Bermuda is tired. We are tired of being called a tax haven nation. We are tired of watching partisan politicians imperiously attack Bermuda for so-called underhanded tactics while they are focused on their political future career prospects and surrounded by conflicted interests and highly paid lobbyist agendas.We are tired of being used bylobbying and political groups across the global spectrum as excuses for their own countries’ poor tax law legislation — that they voted for, and implemented in the first place.We are tired of listening to glorious feel-good (or should it be spoon-fed) speeches about eliminating the barriers to free trade, opening the doors to more efficient competitive environments, when in reality, those conditions won’t be applied across all countries’ policies.Large countries prefer to trade on their own terms.We are tired of hearing about IRS (and other country) programmes to trap nasty, evil, conspiring tax evaders outside the United States when it certainly appears that the tax cheats caught and convicted to date have been US persons residing within the US domestic landscape where they funnelled money illicitly outside US IRS tax regime grasp.US persons who live outside the United States but love both of their countries, are tired of being labelled tax evaders (or worse) for being ordinary average US citizens carefully obeying the laws and tax regulations of both countries to best of their ability and in spite of the expensive horrific compliance requirements.And we are so very tired of mass media for not doing their homework.What do you know about us, resident in Bermuda? Nothing, it seems. It is far more convenient for those talking heads, Botox and silhouette perfect from brow to buns, to parrot the refrain of the day.Mimicking each other if the buzzword is “tax havens”, then tax havens is the mantra all day — being generically similar assures them that they can stay at the top of the viewer ratings board.Comments in the press over the years, such as “Got Hot Money? Here is where to put it” and other caustic remarks — demonstrate little understanding (and even less research) about the Island of Bermuda.But we get it because we know that it is all about the ratings count, far more than about thoughtful well-researched investigative journalism.There are many exceptional journalists and legal professionals who have written factual reports on current tax policy among them: Kyle Pomerleau of the Tax Foundation; Dan Mitchell of the Cato Institute, and David S Miller, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, LLP.Perhaps, a bit of illumination and equitable perspective is in order. This is who we are as a country, the Island of Bermuda.Situated 600 miles off the Cape Hatteras, Bermuda is the fourth most remote spot in the world and the oldest British colony in the western Hemisphere. We are a highly civilised country, having had the English Parliamentary system of laws and government since the early 1600s, one hundred years before the United States even flexed its baby muscles into a full-fledged autonomous nation.Our government is rigorous and vigilant.Through the support of the Bermuda Monetary Authority, an independent oversight regulatory body, we implemented long ago through acts of Parliament, significant modern legislature to control, “Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering, the Investment Business Act, The Trust Act, The Pension Act, The Companies Act, Financial Crimes Act, and many other pieces of modern legislature.For 2011, Bermuda has a higher overall World Bank Governance Rating than the United States for control of corruption, political stability and absence of violence/terrorism, rule of law, and independent voice and accountability.Bermuda has four licensed and heavily regulated banks. Anonymous brass door private banks escaping public scrutiny have never been allowed to operate in Bermuda.In 2000, Bermuda was one of the first jurisdictions to embrace the United States Internal Revenue Service directive for Qualified Intermediary Status, that in a general sense has morphed into the new sophisticated and complex FATCA and Intergovernmental Agreements (IGAs).The Bermuda Government as well as major financial and professional institutions have fully complied with the extensive oversight and participation in the Know Your Client (AML) procedures for more than a decade.All clients, individuals, corporate, s trusts, and partnerships wishing to participate in Bermuda’s investment infrastructure must comply with KYC rules by providing appropriate information on identity, legal residence, domicile, sources of revenue, beneficiaries, trustees, settlers, granters and so on.The cost for prevention of money laundering and terrorist activities is burdensome and prohibitively expensive, yet Bermuda institutions’ willingly acquiesced to these compliance processes while agreeing to report to a foreign nation’s Internal Revenue Service.Where else in the world would you see a foreign country allowing with full transparency United States agencies to not only review, but regulate part of their financial polices and procedures?Bermuda has adhered to these Know Your client policies for more than fifteen years yet, we note that US financial institutions and investment funds industry, in particular, lagged much later with effective compliance on their own global customers.When speaking of hot money, on American soil, who can forget the alleged Eastern European mob money as well as the connections to drug cartels with another large financial institution based in a large metropolitan area?Or the bank scandal in a centre of power that may have ruined the careers of politically connected individuals and that was actually closed down by regulators due to an almost total lack of client FYI/verification procedures?Bermuda has a rigorous tax system conducted on the basis of assessment of consumption and usage for close to a hundred years. Our tax system is different than an income tax system, but it has worked effectively for us while Bermuda’s Gross Domestic Product is still a source of admiration.Our residents have mandatory pensions, accrued and non-distributable until retirement age, as well as Health coverage for every employee in the workforce and reduced rates for most pensioners, all paid for through payroll assessments.These social benefits are accomplished with taxing a working Bermuda employment population of less than 40,000 people, and their families.With more than 45 million US residents without health coverage, and the US savings and retirement plans at an all-time low, there is a stark comparison between how our two countries’ governments care for their citizens and manage taxation regimes.Bermuda is a sophisticated international offshore financial centre. We do, indeed, have a reputation, an impeccable sterling one and we continue to conduct international business in an open, transparent, competitive environment.Bermuda has never been a tax haven.One should always think carefully before pasting generic labels where they are not deserved.Martha Harris Myron CPA PFS CFP (USA) JP is a Bermudian journalist and cross border financial planning specialist focused on offshore financial perspectives, particularly the challenges for international citizens living, working and straddling the North Atlantic pond: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Europe, and Bermuda, email martha.myron@gmail.comThe opinions expressed in this article are those of the author alone, and not The Royal Gazette. This article is intended for general educational purposes only and cannot be used for specific individual tax, investment, or retirement advice, nor can this article be relied upon for any personal financial planning purposes.