the reins of their respective sides' finance portfolios.

Shadow Finance Minister Eugene Cox yesterday said his counterpart, Finance Minister Grant Gibbons, appeared to be "strangely out of step with current international developments''.

Meanwhile, Dr. Gibbons warned that Mr. Cox was being reckless and misleading and could damage the local international business community through his comments.

He added: "It is clear that the PLP, as the emperor in waiting, has no clothes on when it comes to economic initiatives.'' The squabble began after Mr. Cox presented the Progressive Labour Party's economic policy statement on Thursday.

In it he called for measures to revive tourism and a long-term security plan for exempt companies including a four-year extension for offshore companies that are already exempted from taxes until 2016.

Yesterday he said Dr. Gibbons stated that he would extend the tax exemption a further ten or 20 years, and Mr. Cox called the idea both reckless and curious.

Mr. Cox pointed out that Dr. Gibbons represented Bermuda's interests in the furore over the plight of the British Overseas Territories with the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD) "Report On Harmful Tax Competition''.

The OECD recommended that no new measures designed to extend the scope of existing tax benefits should be adopted.

"It would seem that the Finance Minister is being reckless in suggesting an unprecedented ten to 20 year extension,'' said Mr. Cox.

He added that the PLP believed that government level representations had to be made in the strongest possible terms in order to protect Bermuda's position as a destination of choice for international businesses.

"However, while there are still these on-going discussions at the international level concerning the OECD Recommendations and Guidelines, in our view, the prudent course is not to be unduly provocative at this stage by advocating an unprecedented ten to 20 year extension to the tax exemption period.'' War of words erupts between Cox, Gibbons Mr. Cox said if the PLP was elected as the next government, it would honour the present commitment to the international business community but immediately take steps to extend it from 2016 to 2020.

However Dr. Gibbons pointed out that Mr. Cox said the PLP would give a four year extension -- despite warning that no extensions should be given.

And he claimed the shadow minister was putting words in his mouth and what he had actually said was that similar extensions in the past had been given in ten and 20 year intervals -- not that he would be doing this.

Dr. Gibbons noted that the four year extension seemed shortsighted and "a rather transparent electioneering ploy''.

"Four years is not much of a planning window,'' he noted.

But he stressed that any extension would need to be carefully looked at, the international business community would be consulted, Cabinet would have to consider and Parliament would have to pass any amendments to the appropriate legislation.

Turning to Mr. Cox's comments regarding the OECD, Dr. Gibbons said the organisation was still fleshing out its criteria for harmful tax competition and he believed that Bermuda having tax exemption in place until 2016 was not a harmful tax practice.

Mr. Cox also blasted Dr. Gibbons for calling Bermuda's economy "flourishing''.

"If the economy is thriving as is being claimed by the Finance Minister, why are these businesses and other tourist-related facilities being forced to close or scale down? What is happening in the tourism-related sector of the economy certainly belies Dr. Gibbons' words, especially with respect to hotels -- large and small -- retailers, restaurants and taxi drivers.'' The tourism sector was the largest direct and indirect employers of Bermudians, he continued, but numerous small entrepreneurs and guest houses have been forced to close while other operators -- particularly retail -- have scaled down their businesses.

Mr. Cox said: "Those who have lost jobs in the aftermath of these closures will find Dr. Gibbons' comments disquieting, to say the least, as these certainly suggest he is out of step with the broader community's concerns.'' But Dr. Gibbons said the economy was flourishing although it was going through changes.

He agreed that businesses had closed down but also pointed out that many had opened.

Mr. Cox highlighted Once Upon A Table, Loyalty Inn, Plantation and Romanoff as recent closures while Dr. Gibbons pointed to the openings of La Coquille, Surf Club, Pickled Onion and Bouchee's Waterfront Bistro.

Dr. Gibbons said: "The PLP continues to ignore or not understand the strong figures the economy has generated.'' Since 1993/1994 more than 1,800 jobs have been created, almost 1,800 small businesses have been formed while the gross domestic product has grown an average of four percent in real terms for the last few years.