The House of Assembly has approved legislation laying out penalties for those who break new corporate income tax laws.

Wayne Furbert, the Junior Minister of Finance, said on Friday that the Corporate Income Tax (Penalty Provisions) Amendment Act 2025 outlined penalties for failing to meet registration and filing deadlines as well as penalties for non-payment of taxes.

He said: “It affirms Bermuda’s longstanding commitment to be a co-operative, compliant and transparent jurisdiction with respect to international tax matters.”

In December 2023, the Government enacted the Corporate Income Tax Act 2023, which imposes a statutory 15 per cent tax on businesses that are part of multinational enterprise groups with annual revenues of at least €750 million (about $811 million).

Douglas De Couto, the Shadow Minister of Finance, said the One Bermuda Alliance supported the legislation.

He said the input of stakeholders in the enactment of the CIT legislation “is an example of the success story of Bermuda”.

Dr DeCouto said that while some of the penalties in the Bill may seem “stiff”, it reinforced “what kind of jurisdiction we are and that we mean business; that we want businesses to operate at the highest level of responsibility and integrity”.

Mr Furbert said that after the passage of the CIT Act, the Government had moved quickly, including in the establishment of the tax agency.

He added that the “complexity and technical nature of international tax matters” meant it was expected that refinement and additional legislation would be required to develop comprehensive enforcement and a compliance mechanism aligned with international best practices.

He said that during January and February, the Ministry of Finance had held public consultation on the penalty provisions.

Mr Furbert said the feedback gathered from the consultation process was “carefully considered” and amendments were made to the legislation.

Key changes included provisions which enable written representations to be made by taxpayers before penalty decisions are finalised.

In addition, Mr Furbert said the criminal liabilities for defaulters had been “narrowed” and he adjustments demonstrated the Government’s commitment to engage with stakeholders.

He said the engagement also ensured that the legislation was clear, effective and in keeping with international best practices.

Mr Furbert said the core provisions of the CIT Act remained unchanged and the refinements addressed concerns raised during the consultation process.

He added that they ensured clarity and overall “execution of the framework”.

The penalty levels have been reviewed and approved by the Ministry of Finances’ tax adviser.

On Friday, lawmakers fine-tuned the definition of “tax receipts” to clarify that any penalties collected by the agency were receipts, rather than the property of the agency.