October 15, 2012Dear Sir,Much discussion has followed Mr Marsland’s call for a review of the policies concerning land ownership by “foreigners” in Bermuda, and rightly so.In 2009, the Land Valuation Department lowered some foreigners’ ARVs, and this year they increased the threshold for foreign ownership from $156,000 to $ 177,000. This made Mr Marsland’s and many other foreigners’ properties inaccessible for sale to Non-Bermudians, thereby reducing the value by millions of dollars. Sheer capital destruction.The methodology (assuming there is one) of the calculation of the ARV is a closely guarded secret by The Land Valuation Department, making it impossible for Mr Marsland to know exactly what to do to increase his ARV. Will an additional bathroom do it? Maybe an additional bedroom suite? Who knows, they refuse to tell you. There is no transparency. Now why is that? Certainly fertile ground for sinister thoughts and speculations.Mr Marsland laments that he cannot now let his children inherit his house. Well, I bet he is unaware of the fact that under Bermuda law, his house is regarded as a Bermuda dollar asset and therefore subject to Bermuda estate tax. Nobody tells you that when you purchase the property in US dollars and this is of course why many Bermudians have trusts owning their properties, an avenue not open to Non-Bermudians. Pity.Bermuda has a dismal human rights record when it comes to the treatment of foreigners. Did you know that PRC holders (i.e. Bermuda residents of more than 20 years) still have to pay Land Tax as seniors, can only purchase certain properties and have to pay the 25 percent foreign ownership tax, cannot vote and do not have access to HIP and FutureCare?What senior long-term residents can do, however, is to ride the bus free of charge. If the climate in the Channel Islands wasn’t so dreary, we should all ride the bus to the airport and fly to Guernsey, where they would welcome our contributions. A self-governed British territory with friendly, welcoming people, sound rules and regulations, transparency and good governance, yes, even a balanced budget and no gang violence! An island of similar land mass and population size as Bermuda, it has 1,600 properties available to qualified foreigners. These are properties of all sizes and values, grandfathered, in order to guarantee the rights of the owners. Now wouldn’t it be nice if Bermuda valued its foreign residents in a similar manner?HERE TODAY, PROBABLY GONE TOMORROWPembroke