US Democratic Party presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry last night said he would shut down tax loopholes which allowed ?$40 billion? to go to Bermuda.

Sen. Kerry, speaking during the second presidential debate with Republican President George W. Bush, made the claim after being questioned on how he would balance the US tax deficit.

?(Sen.) John McCain and I have a proposal, jointly, for a commission that closes corporate giveaway loopholes,? Sen. Kerry said. ?We?ve got $40 billion going to Bermuda. We?ve got all kinds of giveaways. We ought to be shutting those down.?

Sen. Kerry, who also promised not to raise taxes for people earning less than $200,000 a year, targeted companies that moved their headquarters here.

Last week, he attacked Bermuda again, issuing a press release that said if elected president he would ?close loopholes like the Bermuda tax loophole that allow companies to escape taxes by taking advantage of complicated international tax rules?.