A White Paper has been drawn up by the Non-profit Alliance presenting the case that an opportunity looms for social investment through revenues gained from the corporate income tax.

The charity, which is dedicated to strengthening the non-profit sector, has officially released the paper submitted to David Burt, the Premier, as well as members of the Tax Reform Commission in June.

Titled Bermuda Corporate Income Tax and the Historic Opportunity for Social Investment, the paper’s goal is to advocate for greater investment in Bermuda’s third sector.

It highlights the stark wealth disparity on the island, and suggests there is a “unique and exciting” opportunity when the tax is introduced next year.

The document claims that despite existing social supports, there is a trend towards greater disparities in health, education and economic opportunity.

It adds that underinvestment in social supports has left the non-profit sector to fill critical gaps while struggling to meet a growing and unsustainable demand.

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Nicola Paugh, the executive director of the Non-profit Alliance, acknowledged the recent tragic events which have shaken the island.

Dr Paugh said: “We know our non-profit and social service partners are on the front lines responding to so many who will need support at this time. We stand with our community as we collectively navigate how to move forward.

“These events serve as a reminder of the importance of addressing Bermuda's social context more systemically. For the non-profit sector and the people they serve, Bermuda feels in crisis.

“For a country of so much wealth, we have problematic health and social issues accompanied by widening income inequality.

“There is an unsustainable level of need falling on the shoulders of non-profits.

“Additionally, there is disproportionate and distracting focus on the belief that there are too many charities and too much service duplication, and not enough attention paid to the positive impact and outcomes non-profits are having with the amount of resources they have.

“Furthermore, the expectation for non-profits to be well-run businesses while managing on shoestring budgets with low-paid or under-skilled staff is unreasonable.

“It is the perspective of the Non-profit Alliance that there is not enough social investment in Bermuda and in the long run, this costs far more to society.

“This is why, based on our research, we believe there is such an exciting and unique opportunity for the Government when considering how to allocate any potential surplus tax revenues generated as a result of the corporate income tax.

“We hope this opportunity will not be missed and that this paper provides a framework and call to action for how we may work to prevent more tragedy in our small island home.”

The White Paper proposes leveraging the new tax to improve support for the third sector through two mechanisms.

The first is qualified refundable tax credits for corporate philanthropy and the second is strategic community investment, whereby a portion of the tax revenues collected by the Government is contributed to the strategic funding of the third sector.

Dr Paugh said that analysis showed that Bermuda invested only half the amount that is invested in the Caribbean countries and 76 per cent less than the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in the social system.

The Non-profit Alliance believes that this enables an unfair society, where the reality of “two Bermuda’s” persists.

The charity added: “The introduction of the corporate income tax is thus a pivotal opportunity to make systemic shifts through deeper social investment, including greater funding for Bermuda’s vital non-profits.”

The Government has been approached for comment.

• For more information, visitwww.nonprofitalliance.bmor e-mail admin@nonprofitlliance.bm