BERMUDA'S reputation as a tax haven was highlighted yet again this week ? brought to the attention of thousands of Americans as they prepared to declare their interests to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) yesterday.

If the point had not already been driven home via the campaign promises of Presidential hopeful John Kerry, it certainly would have been made clear to readers of an article by satirist Art Buchwald which appeared in the Washington Post on Tuesday.

"April 15 is the saddest day of the year. It is the day Americans have to file their income taxes. To mark the occasion, men beat their bare chests and women wear black shrouds . . .

"But not all Americans are sad."

The Pulitzer Prize winner describes April 15 as "a grand holiday, like Christmas" for those Fortune 500 companies which will not be paying any federal income tax because they have put their money in off-shore tax shelters such as "Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Liechtenstein and any tax-free place on the globe."

It is the second time Mr. Buchwald has drawn attention to Bermuda as a tax haven. In 2002, the nationally-syndicated columnist used his weekly article in the Washington Post to express his anger after the Stanley Tool Company announced it would be relocating to the island. At that time, he said he had visited Bermuda and found it a lovely place but, as a taxpayer it irked him to see companies flee here to avoid paying Uncle Sam.

In Tuesday's commentary, which appears under the headline 'Gimme Tax Shelter', Mr. Buchwald describes how American companies in Bermuda might spend April 15 .

"Let us say 'Non-Tax Day' is held in Bermuda. Hundreds of corporate executives fly in on their private jets. The capital is decorated with American flags and banners such as: 'Bermuda Welcomes Tax Dodgers,' 'Taxation Even WITH Representation Is Still Tyranny' and, 'No Matter How Much Money You Have, in Bermuda You Can Bank on It'."

Mr. Buchwald's Non-Tax Day celebrations include an Enron Champion Golf Tournament, a beauty contest featuring Bermuda's most beautiful women vying for the title of Miss Capital Gains, and a fantastic dinner which concludes with 'The Man of the Year Award' presented to "the CEO who has squirrelled away the most money from the IRS."

Continues Mr. Buchwald: "Because it is such a festive occasion, there will be door prizes: a shower curtain from Tyco, a completely furnished tax shelter in Liechtenstein from WorldCom, and dinner with Adelphia's Rigas family.

"The off-shore Society President will make a speech not only defending tax shelters but also pointing out how many jobs his company is sending overseas. He will get a standing ovation.

"While all this is going on in Bermuda, the people who have to pay their taxes are bitter."

Mr. Buchwald, however, throws in a few shots on our "behalf" as he responds to one of those bitter Americans who have to pay taxes: "Life is unfair. That's why the corporations have accountants and lawyers and consultants who know every IRS loophole.

"But how can they call themselves good Americans?" the bitter person asks.

"Their stockholders consider them good Americans and that's good enough for people who are only interested in the bottom line."

The bitter person persists: "Hold it. How can we fight a war in Iraq and other places if they refuse to finance it?"

Mr. Buchwald: "If President Bush wanted them to pay for it, he wouldn't have given them a tax cut."

The bitter person switches tactics: "It isn't just about the money I have to pay but the time it takes to fill out the form."

Mr. Buchwald: "Have you ever thought about moving to Bermuda?"

Humorist and author, Mr. Buchwald received the Pulitzer Prize for Outstanding Commentary in 1982. His columns are syndicated in 100 papers across the United States through the , the and the .