Legislation to create a new body to oversee corporate income tax has been approved by senators despite reservations about its level of independence.

The Corporate Income Tax Agency Act 2024 lays down the groundwork for an agency to administer the calculation and collection of taxes once they come into effect next year.

The Corporate Income Tax Act, passed in 2023, will charge 15 per cent on the profits of multinational enterprises with more than €750 million (about $808 million) of annual revenue.

Under the latest Act, the agency will also be responsible for providing support to companies that are liable for the tariff, ensuring compliance and “prosecuting any enforcement action” against businesses that fail to abide by the regulations.

Douglas De Couto, for the One Bermuda Alliance, supported the Bill and said he was glad to have legislation put in place. But he also voiced some reservations.

Dr De Couto said that the board of directors would have little power under the legislation as tabled, while the minister would set the pay of the chief executive and could delegate responsibilities to them.

He told the Upper House: “I feel that those two aspects of this Act really undermine that attribute of operational autonomy that we in the OBA would have liked to have seen.

“We would welcome changes in the future that would perhaps put a little more autonomy into this agency.”

John Wight, a governor-appointed senator, said he supported the Bill in principle but that more distance between the Government and the body would be beneficial.

He told senators: “One of the reasons for establishing an agency is to separate the operations of the agency from Government, both in fact and in appearance, much like how the Bermuda Monetary Authority operates separately and independently from the Government.”

Adrianna Hodgson, the Junior Minister of Finance, responded that the legal framework proposed was similar to bodies in other jurisdictions.

“This framework actually preserves the Government’s ability to set policy while also ensuring that the agency maintains appropriate accountability to the Government, while also retaining autonomy and flexibility in key operational areas,” she said.

“This approach combines the speed, efficiency and quality typical of the private sector, facilitating the recruitment and retainment of talent within the agency.

“It is also important that it allows policy direction from the minister to guide the agency’s operations, given the impact it would have on the finances of our country.”

The legislation was one of four Bills approved by senators during today’s sitting.

The West End Development Corporation Amendment Act 2024, which was passed in the House of Assembly earlier this month, will combine the Bermuda Land Development Company, based in the East End, with Wedco.

The newly merged entity is to be known as the Bermuda Land Management Corporation.

While there would be a reduction of nine posts, Leslie Robinson, the Junior Minister of Public Works, said that there would be no redundancies.

Ms Robinson told the Senate that the Government had reviewed past reports, including the Spending and Government Efficiency report of 2013, recommending “the consolidation of government quangos that share similar functions”.

The legislation would entail repealing the Base Lands Development Act 1996, moving the Government’s title to the land to the BLMC, which will be empowered to make leases to a maximum term of 262 years, up from 120 years under the old legislation.

Changes to the Companies Act 1981 will enable corporate leases up to that new threshold, versus the 50 years previously set.

The new entity would not require planning permission to subdivide properties but the oversight of the legislature would remain in place.

Dwayne Robinson, an OBA senator, said the Opposition supported improved efficiency and reduced red tape but questioned if it was accurate to say there would be no job losses as it was previously announced that positions would be reviewed.

Ms Robinson reiterated that there would be no loss of staff and that staffing reviews would take place when employees retire.

Senators later approved the Development and Planning Amendment Act 2024, which provided for planning officials to approve retroactive applications if they were otherwise compliant.

Owen Darrell, the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport, said that under existing policies, 90 per cent of retroactive applications were refused even if “most of these cases fully conform to the policies of the relevant development plan”.

He said the legislative change would not alter the appeal process and that the Government would punish those who deliberately flouted the rules.

Senators also passed the Bermuda Hospitals Board Amendment Act 2024, which covered the online publication of fees, including for physicians and dentists visiting the hospital.

Hard copies of the schedule of fees will also be available through the BHB.

Ms Hodgson said the move was intended to improve transparency and described the legislation as a “win-win” for all.