There appears to be great interest internationally in Sunday's decision by the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris not to place Bermuda on a black list of countries which engage in unfair taxation practices.

But many are questioning just how Bermuda plans to make adjustments that will bring it in line with OECD standards. Bermuda based e-commerce consultant Bill Storie said the news has received the largest feedback ever in his online newsletter BerBiz. It was also picked up by numerous overseas newspapers.

"The newsletter is sent to 35 countries and we have thousands of customers,'' he said. "This is the biggest feedback we've seen from a single item announcement in several years.

Concern about how Island will meet OECD objectives "The responses outnumber anything else by a long shot. We have seen a substantial amount of e-mail traffic on this from around the world.'' But Mr. Storie himself expressed some disappointment that an annex detailing how Government plans to meet the OECD objectives was not included for public access on the OECD website. And he noted that several of the e-mail responses he had received had requested it.

The Royal Gazette was able to obtain Bermuda's letter of commitment from the OECD website on Monday and reproduced it in yesterday's edition. But the annex was not publicly released.

Finance Minister Eugene Cox is off the Island on a personal matter and could not be contacted, but Government Information Services yesterday said the document would not be publicly released.

Mr. Storie said the absence of the annex left him concerned as to whether the information it contained was set in stone or whether "it is a document that will evolve over time.'' Noting Mr. Cox's mention of consultation with the industry, Mr. Storie said: "I'm quite happy if the document will, in consultation with the private sector, evolve over time. And if that is the case, the Minister should say so.'' Shadow Finance Minister Dr. Grant Gibbons who on Monday called for the letter of commitment to be made public, yesterday pointed out that the real meat of the deal is contained in the annex.

Dr. Gibbons held that the released letter just outlined the Government's intentions "in the broadest way''.

"What specifically the Government has committed us to is not clear, as the timetables and more detailed undertakings which may refer to specific elements in our legislation, have not been released,'' he said.

"There may be certain liberalisations of the Companies Act and other Acts,'' he continued, "which the Finance Minister should inform both international companies and local business about because businesses need to plan ahead.

"Bermuda deserves a clear understanding of what the Minister has committed the Island to,'' he said.

BUSINESS BUC