have come together and put together a process where they said We
have to look out for each other . We have to erase the
divide that exists and that it is important for us to create
a better future f or our children.
It was interesting to me to note . . . I was speaking with one of our parishioners and she said to me, Reverend, can you just explain to me . . . I am trying to
understand this whole corporate income tax thing and
something about it’s happening globally. What is the
OECD? Like, what is that? And how are they telling us what to do? Can you explain that to me?
And so I decided, as I thought about it just now,
I was thinking that maybe there are others in our listening audience who have those same questions that are
somehow being confused as to what the issue is here
today. What are we here to discuss? For those individuals who asked that question, the OECD, or the Organisation for Economic Co- Operation and Development,
is a unique coming together of government s from all
over the world. And they come together to collaborate,
to develop policy standards to promote sustainable
economic growth. The OECD . . . it provides a setting
where governments can compare experiences, seek
answers to common challenges and identify good practices and develop high standards for economic policy.
Today, the OECD membership countries account for three- fifths of the world GDP, three- quarters
of world trade, over 90 per cent of global official development assistance and half of the world’s energy consumption. The OECD is an organisation, an international organisation that works to build better policies for
better lives, that is how it is put on . . . when you research the OECD. It says that their “goal is to shape
policies that foster prosperity, equality, opportunity and
well-being for all.” They hav e over 60 years of experience working together and they have developed . . .


Bermuda Senate coming out of COVID -19, the theme was Recover together . Recover stronger . So they, along with governments, policy makers and citizens work on establishing
international standards and finding solutions to a range
of social, economic and environmental challenges.
When I was reading on where we are right now
in terms of moving forward with this global minimum
tax, it was interesting to read some of the comments.
Mathias Cormann, the General -Secretary of the OECD
said we are a “force for good in the world.”
Yoshihide Suga , the former Prime Minister of
Japan, said, “At this critical juncture, the role of [the]
OECD is to gather our wisdom from around the world
and to coordinate policies has never been more important.”
Emmanuel Macron, the President of France,
said, “To address today’s challenges, countries must enhance the coordination of their actions.” And with
those who asked the question about, How can they
make us? He said no, “Non- binding standards show the
way encouraging rather than imposing and they will
[be] key in the world of tomorrow.”
So that is why we are here today, Madam President . We are here to make a decision to move forward
in this global movement that is designed to break down barriers, that is designed to ensure that the least of us
has an opportunity, that is designed to ensure equality
and equity worldwide. That is why we are here today, to make the decision to take that first step forward.
Madam President, I don’t know about you, but
I was kind of surprised when I heard that there was an introduction of an amendment to the Act that was being
presented and the nature of the amendment —

Okay. Thank you,
Madam President .
But it is interesting to me to see that in our discussions around this that there are still the politics of
division at play here in Bermuda . In spite of the fact that
in the global climate countries are coming together from
all over the world and are talking about the importance
of us working together that we would find those who
would try to put in the public domain a false narrative,
that t hey would try to put into the minds of individuals
[the] possibility that the money will be not used pru-dently.
This morning, my colleague talked about he
would support this with reservation. What reservation
would we need to have to move forward in ensuring that
the divide is removed in Bermuda ? Because one of the
things that we have certainly experienced over the years is the price of progress, and we would honestly
have to say, while we have benefited in many ways
from the influx of international business in Bermuda, for
some of us in this community life became more difficult
as the cost of living has risen.
Madam President, for us to be here today and
passing this legislation that will help to level the playing
field, this legislation that will provide opportunities for
us to not only continue to eradicate our debt . . . and,
you know, it is important for us and for the publ ic to understand just last week we paid $50 million on that debt.
And next year we will be moving towards a balanced
budget. The Progressive Labour Party has demonstrated its ability to prudently govern.
I will have to say that when I heard some of the
negative things that have been said regarding this Bill,
I could not help but remember . . . I first joined the Progressive Labour Party at the time . . . I had just come
back from university, and I was met on my doorstep by
individuals from the United Bermuda Party who proceeded to tell me why I could not vote for the Progres-sive Labour Party, or why I should not. And amongst
the things that they basically were saying was that we,
as people of colour, do not have the expertise or the
will to prudently govern. And when I heard this, I be-came very troubled in my spirit that there could be a
narrative being put forth that our people were somehow
just not good enough, that we were not intelligent
enough, that we were not able to be able to govern this
country. I am pleased to know that now after 25 years
we have seen our young people rise up through the
114 18 December 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate ranks and see so many taking their rightful place in this
community, in places of leadership and demonstrating
that, yes, we can and we will do the right things for this
community .
Madam President, as we come together to collaborate, as we come together to move forward to a
new Bermuda where we continue to work together . . .
and as I said, we were in those meetings and we know
that this is just step one in the legislative process. The
first thing that we have to do is to be willing to move
forward, to be willing to say , yes, we will be a part of
this. And also for us . . . we understand that there is the
possibility that some companies may make the decision that they will leave. But we are also believing that
we are building a strong Bermuda that will have multiple pillars.
Just this morning we already talked about the
tourism Acts and the ways in which we are encouraging
investment. And we are believing that if others leave
that the Bermuda that we are creating will create an environment where others will come. We are believing
that as we come together as a people, as we work together . . . it has been exciting to see us collaborating
in such a way where we see our civil servants as well
as the international business community coming together, putting their minds together, working countless
hours, as Senator De Couto has shared, in order to
move this process forward, to move this legislation for-ward. That in the same way that they have worked over
these past several months to bring this legislation to
this place and to this ti me in history they will continue
to work. They will continue to put the policies together
that even as we have invested and continue to invest
in the development of our corporate tax structures and all of the administrative assistance that will be needed,
these same individuals will put together the ways that we will utilise these funds, the ways that we will con-tinue to capitalise and create more opportunities for our
people.
Madam President, it is my prayer that in the
same way that we can collaborate in the global climate
that we here in this Chamber and in the other place will
work together to create a better Bermuda for our people
and ensure that the least of us has an opportunity to
excel.
Thank you, Madam President .
The President: Thank you, Senator Dill.
Senator Lindsay Robinson [sic], you have the
floor.

Simmons.

The President: Oh, sorry. Oh, dear!
Sorry about that. Senator Lindsay Simmons,
you have the floor. I beg your pardon.

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Thank you, Madam President. I will be brief. Madam President, I think it is important to remind the people of Bermuda and Bermuda that Bermuda is widely regarded as the premier offshore financial centre and it is highly regarded for its global standards of compliance, regulation and infrastructure. Madam President, it is recognised as a global leader in
the fight against financial crime and the fight against
money laundering. Madam President, more importantly, Bermuda is recognised for its commitment to
global compliance and transparency and is consi dered
by the European Union to be [a] fully cooperative tax
jurisdiction.
Madam President, Bermuda currently has 41
bilateral tax information exchange agreements and
more than 124 multi -lateral treaty partners. Madam
President, Bermuda holds a very high rating within the
[Organisation for] Economic Co- Operation and Development, the OECD. It is considered as a first -class, top -
tier domicile with sophisticated legislation and regula-tory framework.
Madam President, in particular Bermuda was
the first offshore jurisdiction elevated to the OECD
whitelist category. Bermuda is rated favourably on international standards of tax transparency, the same level as the US and the UK and Germany by the OECD.
Madam President, the Tax Reform Commission was established under the Tax Reform Commission Act 2017 with an aim of advancing the government
of any measures to advance Bermuda’s system of taxation and revenue collection. Madam President, in accordance with t he Act the Commission shall examine
Bermuda ’s tax system for the purpose of determining
any measures that may be taken to best enable a system of taxations and revenue collection that is effective,
efficient and transparent and prepare and submit its report and recommendations.
Madam President, in the Progressive Labour
Party’s 2020 election platform, the Government committed to forming a new Tax Reform Commission to
conduct a further review of Bermuda ’s systems of taxation and revenue collection. In December 2020, we passed the Tax Reform Commission Amendment Act
[2021] to establish a new commission to make recommendations on tax reform to the Government .
Madam President, in October 2021, over 135
inclusive framework members agreed on a two- pillar
solution to reform international tax rules to ensure that large multi[ -national] groups, the MNE groups, pay a
minimum level of income [tax]. The OECD Global Anti -
Base Erosion [Model] Rules are key components of the two-pillar solution, Madam President , and are intended
to ensure that income earned by the MNE groups is
subject to [an] effective tax rate of at least 15 per cent
in every jurisdiction in which the MN E group operates.
Madam President, in the February 2023
budget statement, the Government of Bermuda stated
that the Ministry of Finance formed an International Tax
Working Group consisting of specialists in international
tax matters and representatives of various bodies. The


Bermuda Senate Working Group considered the OECD and the group of
the 20 industrial countries (G20) international tax
agreements on the Pillar Two of the Base Erosion and
Profit -Shifting (BEPS) project. The Working Group examined the implications of the BEPS Pillar Two M odel
Rules on Bermuda and provided input to the Government on these matters, taking into account the diversity
and complexity of Bermuda’s international business
sector.
Madam President, as a result of the OECD’s
requirement and our PLP 2020 election platform commitment to looking at recommendations on tax reforms,
we believe that this Bill helps to accomplish both initiatives and we look forward to the continued work of the
Tax Reform Commission.
Thank you, Madam President .
[Pause]

The President: Senator Simmons, you have finished?
Would any other Senator care to speak on this
Bill?
Senators we are going to go through lunch and
complete this Bill in its entirety and then lunch will be
served upstairs. We are going to go through.
Senator Hodgson, are you going to—
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Yes.

The President: —speak and respond?

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Yes, I will. Thank you, Madam
President.
Madam President, I simply wish to thank persons for their contributions today. For me, this is not a
political matter. It is actually the action of a responsible Government that recognises the importance of taking action.
Madam President, I actually remember going
out with the Pre- Budget Report last December and we
met with various stakeholder groups. And through many of those conversations, I think one of the biggest
asks from international business and other stakeholders was that we give these entities enough notice and
time to begin the financial planning for the next fiscal
year, and then years to come. And so, as my colleagues can appreciate, I think we are giving businesses ample time to begin financial planning in lig ht of
these types of changes.
We have listened, Madam President, and we
are moving. I know that there has been much press and
commentary surrounding the proposed amendment by
the Opposition, but I actually do not think there needed
to be. The Tax Reform Commission actually has its
terms of reference to make recommendations on
guardrails in relation to the corporate income tax. And
so, we are actually expecting that additional direction
will come. But Madam President, that direction will
come in due course. I think it is worth noting that there is nothing
new, I guess, about the concerns that have been
shared in this place and in other places. And in fact, I
would suspect that much of those concerns would have
been fleshed out by the W orking Group and addressed
appropriately before we came to a place where we
were able to draft this Bill. The truth, Madam President,
is that the variability of revenues is both understood and
expected. The interesting part about budget season is
that everybody has an idea of how we should spend the
money. And so I do agree with the comments made by
Senator Wight . And I am sure Minister Roban, Minister
Tinee Furbert and all the rest of the Ministers have endless ideas of how they could use additional revenue.
However, that is not why we are here today, Madam
President.
I would like to, again, thank the teams who
have worked on this Bill. I would like to thank all of the
public officers who continue to go the extra mile to ensure that we can remain the envy of other jurisdictions.
And I am grateful for the persons in the Ministry of Finance, particularly, Mr. Collin Anderson and Mr. Mi-chael Regan who have given so much time, energy and
effort to ensuring that we all have the tools and the re-sources we need in preparation for today’s debate. This
is a historic achievement i n reality. I would also like to
thank the team at the Attorney General’s Chambers
who have been doing a lot of work. We are grateful for
the work that they do.
And so, on behalf of this Progressive Labour
Party Government and in the name of all those who la-bour in the cause for a more fair and just society, I am
happy to commend this Bill to this Honourable [Senate], Madam President.
With no further comments, I move that the Bill
entitled the Corporate Income Tax Act 2023 be now read a second time.
The President: Is there any objection to the second
reading?
No objection.

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 26
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
I move that [Standing Order] 26 be suspended
in respect of this Bill.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.

[Motion carried: Standing Order 26 suspended.]

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
I move that the Bill entitled the Corporate Income Tax Act 2023 be now read a third time.

116 18 December 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate The President: Is there any objection to the third reading?
No objection.

BILL

THIRD READING

CORPORATE INCOME TAX ACT 2023

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
I move that this Bill do now pass.

The President: It has been moved that the Bill do now
pass.
Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
The Bill is passed.

[Motion carried: The Corporate Income Tax Act 2023
was read a third time and passed.]

ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

SENATE VISITOR

The President: I would also like to acknowledge the
presence in the Chamber of the Deputy Premier and
Minister of Home Affairs, the Honourable Walter
Roban.
Welcome to you, sir.

The President: We will now . . . Minister.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, I
know the clock says 12:30, but after discussion with fel-low Senators it is my suggestion that we continue
through and finish the agenda today before —

The President: Before going to lunch.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: —breaking for lunch. If
that is okay with you, Madam President.

The President: Senators . . . the Opposition has
agreed, so with that we will move on with our agenda.
The next item is the Bermuda Monetary Authority Amendment Act 2023. And that is also in the
name of Senator Arianna Hodgson, the Junior Minister
for Finance.
So Senator Hodgson, when you are ready you
can proceed.

STANDING ORDER 25
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President. Madam President, I move that the provisions of
Standing Order 25 be granted so that the Senate may
now proceed with the second reading of the Bill entitled
the Bermuda Monetary Authority Amendment Act
2023.

The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
Carry on.

[Motion carried: Leave granted for the Bermuda Monetary Authority Amendment Act 2023 to be read a second time on the same day as its first reading.]
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
I move that the Bill entitled the Bermuda Monetary Authority Amendment Act 2023 be now read a
second time.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.

BILL

SECOND READING

BERMUDA MONETARY AUTHORITY
AMENDMENT ACT 2023
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I am pleased to present to
the Senate the Bill entitled the Bermuda Monetary Authority Amendment Act 2023. This Bill amends the Bermuda Monetary Authority Act 1969 to revise fees pay-able by long- term insurers to the Bermuda Monetary
Authority, to amend the Fourth Schedule of the Act to
move fees payable by persons registered and designated under the Insurance Act 1978 to a new Fifth
Schedule and to make provisions for other fee- related
changes.
Madam President, Bermuda’s financial services sector is subject to the regulation and supervision of the Authority. The Authority was established under
the Act. The Authority operates pursuant to the Act,
which provides it with a number of principal objec ts including supervision, regulation and inspection of finan-cial institutions operating in or from within Bermuda.
Madam President, the Authority is mandated to
act as advisor to the Minister of Finance on policy matters related to any financial institution. Accordingly, the Authority proposes laws where it can do so appropri-ately and consistently with its function under the Act.
The Insurance Act 1978 provides the Authority with
substantive licensing, supervision and intervention
powers to regulate the insurance industry in Bermuda.
Madam President, the Authority monitors the
insurance industry to ensure that the regulatory


Bermuda Senate framework is robust and that it continues to reflect the
nature and complexity of the market under its purview.
This includes ensuring that the level of risk in the market is adequately managed and ensuring that the fees
charged by the Authority are reflec tive of and aligned
with the cost of appropriately overseeing regulated institutions.
Key highlights of the fee- related amendments
are as follows:
• Align registration and annual fees for long- term
insurers. That is Class C, Class D and Class E
insurers with the current level of risk and ma-turity of the market and the level of supervisory activities required to oversee such insurers.
• Registration and annual business fees for
these insurers are proposed to be increased.
• Increase fees for adjustments to certain capital factors used in the valuation of technical provisions for what are Bermuda’s solvency capital
requirement to align with the level of complexity of the adjustment requested. For context, the BSCR [Bermuda Sol vency Capital Requirement] represents the minimum amount of
capital commercial insurers should hold to
cover an adverse development in liabilities and assets arising from unexpected events. For
most insurers, the BSCR is calculated using a
standard model prescribed by the Authority.
However, the Authority in limited cases allows
insurers to apply for adjustments to some factors in the standard BSCR model to better re-flect the risk profile of the entity. Such adjustments can vary in complexity, and the Bill
seeks to align the fees with the level of complexity of these adjustments and the level of review required.
• Introduce fees related to the use of an internal
scenario- based approach model for valuation
of best estimates of technical provisions to
align with the complex computational nature of these models and the requisite technical expertise required to review and approve the
same. Applications will be subject to a sliding
scale fee payment based on the structural
complexity of the model.
• Apply a supplementary fee to long- term insurers who write retail business to reflect the operational risks inherent in writing direct insurance including increased money laundering
and market conduct risks and to cover the ad-ditional costs associated with appropriately supervising such business.
• Introduce an annual fee payable by the head of
the Internationally Active Insurance Group
[IAIG] to support the effective supervision of in-ternationally active insurance groups.
Madam President, by way of background, the
Authority undertook an extensive consultation process this year through the publication of two consultation papers published on the Authority’s website on the 24
th
of February and the 28th of July 2023, respectively. As
per the Authority’s normal customs and practice, the
Authority engaged with the insurance industry including
the Bermuda International Long Term Insurers and Re-insurers (BILTIR), the Association of Bermuda Insurers
and Reins urers (ABIR) and the wider public on proposed changes to enhance the regulatory framework
for commercial insurers and insurance groups.
Madam President, the proposed changes included targeted enhancements to the framework for long-term insurers which covered updates to the methodology to be used in the valuation of technical provisions requirements, the valuation of and adjustments to
elem ents of the previously referenced BSCR and other
prudential standards. The consultation paper dated the 24
th of February 2023 also proposed revised fees to ensure the requisite resources for the supervision of the
enhanced regime are in place.

Annual business fees and registration fees for the
long-term insurance sector

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam President, annual
business fees and registration fees for long- term insurers have historically been significantly lower than those
of insurers who carry on general business. This was re-flective of the size and maturity of the long- term insurance ind ustry in Bermuda. However, the long- term insurance industry has matured, grown significantly and has increased in sophistication. As such, fee revisions
are being proposed to bring the annual business fees
and registration fees charged to long- term insurer s in
line with the fees charged to property and casualty insurers and to meet the necessary costs related to the
supervision of these insurers.
This included costs associated with ensuring
that the level of resources and tools required for supervision are appropriate and well aligned with the increased levels of technical reviews brought on by the
enhancements to the prudential requirements set out in
the consultation papers.

Fees related to the use of a scenario- based
approach model

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam President, consistent
with the Authority’s continued efforts to protect policyholders and the industry at large by ensuring that risks
in the insurance industry are properly managed, fees related to the use of certain factors and models used in
the evaluation of technical provisions have been introduced in this Bill. Madam President, the Bill introduces
fees related to the use of an internal scenario- based
approach [SBA] model for the valuation of technical provisions. For contex t, “technical provisions” refer to
the funds that an insurance company sets aside to
cover their future expected liabilities arising from insurance policies they have issued. These provisions are
118 18 December 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate essential for ensuring that insurers can meet their obligations to policyholders when they arise.
Under the Authority’s regulatory framework,
commercial insurers can use a prescribed standard
model or their own internal model, provided they follow principles outlined by the Authority. Such an internal
model is called an SBA [Scenario- Based Approach]
model. The use of an SBA model can be very technical
in nature, given the need to tailor this to the specific
context of an insurer. As a result, it requires the Authority’s approval and ongoing review to ensure the model aligns with the prescribed principl es. The fees introduced in this Bill are designed to support the supervisory activities related to the review of these models.

Internationally active insurance groups

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam President, the Senate is reminded that the Insurance Amendment Act
2023 made provision for the designation of an entity as
the head of an IAIG [IAIG means Internationally Active Insurance Group] to support the effective supervision
of Internationall y Active Insurance Groups. This Bill introduces an annual fee to be charged to the entity designated as head of an IAIG.
Madam President, the Bill also incorporates
consequential amendments to the Insurance Act 1978. A consequential amendment is made to remove the definition of “retail business” from section 30JA[(2)] of
the Insurance Act as it is limited to the application of the
definition of this section. A consequential amendment is made to section 1 of the Insurance Act to cause the
definition of “retail business” to apply to the entire Insurance Act 1978. Additionally, a consequential amendment is made to insert provisi ons into [a new]
section 27H of the Insurance Act to provide for the cir-cumstances in which the Authority may charge annual fees to the head of the IAIG and to make provision for
IAIGs to pay a fee upon designation as an IAIG and
thereafter to pay fees annually.
Finally, section 27F of the Insurance Act is
amended to confirm the Authority’s rule- making powers
for group supervision extended to IAIGs.

Jurisdictional analysis

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam President, as part of
the process of developing the proposed enhanced fee
structure for long- term insurers, the Authority analysed
the fees levied on long- term insurers by its regulatory
counterparts in a number of other jurisdictions. The re-sults o f this analysis indicated that Bermuda’s new fee
structure for the sector will remain attractive and align
with the Island’s competitive position as a leading jurisdiction in the insurance industry. Further, Bermuda’s
value proposition, which includes the maintenance of its Solvency II equivalency as it relates to the insurance
regulatory regime, continues to set the Island apart
from its peers. The enhanced fees will allow the Authority to continue to meet national and international
regulatory and supervisory standards.

Consultation

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam President, the Authority notes that stakeholders acknowledge the need
for the Authority to revise fees to meet the necessary
cost of effective supervision. Given the increasing complexity and diversity of Bermuda’s insurers’ long- term
business model s, the industry did, however, request a
transitional period for implementation of the proposed
annual business fees. Madam President, in alignment
with the feedback received, the Authority published a
stakeholder letter on the 28
th of July 2023, noting tha t
the increase in annual business fees for long- term insurers will be phased in over three years, 2024 through 2026. The Fifth Schedule to the Bill reflects this proposed phase in fee structure.
Madam President, it is worth remembering that
the fee schedules applicable to regulated financial institutions are necessarily detailed and inherently complex. In this instance it must be noted that the fee
schedule changes proposed within this Bill relat e only
to the insurance sector and within that sector are focused on fees payable by long- term insurers. Accordingly, from a schedule comprising over 300 insurancerelated fees, there are only approximately 70 revisions or additions proposed.
Madam President, in closing I would like to
thank all of those persons within the Authority, the At-torney General’s Chambers, the Ministry of Finance
and the private sector, particularly members of the BILTIR and ABIR [Association of Bermuda Insurers and
Reinsurers] who have all assisted with the development of this Bill.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Arianna Hodgson.
Would any Senator care to speak on this Bill?
Senator De Couto, you have the floor.

Thank you, Madam President.
The OBA is pleased to support this amendment, Madam President, and we would like to thank the
team at the BMA and the Ministry of Finance who also
provided a very lucid briefing to me and my colleague
in the other place. We understand the need for the numerous changes that are in the Bill, and I would say
that it certainly allowed us to feel comfortable with this
Bill. And we recognise the growth and complexity in the
long-term insurance business in Bermuda and the need
that the BMA be appropriately resour ced to appropriately regulate this business in the best possible manner.
We also discussed and learned at length about
how the fees will be staggered and phased in. We appreciate that the fees for some of the largest long- term


Bermuda Senate insurers will be roughly equivalent with the fees for
some of our largest property and casualty insurers,
which seems fair. If I am understanding correctly, we
also understand how those fees will be phased in so
that existing insurers will not get hit with a large increase all of a sudden.
So, with that, we are pleased to support this Bill
and look forward to success by the BMA in this area and success on behalf of the long- term industry in Bermuda.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator De Couto.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Senator John Wight, you have the floor.

Sen. John Wight: Thank you, Madam President.
I support this Bill. As the Junior Minister said,
the long- term insurers have the same, or arguably the
greater complexity as short -term P&C [property and
casualty] insurers and reinsurers. The BMA is, as we all know, a globally respected regulator of Ber muda’s
financial institutions. We need to ensure that the BMA
receives fees commensurate with the cost that they require to oversee the activities of these organisations. In this case, the higher fees required for long- term insurers. So as I said at the st art, Madam President, I fully
support this Bill.
Thank you.
The President: Thank you, Senator John Wight.
Would any other Senator care to speak on this
Bill?
Senator Emily Dill, you have the floor.

Thank you, Madam
President.
I would just like to join with my Senate colleagues on congratulating the Junior Minister on bring-ing this Bill to the forefront today. And we would like to
extend our thanks to the Bermuda Monetary Authority
and the Ministry of Finance. I would like to j ust highlight
[that] it is a great feeling to know that we as a Govern-ment [are] engaging in such rigorous consultation and collaboration. And this is just another example of the
ways in which we are working together to build a better
Bermuda. These are changes that were necessary as
the cost of business increases and our business partners understand this, support this, encourage it and we
are very happy that we were able to pass this legisla-tion, bring this legislation forward, and pass this Act.
And I wou ld like to thank everyone who was a part of
this process.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Dill.

ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT
SENATE VISTORS
The President: I would just like to acknowledge the
presence of members of the BMA who are here with us
in the [Chamber]. So, I would just like to welcome both
of you.
[Bermuda Monetary Authority Amendment Act 2023,
second reading debate, continuing.]

The President: Would any other Senator care to speak
on this Bill?
Hearing none, then Senator Arianna Hodgson
it is back to you.

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
I would like to thank my colleagues for their
support on this Bill as well. With that being said, Madam President, I move that the Bill entitled the Bermuda
Monetary Authority Amendment Act 2023 be now read
a second time.

The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 26

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
I move that [Standing Order] 26 be suspended
in respect of this Bill.

The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.

[Motion carried: Standing Order 26 suspended.]
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
I move that the Bill entitled the Bermuda Monetary Authority Amendment Act 2023 be now read a
third time.

The President: Is there any objection to the third reading?
No objection.

BILL

THIRD READING

BERMUDA MONETARY AUTHORITY
AMENDMENT ACT 2023
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
I move that the Bill do now pass.

120 18 December 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate The President: It has been moved that the Bill do now
pass.
Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
The Bill is passed.

[Motion carried: Bermuda Monetary Authority Amendment Act 2023 was read a third time and passed.]

The President: Thank you, Senator Arianna Hodgson.
And thank you all, Senators, for your participation.
And thank you, members of the BMA for being
present here this morning.
We are moving on with our Orders of the Day.
The last item is the second reading of the Private Bill, Meanwhile Insurance Bitcoin (Bermuda) Limited Act
2023 , and that is in the name of Senator Vice President
Kiernan Bell.
You have the floor.

PRIVATE BILL

SECOND READING

MEANWHILE INSURANCE BITCOIN
(BERMUDA) LIMITED ACT 2023
Sen. Kiernan Bell: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I move that the [Private] Bill
entitled Meanwhile Insurance Bitcoin (Bermuda) Limited Act 2023 be now read a second time.

Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 26

Sen. Kiernan Bell: Madam President, I move that
[Standing Order] 26 be suspended in respect of this Bill.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
[Motion carried: Standing Order 26 suspended.]


Sen. Kiernan Bell: Madam President, I move that the
[Private] Bill entitled Meanwhile Insurance Bitcoin (Bermuda) Limited Act 2023 be read a third time.

Is there any objection to the third reading?
No objection.

BILL

THIRD READING
MEANWHILE INSURANCE BITCOIN
(BERMUDA) LIMITED ACT 2023
Sen. Kiernan Bell: Madam President, I move that the
Bill do now pass.
The President: It has been moved that the Bill do now
pass.
Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
The Bill has passed.
[Motion carried: The Meanwhile Insurance Bitcoin (Bermuda) Limited Act 2023 was read a third time and
passed.]

The President: Thank you, Senator Vice President
Kiernan Bell.
We will now move on to . . . Oh, there is . . . I
have a message from Minister Darrell with respect to
. . . he has a response to the parliamentary Question
on ministerial travel. I think that we will get that out of the way.

QUESTION PERIOD
[Recommitted]
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President. (One second here. I forgot that I told you that.)
[Laughter]
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Yes, I do have the response. There was a . . .
[Crosstalk]

QUESTION 1: TRAVEL ITINERARY OF CABINET
MINISTERS

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, I want
to draw the attention of the Senators, as well as yourself, to a public statement that was actually put in the public domain last week in regard to these parliamentary questions.
Madam President, if I can have permission to
just read that statement that is in the public domain. I think that this will give the Senator from the other side
some comfort in that his questions will be answered and where he can find those answers.
So the ministerial travel website, Madam President, will continue to be updated as it has been throughout the year. It should be noted that this is an
administrative function. And as the public and the media can understand, public officers have many tasks
that need to be completed on any given day, Madam President. Transparency is essential , but these tasks
do add to the administrative burden of the public officers who need to compile the information for publication.


Bermuda Senate At the same time these public officers deal with
daily tasks to serve the public, Madam President. It
should be clear that travel expenses are not attempted
to be concealed as press releases for ministers are often made regarding ministerial travel. And by practice, ministerial expenses are transparently reported.
With regard to the specific Minister, the Premier and his travel, the latest Washington, DC trip is ex-pected to be posted by the end of the week. And that
has been posted by the Cabinet Office. The missing
items from the Ministry of Finance for the Premier are scheduled to be completed by the end of this week. Any
other ministerial travel that has not been posted for the
year (and this should not be many at all) will be uploaded by the end of the year. And we welcome the
transparency and questions that may come from the
media as well as the members of the public.
Ministers must travel, Madam President, to
represent Bermuda to conduct business overseas. And the public should note, as well as the Senators in this
place, that ministerial travel is always approved by the
Premier. And it will always consider . . . the Premier always considers if this trip is necessary to ensure that
Bermuda is adequately represented in international
spheres when required.
And Madam President, as I did say, this was
put in the public domain last week and that is the re-sponse that I have for the Senator. Thank you, Madam President.
I do have one more follow -up response regarding a question that was last asked by Senator Tucker. And just . . . if she would like the answer regarding sex
offenders, Madam President.
The President: Yes, she has indicated she would.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you.
That was one that I do have an answer to.

2QUESTION 1: SEX OFFENDERS REGISTER —
NUMBER OF NON- BERMUDIANS RESIDENT
IN BERMUDA
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Okay. So, this was, I
think we talked about overseas and how many were
overseas and that was something that is difficult. That
is something that I probably cannot answer at this time.
However, there are 13 clients of the Department of Court Services that have a sex offence. And all
of those offenders, Madam President, are Bermudian.
As of November 2023, the Programmes Team were
providing services to 37 clients; 20 of those clients were
serviced by psychologists and 5 of the 20 were sex offenders, four males and one female.
We currently have one psychologist and are in
the recruitment phase for a second psychologist. The

2 Question originally asked on 13 December 2023 Programmes Team is currently comprised of one forensic psychologist and two senior probation officers.
So, Madam President, I am happy to share with
the Senators those follow ups to the two questions from
last week.
Thank you.
The President: Thank you very much, Minister Darrell.
Moving on then to [the next item].

MOTIONS

The President: There are none.

CONGRATULATORY AND/OR
OBITUARY SPEECHES

The President: Would any Senator care to speak?
Senator De Couto, you have the floor.

I have recently learned
to my great dismay that Shirley Dill is going to be retir-ing. I believe this will be her sixth time retiring. That is what I have learned. And I wanted to congratulate her
on her contributions to our community. I want to commend her and highlight a lesson we can all learn from her regarding her tact, her way of bringing respectful
conversations on to the air waves, a welcoming of discussion of tough topics but while always holding her
discussion partners accountable. She is a real B ermuda icon and I think she provided a real masterclass on how to talk and importantly how to listen to people.
So I am grateful to all that she has given us in Bermuda, Madam President.

The President: Mm-hmm.

I would like to congratulate Campbell Patton for his bronze medal in Sail Sydney last week in the Laser class. And I also want to wish
him luck in advance, along with other Bermudian laser
sailor, Sebastian Kempe and Ben Smith, who I believe
will be competing in events down under in Australia in early January in an attempt to qualify Bermuda with a
spot in the Olympic Games.
I would also like to congratulate Kaden Hopkins who won the President’s Cup cycling race on
122 18 December 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Sunday which I read about in great detail in the paper.
I know how to ride a bike, but I have never done —or
any—cycle racing. But I have to say, it sounded pretty
exciting any dynamic, and of course it would be. And I
want to extend my congratulations to Mr. Hopkins.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator De Couto.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Senator Robin Tucker, OBA Leader in the Senate, you have the floor.

Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, Madam President.
I would like to express condolences to the family of Donna Castle Johnson. I have known Donna for
several years. I was quite young when I first met her. I
worked with her at Conyers some years ago. So, I would like to, as I said, express condolences to her
family, her children and her extended family.
I did mention last week, I did not at the time, I
did not know the gentleman’s name who was murdered
at Mary Victoria Road, but again, I would like to express
condolences to the family of Mr. Steve Parkes.

The President: Mm-hmm.

Sen. Robin Tucker: In addition, I would like to also associate myself with the expression of congratulations
that my Senate colleague, Dr. De Couto, has expressed for Mrs. Shirley Dill’s retirement. She will be a
significant miss on the radio. And I know that I for one am a lso one who listens to her on Sunday mornings.
And this has been expressed to her since she an-nounced her repeat retirement —

[Laughter]
Sen. Robin Tucker: —and it has been expressed to
her by a number of callers how much she is absolutely going to be missed.
The President: Mm-hmm.
Sen. Robin Tucker: So, again, congratulations and I
hope this time she can retire for real.

The President: Mm-hmm.

Sen. Robin Tucker: That she can stay retired and enjoy her retirement during the period.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Tucker.
Senator Dwayne Robinson, you have the floor.

Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Thank you, Madam President.
I just wanted to congratulate the captain of the
Salvation Army West End, Adriane Cartmell, and the Kettle Coordinator, Ms. Joanne Fubler. They have
been doing phenomenal work for many years feeding,
and especially feeding during this holiday season of
Christmas. The constituents and the communities of
Somerset, which is, as you may know, my old stomping
ground, and my area . . . which I represent . . . or hope
to represent in Southampton. So you know —
[Inaudible interjections]
Sen. Dwayne Robinson: [They are] getting excited,
Madam President. I said “hope to.” Well, I hope to. I put
a “hope” in there.
So, I wanted to send them congratulations for
the work that they are doing. As you know, this is the
holiday season and many of us are getting ready to
transition into that phase and it is always good for us to support folks who are unable to feed themsel ves during
this time so that they can have a Christmas celebration
hopefully [with] more food security in the future.
Thank you so much.

The President: Thank you, Senator Robinson.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Senator Dill, you have the floor, Emily Dill, Reverend.

Thank you, Madam
President.
I will first start on a sad note. I would like to extend my sincere condolences to the family of Mrs. Cynthia Stovell. She was a member of St. Paul AME
Church, but she was a nurse in this community who was a trailblazer. She was one who became certified
years ago when nurses were up against all sorts of discriminatory practices. She has been an outstanding
caregiver and has lived a life of service to this commu-nity, and commitment to the uplift of all of humanity.
Mrs. Stovell, upon her retirement, she did not stop serving at that time, but then she became a part of a group
of individuals led by evangelist Joan Simmons, who
travels to Mozambique. They have built a school there.
And Nurse Stovell would lead the health initiative when
they would go down . . . Bermudians would go down
every year and give back into that community. So, we
are saddened to hear of her sudden passing. But we
trust that her legacy of service and commitment will
continue and that her family will be comforted with the
memory of a life well lived.
On a much lighter note, Madam President, I
would like to take the time to congratulate the Sandys community. Boy, we have had so much going on in
Sandys. They had the lighting of Somerset Bridge and
then if you would travel to Somerset you can, for a smal l
fee, drive through the Winter Wonderland at Willow-bank. We had the Friends of Sandys 5K Road Race
this month. As well as carolling with the dolphins at Dolphin Quest with Power Girl.


Bermuda Senate We would like to congratulate the schools in
the Sandys community: Somerset Primary, West End
Primary and even the Dalton E. Tucker [Primary]
school for their Christmas concerts. And to see the
young people . . . I have heard nothing but high accolades for the outstanding presentations that were
made.
Coming up will be the Open Your Heart Foundation Boxing Day event that everyone is encouraged
to be a part of. And one of the things that I just learned
about this past weekend, the St. James Church had a Christmas cantata where they invited individuals from
throughout the community, whether they were a member of their choir or not, to come and be a part. And that
was an outstanding presentation.
And I want to take the time to salute the youth
leaders at Allen Temple AME Church for the exemplary work that they are doing with our young people. Just
last Sunday they had the Allen Temple Sunday School
Christmas Concert. And I also saw pictures online
where their youth department was out last Friday even-ing carolling and giving gifts to our seniors and celebrating this Christmas season. So, I just want to thank
all of those organisations for their exemplary work. And
last but not least, the St. Paul AME Church for their annual Christmas programme which was held last night,
which was also an exemplary performance. So, I just
want to thank everyone for the outstanding work they are doing and the beautiful holiday spirit that is present
throughout our commu nity.
The last thing I would like to share is a special
happy birthday to Mrs. Izola Harvey, who celebrated 98
years. She was a member of the Progressive Group
and we just thank God for her life and trust that she has a wonderful year ahead.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Dill.
Would any other Senator care to speak at this
time?
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, —
The President: Senator Darrell.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: —I would like to take this
opportunity to congratulate and be associated with, but
go a little further with, the congratulations that Senator
Dill just gave for the St. Paul AME Church.
As you may know, Madam President, and as
many people listening would know, that I grew up at St. Paul AME Church and I went to Sunday School there,
and I went to Youth Group there, and I continued on as
a member of St. Paul AME Church. So, it was a great
pleasure that I attended there what is now called the
“Annual Christmas Concert” last evening. Madam President, I will associate you. I did see you there as well.
And this concert featured Ms. Khadijah Davis, Mr. Daniel McGrath, Mr. Sheldon Michael and Ms. Tierney Breedlove. Also, one of Bermuda’s up- and-coming local artists, Mr. Tino Martinez and the Tino Martinez
Quintet . As well as many individuals whom I grew up
with and went to church with, the St. Paul AME Praise
Team. It was all under the direction of the Minister of
Music, Mr. Raymond George. (They now call it the Director of Music.) And the pastor, Reverend Nicholas
Tweed.
So, Madam President, it was a very joyful experience to attend that concert last night. You know, as
a younger member, I never really went. My parents would go, and I never understood all that went with this
concert. And as you were one of the readers, that is an
important piece of that, and you read, Madam President, and they honoured some past members, Mr. Morton as well Ms. Flood. They honoured those members
as well with this Christmas concert. So, it is something that I am glad that all these years later, although it has
been tweaked a little bit, it still continues.
I did have the privilege of reading at the concert
last year. But to see it from a different perspective last
evening, Madam President, was a sight to behold. And
I want to congratulate everyone associated with that.
And I look forward to . . . and anyone else. I did attend
the First Church of God a couple of weeks ago. I
missed Devonshire Church, where my family also has
connections. And I know you were at that one, Madam
President. Any institution, church, organisation that is
putting on these very necess ary concerts during this
season, Madam President, you just don’t know the type
of joy that it may bring to those in attendance. So, I want
to congratulate them again and thank you for your participation as well.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Minister.
Senator Leslie Robinson, you have the floor.

Sen. Leslie Robinson: Thank you, Madam President.
I too, first of all, would like to share in the condolences for the passing of Sister Cynthia Stovell. I
worked with her for many, many decades in the AME
Church. She was a member of St. Paul and also—
[Crosstalk ]

Sen. Leslie Robinson: Okay. Thank you, Madam
President. Apologies for that.
Sister Cynthia Stovell, yes, we worked together
in the lay organisation. She at St. Paul and I at Bethel.
We just want to remember her sons right now, Quinton
and Curtis Stovell, and the entire family. She was a
champion for health care, not just here in Bermuda but
also abroad in our First Episcopal District.
Also, I would like to share in the comments
about the churches and the schools for the various programmes for Christmas. It has just been wonderful to
see the young people so excited about learning their
parts and doing, you know, their singing and their acting
124 18 December 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate talents. And I too want to associate with comments with
the AME churches, as those who know me know I am
from Bethel AME Church. And we had a beautiful
Christmas programme for our kids as well, on December 10. And so we want to just again congratulate all
churches, all schools for their work in preparing the
kids, in particular, for their Christmas programmes. And
we wish the kids all the best as they are now out for
their Christmas break.
The President: Thank you, Senator Robinson.
That is everybody who has spoken so I would
just like to associate myself with the condolences for
Cynthia Stovell. I would also like to associate myself
with the congrats to Shirley Dill on her retirement. I will
associate myself with Senator De Couto’s comments.
And associate myself also with Izola Harvey’s birthday.
I am very close to her and I did have the opportunity to
send her flowers and talk to her on the phone. So, she
is wonderful at her age.
And I would also like to associate myself with
the congratulations for the AME Church, their concert which I was able to attend. And finally, I would like to
also congratulate my own church and extend congratulations to Reverend Jamaine Tucker of Christ Angleton Church in Devonshire for the most wonderful and
enjoyable candlelight service held at the church last
Sunday. Thanks are also extended to all the church leadership and the distinguished patron for the event
was Mr. Thomas Christop her Famous, JP, MP , parliamentary representative for constituency 11. And he
was recognised that evening for the establishment of
the Parish Pride Family of Volunteers in Devonshire to
address various maintenance needs around the com-munity. He was present along with several other MPs
who supported him, as well as the Governor and her husband, the Premier and his family, the Bishop of Ber-muda and his family, as well, as I said, several members of parliament.
With that said, we have come to adjournment.
But before I do that let me do something else here. And
that is on behalf of the Senate.

MESSAGE TO THE
HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY

CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR’S GREETINGS

The President: To His Honour the Speaker and Members of the Honourable House of Assembly:
The Senate has much pleasure in extending to
your Honourable House sincere greetings for a very
happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

MESSAGE TO THE GOVERNOR

CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR’S GREETINGS
The President: May it please Your Excellency,
The Senate has the honour to present its compliments to Your Excellency and respectfully extends
its greetings for a very happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

[Pause]

The President: Those are the two.

EXPRESSION OF THANKS TO SENATE TEAM

The President: And for my part, Senators, I would like
to take this opportunity to thank each one of you for
your work and support of me throughout the past year.

SEASON’S GREETINGS

The President: And during this festive time, I wish you
and your families a most enjoyable, safe and happy
time with your respective families. And all the very best
in 2024. Stay safe and well.
I would also like to extend season’s greetings
and all good wishes to the listening public for a most
enjoyable, blessed and safe Christmas and New Year and also, for all of us, actually, to remember the reason
for the season. We also pray for our world an d all the
suffering that is existing. May love prevail and the wars
come to an end. We pray that God will touch the lives
of those who are engaged in these atrocities.

[Pause]
The President: With that said . . . Minister.

ADJOURNMENT
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I do now ask that the Senate do adjourn until February of 2024.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you.
Would any Senator want to speak on the motion to adjourn?
Senator De Couto—

It is much appreciated.


Bermuda Senate Recently I came to understand, Madam President, that some Cabinet Ministers have been making
what I would term quite personal comments about individuals and their families during what should have been
a relatively cut -and-dry financial debate. And I find that
demonstrates ignorance, Madam President, in a few
ways, because they clearly have no understanding of
the individuals to which they were referring. And they
clearly did not have enough to contribute to the —
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President —

—details of the policy debate.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: —point of order.

The President: Minister, what is your point of order?

POINT OF ORDER
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: The Senator is using the
term “they.” I am asking him, if he has specifics of which
he is speaking, that he would use a different word other
than “they,” Madam President.
Thank you.
The President: Senator De Couto, continue.

Thank you, Madam President.
I came to understand that Cabinet Minister Diallo Rabain was making what I would term very personal comments about individuals and their families. Which I find unfortunate because—
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, point
of order.
An Hon. Senator : Point of order.

POINT OF ORDER
The President: Point of order, yes, indeed.
Senator De Couto, you have breached . . . You
have had a breach of our . . . you do not call names
here in that regard. You do not speak in such a manner about —

I certainly do withdraw it.
Let me rephrase, Madam President. When we have discussions about policy, I certainly look forward to debating the merits of the policies.
There are quite numerous aspects which we can discuss. And it is unfortunate that not everybody is able to
fully engage in the merits of the policies o f which there
is quite a lot of detail and which reasonable minds can
disagree on.

HOLIDAY CONCERNS AND GREETINGS

When I think about family, this is the season, Madam President, when we have
to remember that many people have lost family members. They have lost friends. Some of us will be looking
forward to spending time with our families. And I commend everybody to pl ease take that time. Enjoy that
time. And also be mindful of those who are not able to.
I also want to thank everyone in our country
who is generous to others. We see it in many ways. We
see it in the churches. We see it in the clubs. We see it
in the non- profits. And I want to thank all of those individuals and organisations for their work, Madam President. And I hope that everybody in Bermuda can continue to keep up that generous spirit. We have to remember that there are those who do not have enough
food. There are those who do not have adequate shelter. And for those of us who are able to enjoy our Christmas, let’s also keep our mind towards those less fortu-nate [than] us. Indeed, throughout the year, Madam
President. And think about how we can assist in whatever way is possible.
I know in this Chamber we often hear about all
the different organisations that are doing that. I wel-come, and I want to thank them for their work and commend them. And I want to wish everybody a happy
Christmas, a great new year, with peace and joy, both
in Bermuda and around the world, as much as possible.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator De Couto, for ending on a positive note. That’s very . . .

[Laughter]
The President: Would any other Senator care to speak
on the motion to adjourn?
Minister Darrell.

PLP GOVERNMENT’S
CHRISTMAS SPIRIT OF GIVING
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I cannot take this opportunity to speak on two matters that involve the topic of giving. I know we are in this season of giving.
The President: Mm-hmm.

126 18 December 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: And it is a season of gifts.
And you know, having a seven- year-old boy, Madam
President, you know sometimes it is they who would
get caught up in what they may receive for Christmas.
And if I just go a bit and say that, you know, this Government receives a lot of criticisms from the One Bermuda Alliance, Madam President, often. And you know,
if you were not focused, Madam President, and if you
did not get the Christmas spirit of giving in this season,
you would have missed some o f the great things that
the Bermuda Government is doing this week and has done last week when it comes to serving the people.
So those two particular matters that I cannot close this
session of the Senate, Madam President, without highlighting. And one is going to happen tomorrow, where
the Bermuda Government is going to give away $22,000 to three elite athletes, Madam President.
Madam President, if members of the One Bermuda Alliance would like to join us and see how this
Government gives to elite athletes, they can join us tomorrow, Tuesday, December 19, at 1:00 pm at the
Cabinet Office, as we, the Ministry Tourism, Culture and Sport, recognise three elite athletes: Conor White,
Jessica Lewis, and Yushae DeSilva- Andrade. And they
are goin g to, through access to the Elite Athlete Funding, and based on the medals that they earned respectively at the Pan- Am Games and the Parapan Games,
Madam President, are going to be recognised and
given cheques of achievements. Like I said, totalling
$22,000.
Now, Madam President, that, one week before
Christmas, is an example of giving. And it is straight out
of the accomplishments that align with Goal 2 of the
National Sports Policy, Madam President, where it talks about achieving sporting excellence regional ly. And
this athletic performance incentive framework, Madam President, which was put in place by the Progressive Labour Party Government is put in place to reward the
excellence by Bermuda athletes in achieving medal -
winning performances in festivals of s port.
Jessica Lewis in the 100- meter event will be
receiving tomorrow $10,000 reward for her gold medal at the Parapan Games in Santiago, Chile. Yushae DeSilva -Andrade displayed a fighting spirit with a very
competitive field to claim a silver medal at the Parapan
Games. And for her efforts she will be rewarded tomorrow with a cheque of $7,500, for a silver medal, Madam
President. And Conor White demonstrated a remarkable skill and determination when he claimed the bronze
medal in cycling during the time- trial e vent at the Pan
Am Games. And for his efforts with a gold medal he will
be receiving a cheque for $4,500.
Again, Madam President, I will have to reiterate
in this time of giving that the Bermuda Government is giving $22,000 to elite athletes tomorrow. That is something that although we will receive much criticisms from the One Bermuda Alliance, I am sure that they will have
representatives on hand to add to the claps and the applause that we will be giving to these three elite athletes tomorrow. And these athletes, Madam President, are
the epitome of hard work and dedication. And with further Government support , dedicated to sport, it is
hoped that these athletes and other elite athletes on the Island will continue to produce sporting excellence in the international arena. So that is one example of giving
that will be happening tomorrow, Madam President.
And the second would have been something
that had the Island abuzz all of last week, Madam President. That was where the Bermuda Government offered traveling support to students, to athletes and oth-ers who were in need. You would have recalled a press
release that was put in the public domain last week,
Madam President. It talked about the Government’s
frequent flyer points programme.
And while the One Bermuda Alliance will come
here and give us much criticisms of travel that is nec-essary by Government ministers to work on behalf of
the people of Bermuda, it was this Progressive Labour
Party Government, Madam President, before they became Government in 2017, that put something that
some may have seen and did not notice it, in their elec-tion platform in 2017, that we will put miles towards a
Government frequent flyer programme.
And those miles have accumulated over the
years, Madam President, and it is unfortunate that to
no fault of the Bermuda Government American Airlines decided that they were winding down that programme
on December 15. And with there being many miles in
that fund, the Government of Bermuda felt it necessary
to make those funds available and the miles available to students who wrote in. And unfortunately, Madam
President, in this time of giving and in this time of . . .
and we recognise those who are in need, t here was an
overwhelming response to the request that came from
the Cabinet Office for students and others to receive
some much- needed travel assistance through this programme. Me, in my capacity as Minister of Sport, as
well as Minister of Culture, took i t to the [Bermuda] Arts
Council to make sure that creatives were aware of this
giving that we were doing. I took it to the National
Sports Governing Bodies at their meeting on November 28 to also make it aware that we were giving away
this assistance.
And Madam President, by the close of day on
December 15, it has come to my attention that over 60
individuals were provided tickets through this miles programme before it closed so that they can go to school,
that they can assist in some of their creative travels (that is artists I am talking about). Some individuals
have been able to get back to university. Some individuals through the Bermuda Health Council have been
able to get up to seek medical attention.
So this, Madam President, is something that
the One Bermuda Alliance, I am sure, read about this
because they don’t miss a trick at times. And I am sure
they would have read about this. So, in the spirit of giving, I am not sure why they did not give the G overnment
credit for this, but hey, we understand why.

B ermuda Senate But I want to say, Madam President, to the
Cabinet Office and to the public officers who actually
helped to field these requests and get these tickets out.
I mean, I heard that they were working throughout the
night on December 14. And this is yet another example
of the Progressive Labour Party standing up and standing strong for the people of Bermuda and serving the
people of Bermuda.
SEASON’S GREETINGS
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: And Madam President,
before I close it would be remiss of me if I did not wish
all my Senate colleagues from both sides, as well as
the Independent Senators, as well as yourself, Madam
President, happy holidays. I know you do have some
plans for the holiday and I wish that you and everyone
else here enjoy them. Be safe and I hope that we in the
Island of Bermuda have a safe holiday season. I would
also like to thank those in the community who have
done and gone the extra mile, Madam President, to
make sure that those who may not have the means do
not go without. Anyone who has assisted efforts,
whether it be donating time, talent or treasures to some
of these efforts, it is something that is much needed in
Bermuda at this time. And I wish everyone who is listening here and on the radio today, Madam President,
a merry Christmas and, as we progress, a happy New
Year.
Thank y ou, Madam P resident.
The P resident: T hank y ou, Mi nister D arrell.
Senators, with that, the Senate stands adjourned until February 21, [2024]. So be safe and have
a wonderful Christmas and New Year.
Thank y ou.
[At 1:25 pm, t he Senat e stoo d adjourne d until
10:00 am, W ednesday, 21 February 20 24].
128 18 December 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate


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