Senator Kim Wilkerson, the Shadow Minister of Economic Development, has described Oxfam’s assertion that Bermuda is the worst corporate tax haven in the world as “extremely disappointing”.

The Progressive Labour Party MP said her party supported the Bermuda Government and the Bermuda Business Development Agency’s condemnation of the “inaccurate and misleading report” released by Oxfam, which has been followed up in the international media.

Ms Wilkerson said: “It is extremely disappointing that Oxfam would release such an alarmingly under-researched report. Nowhere in the 46-page report is there an explanation as to how the researchers applied their ranking criteria to Bermuda.

“It is evident that it could not have been applied appropriately because one criterion examines the lack of co-operation with international efforts against tax avoidance. Considering this, it is alarming that the 43 Tax Information Exchange Agreements that Bermuda has entered with other jurisdictions have been completely excluded from the review.

“Ensuring Bermuda is viewed globally as a credible jurisdiction was a high priority under the last PLP Government when significant efforts to achieve this were undertaken. The OBA government has also clearly committed to preserving and expanding Bermuda’s excellent reputation. Similarly, the hard work of the Bermuda Monetary Authority in obtaining Solvency II equivalency for Bermuda must not be undermined by a report of this nature.”

Finance minister Bob Richards said earlier today that the report’s ranking system, which showed US multinationals reported higher profits in Bermuda than they did in Japan, China, Germany and France combined, was based on volume of assets, ignoring Bermuda’s good record on transparency and compliance.