Bermuda is not a brass-plate jurisdiction. That is the message that Finance Minister Paula Cox wants to send to the world — and particularly to politicians campaigning in the US presidential elections.

Speaking in New Orleans, where Ms Cox and Premier Dr. Ewart Brown will be making the traditional Bermuda walkabout at the RIMS Conference today, the Minister said Island businesses had “real people, not just post boxes”.

She said the Government did not support corporate inversion by US companies redomiciling to Bermuda for tax reasons and she hinted that legislation to deter companies from doing so was in the pipeline.

During the last US presidential elections, Democratic Party candidate John Kerry used Bermuda as a by-word for US companies going offshore to avoid tax.

Ms Cox’s comments served to launch a pre-emptive strike against any politician contemplating a similar use of the Island’s name in the current campaign.

“We have to be cognisant that there is going to be a much more politically hot time in the US,” Ms Cox said yesterday. “We want to show that we have real people on the ground providing real services.

“We are not a brass plate jurisdiction and that message has to continue to be reinforced, especially in the context of the US Treasury wanting to look at corporate inversion.

“That’s not the kind of business Bermuda encourages or endorses. We encourage real people on the ground doing real business, not brass plates.

“Over the next year or so, we’re going to be looking at redefining our policy network so we can add even greater bite to that statement.

The US has done something to help their cause by passing the Jobs Act in 2004, to try and close that corporate inversion loophole.

“It’s in vogue, politically, to talk about (offshoring) and outsourcing, but obviously Bermuda hasn’t got enough people for jobs to be outsourced here.”

Bermuda had to differentiate itself from other jurisdictions with different attitudes, she said. She refused to name any of them, but appeared to be referring to the Cayman Islands.

“Just recently in the US, a photograph was shown from another jurisdiction that seeks to compete with us,” Ms Cox said. “The picture was of a building that was the headquarters of 1,000 companies.

“Bermuda doesn’t have thousands of banks, that’s not our modus operandi. We have people, not just postboxes. That’s why we talk so much about quality business, not quantity. We’re not playing the numbers game.”

Pressure for new US tax legislation that could impact on offshore companies is coming from some lawmakers and Ms Cox, said she anticipated challenges on that front.

“Whenever you get into a politically hot time in the lead up to a presidential election, I think you do have a focus on what makes for good copy on the domestic front, notwithstanding that if people get elected they are probably not going to maintain such a protectionist stance, because they realise the importance of competitiveness and free trade.

“I’d be surprised if anybody who got elected would be unduly protectionist. We can’t be complacent.”

Ms Cox said RIMS offered Bermuda a great chance to showcase itself, with a united front comprising Government, independent regulator the Bermuda Monetary Authority and the market.

“We have to go out and let the world know that Bermuda is a one-stop shop and that we are a pre-eminent international financial centre,” Ms Cox said.

“You only have to look at some of the companies in our insurance market. It is said that 15 out of the top 35 insurers and reinsurers in the world are based in Bermuda, and seven out of the top 20 property and casualty reinsurers. So Bermuda clearly has a signature footprint.

“Part of our rationale for being here is, one, we maintain our position, two, there is still some education to be done about the Bermuda financial services market and it’s also important to show the strategic relationship between the independent regulator, the Government and the market.

Despite the exponential growth of Bermuda as a financial centre in recent years, Ms Cox said the Island was still right to try to attract more.

“I don’t think you ever say that you can’t accommodate more business,” she said. “What you have are cyclical trends with businesses coming and going. Some liquidate, some move to other jurisdictions.

“That’s why the theme of sustainable development, which has continued under the current Premier, is so important to alleviate the strain on our local infrastructure.

“That’s why we have been looking to go up higher than we used to with some of the recent planning applications. I think people are trying to work smarter and not send out a negative signal that Bermuda’s closed for business. We’re not at that stage at all, but we are looking at how we manage the growth.”

The “pragmatic” immigration policy, with six-year term limits for most foreign workers, but exemptions for key staff, was part of the process of coping with growth.

“You have to draw a practical line in the sand and aim to give people the access to resources they need in terms of people that are key. But you have to temper that with the maxim of ‘growing your own’.That’s the importance of the education system and apprenticeship programmes.”

Asked whether international companies were in general good corporate citizens when it came to opportunities for Bermudian employees, Ms Cox said: “Some are seeking to do the right thing as opposed to just doing well. But then there are others who are not. “There are other mechanisms, such as CURE and Human Rights and the Ministry of Labour — those are the legitimate tools of Government to ensure that people behave the right way.”

Cox defends Island’s reputation