Bermuda's economy is on the line as Government repeatedly “jumps through hoops” to try to bring greater tax transparency, according to Shadow Finance Minister Bob Richards.Mr Richards questioned the naivety of the Ministry of Finance as the House of Assembly approved a new law for Bermuda's financial sectors to keep information and records straight.The One Bermuda Alliance MP accused Government of meeting the requests of the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) without realising the real motives.Mr Richards accused the OECD of targeting Bermuda as they were trying to “tax whatever they can get their hands on.” He predicts the eventual result will be that the Island will “be eroded by our own actions.”Regardless of Mr Richard's warning, politicians unanimously agreed to The Specified Business Legislation Amendment Act 2011 to tighten the access and exchange of information.Premier and Minister of Finance Paula Cox said the new law would bring Bermuda up to speed with international tax standards.An OECD assessment of Bermuda's legislative and regulatory framework last year resulted in an ‘all elements in place' rating, but the report listed several recommendations.This legislation will address those inconsistencies to “set the stage” for phase two of the OECD's assessment by the end of 2012.But Mr Richards said the OECD didn't like the idea of losing revenue to offshore financial centres such as Bermuda. He said “time and time again” they are seen to be trying to recover some of their losses.Mr Richards touched upon the examples of the OECD including Bermuda on its lists of harmful tax jurisdictions in 2006.Then a couple of years later the OECD announced the Island was on the ‘white list' and we had to sign more bilateral Tax Information Exchange Agreements.Mr Richards said: “We've done everything to please these people … now we hear there's a peer review process, not one but two.“We're like fleas jumping through hoops, except every time we jump through one, another one magically appears, it's never enough.“Every time we comply, another layer of bureaucracy comes our way.”Mr Richards predicts this will eventually lead to more civil servants, more office space and “more tax revenues for Bermudians to pay for it all.”He said there were concerns among the business sector, especially among private trust fund companies.Mr Richards said: “The consequences are not unintended, they are intended, this is being done on purpose.“It's not an immediate threat, but there is a threat to our economy.“The noose is being tightened so slowly that we don't even notice.“They (the OECD) think we are siphoning off money that should be theirs, it's as simple as that.”Mr Richards admitted that people's eyes tended to glaze over when tax matters were talked about, but he stressed that it was important to show what the country “was up against.”He said he was neither agreeing nor disagreeing with the legislation but was simply “sounding the alarm.”He said: “Can the lion ever be friends with the gazelle? They can only be friends if the lion isn't hungry.“In this case the governments of the OECD are ravenous for revenue. The lion is not just hungry, the lion is starving.”Mr Richards suggested being friendly and cooperative with the OECD wouldn't get us anywhere. Instead he said he would like to see Bermuda talking to other offshore financial centres for strength in numbers. He said: “Alone as a country, we stand no chance.”Environment Minister Walter Roban said it was a shame Mr Richards didn't have more positive things to say.He said: “Frankly my glasses are getting a bit foggy, I'm confused by the picture he seeks to paint. It is not a clear picture, he has contradicted himself.”Shadow Environment Minister Grant Gibbons said Mr Richards had brought some home truths to the House as he was “simply trying to stop ourselves getting in trouble.”Ms Cox said Mr Richards had fundamentally misunderstood the role of the OECD calling it “a tremendous collaboration” with countries around the globe. She said Government understood its value and benefits, as well as its limitations.Read more coverage of yesterday's House of Assembly session in Monday's newspaper and on www.royalgazette.com.