And yesterday Premier Pamela Gordon and Finance Minister Grant Gibbons said they hoped the Island's clean reputation would keep it off a hit list of dodgy jurisdictions being compiled by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

But Ms Gordon added: "We must convince organisations like the OECD that we are nothing like their image of tax havens -- lawless economic frontier towns where anything goes.

"We must ensure that we are seen accurately -- as a responsible, mature and constructive citizen of the world's economic community.'' The two spoke out only days after the Island's submission to the OECD -- which has asked around 30 countries to supply it with information amid the compilation of list of tax havens.

Ms Gordon said: "The OECD's compilation has not been made public and I should stress that the fact that we have been asked for information does not mean that we will be named on the final list.'' She added: "In our response to the OECD, we make the case that we do not fit within their definition of either tax haven or harmful tax regime and that we are capable of responsibly playing our part in the world community of nations without significantly altering our fiscal policies.

"We feel we have made a good case on Bermuda's behalf. Our record as a responsible member of the global economic community is extremely good -- perhaps the best of those countries that the OECD has asked for further information.'' But she added that the multi-nation OECD appeared to lack knowledge of Bermuda and its system.

And she said the forum set up by the organisation to examine submissions before drawing up its hit list of tax havens had already run into trouble -- with two OECD members, Switzerland and Luxembourg breaking ranks and saying they would not feel bound by the OECD report's recommendations.

It is also understood some of the 30 targeted countries may ignore requests for information on their tax systems.

Ms Gordon said Switzerland and Luxembourg risked falling foul of international efforts to combat tax dodging because of their strict banking secrecy.

And Switzerland has accussed the OECD of double standards.

The Swiss told the OECD that, while the organisation's report on tax havens "recognises that each state has sovereignty over its tax system and that levels of taxation can differ from one state to another'' the document "presents the fact that tax rates are lower in one country than in another as a criterion to identifying harmful tax regimes''.

The Swiss added: "This results in unacceptable protection of countries with high levels of taxation, which is, moreover, contrary to the economic philosophy of the OECD.'' The report to the OECD will not be made public, although revealing it at a later stage was not ruled out.

Further reports on the same issue will have to be submitted to the G8 group of the world's major economic powers and to the EU.

But Ms Gordon poured cold water on claims that the Bermuda would not have been caught up in the tax probes if it did not have links with Britain.

She said: "Very little of our business is derived from countries which are outside one or another of the nations involved in these three economic blocs.

"If the OECD decides to call us a tax haven, the effect is more or less the same whether we are an Overseas Territory or not.'' What's in the OECD report: Business, Page 15