Wednesday.

The Taxes Management Amendment Act 1999, The Proceeds of Crime Amendment Act and The USA-Bermuda Tax Convention Amendment Act 1999 all passed with praise and congratulatory remarks from Opposition senators and Sen. Walwyn Hughes (Ind).

Sen. Hughes singled out the Proceeds of Crime Amendment Act, which serves as the comprehensive vehicle against money laundering, and said he was happy to see Government moving toward strengthening financial institutions.

The amendment to the Act makes tax evasion illegal and allows for people charged with or convicted, even overseas, to have their local holdings and accounts investigated.

The definition used for tax fraud in the Act has been accepted by the US and is modelled against that used in Switzerland.

"This is in keeping with what is described in general in the White Paper,'' he said. "Although I think the Government is not moving quickly, I think they are moving quietly in this area.'' "We have to demonstrate that we can supervise in this area,'' he added.

While commending Government on the one hand, the Independent senator also expressed his disappointment that the White Paper was not brought to the Senate.

"We instead spent two and a half hours debating taxis,'' he said.

The Taxes Management Amendment Act in spirit deals with high level international crime and defines which offences should be dealt with summarily and which should be indictable.

Opposition Leader in the Senate Maxwell Burgess (UBP) was quick to give his party's support of The USA-Bermuda Tax Convention Amendment Act 1999 and complimented the Government on their approach.

"This amendment is a negotiated settlement so that we do not have to re negotiate our tax treaty,'' he said. "I think it is a sensible approach as the US are our commercial partners and I commend the Government for getting around the table on this.'' The Act pertains to the provision of information between Bermuda and the US on tax evasion. The US Department of Treasury routinely requests information from the Bermuda Government about US undertakings, particularly insurance companies.