US Attorney General Eric Holder said today he would not go so far as to characterise Bermuda as a tax haven.

Mr. Holder, who is on the Island for talks with Premier Ewart Brown, answered questions from local media at a lunchtime press conference at the Fairmont Hamilton.

Asked directly by The Royal Gazette if Bermuda was a tax haven, America’s top lawyer looked momentarily taken aback, before answering: “There are issues that are of great concern to the Premier, issues that are of concern to the United States, issues that we have to work together on.

“We have a variety of things that we have discussed, a variety of things that we will work together on to ensure that the relationship between our two nations — in a wide variety of areas — are addressed and so I think that I wouldn’t go as far as that and characterise Bermuda as a tax haven.”

Dr. Brown said: “Ditto from here. Of course, you know we don’t like that label because we know that it is not appropriate for Bermuda.

“And, in fact, things have been going very well in that area and we didn’t even get to touch on that subject this morning.”

In 2007, US Senator Carl Levin tabled the Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act, which named Bermuda on its list of “secretive” jurisdictions.

The bill was co-sponsored by Barack Obama before he left the US Senate on being elected US President.