Offshore Company Mag

Bermuda's Finance Minister Paula Cox has announced that amendments to legislation dealing with exempted and overseas partnerships are designed to enhance Bermuda's international business product.

Speaking in the House of Assembly last Friday, Mrs Cox explained that the Exempted Partnerships Amendment Act 2005 and the Overseas Partnerships Amendment Act 2005 will cater to those with “more sophisticated uses for a Bermuda partnership". According to a Royal Gazette report, she also stated that the amendments will ensure consistency across companies and partnership legislation.

However, she told the House that the main purpose of the amendments will be to bring the partnership legislation into line with amendments that have been made to the Companies Act 1981.

According to Mrs Cox, approximately 602 partnerships have registered in Bermuda since the Exempted Partnership Act 1992 and the Overseas Partnerships Act 1995 were enacted, providing the Government with approximately $1.26 million in revenue annually. Two-thirds of these Bermuda-registered partnerships are investment holding companies.

The Minister also revealed that the government was taking note of how legislation is written in other offshore financial centres such as the British Virgin Islands and the Cayman Islands, in an attempt to determine whether Bermuda's approach to soliciting international business is currently too cautious.

“We note that similar restrictions have not been imposed on companies and partnerships operating in those centres. In these cases, most companies and partnerships are able to engage in and carry on business or activity as long as the activity is related to that business,” she stated.