Overview

The Tax Reform Commission was established under the Tax Reform Commission Act 2017 with an aim of advising the Government of any measures to advance Bermuda’s system of taxation and revenue collection. The Commission will act in accordance with the functions set out in Section 5 of the Act and the Terms of Reference agreed with myself as Minister of Finance.

In accordance with the 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 taxation and revenue collection that is equitable, effective, efficient, competitive and transparent; and prepare and submit its reports and recommendations.

The International Tax Working Group completed the first phase of their work in July 2023 and submitted their recommendations to the Government. Having assessed the recommendations of the Working Group the Government began its consultation period by issuing a consultation paper on the proposed new corporate income tax regime. The proposed corporate income tax will come into effect on January 1, 2025.

The proposed Corporate Income Tax would only apply to Bermuda businesses that are part of Multinational Enterprise Groups with annual revenue of €750M or who will otherwise be required to pay tax under the GMT to another jurisdiction. The Commission will review data and other input from the Working Group as part of their deliberations and include these findings in their report and recommendations.

The Commission is asked to consider and recommend a set of policy options, with the aim of causing the Bermuda tax system:

• To share the payments and benefits fairly and equitably.
• To maintain, and if possible, enhance Bermuda’s global competitiveness.
• To broaden the tax base, reduce the variability of payments, and consider alternate forms of taxes.
• To reduce the impact of taxes on the cost of living in Bermuda and to consider how earners below a threshold of income might benefit from reduced taxes.
• To consider how the Government’s revenue management can be improved including appropriate guardrails and approaches to fiscal optimization.