Yet another United States company, Leucadia National Corporation, is looking to move to Bermuda to slash its tax bills.

The company, which is a financial services holding company engaged in banking, lending, and insurance, has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission but further details about the application are not known.

The proposed move is likely to put Bermuda under more intense scrutiny after US lawmakers have been putting forward proposals to stop the exodus of companies wanting to reincorporate in Bermuda in a bid to lower their tax bills.

Leucadia, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under LUK, is currently based in Park Avenue South in New York.

On Friday Dow Jones news service put out a brief saying the company plans to ask its shareholders to approve a reorganisation of the company to Bermuda from New York.

The company said it's also seeking shareholder approval to amend its charter to lower the number of votes it needs to approve the move.

The company requires two-thirds shareholder approval for the reorganisation, and wants to reduce the number of votes needed to a majority, according to a registration statement filed Thursday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

"We believe the reorganisation will allow us to obtain the benefit of certain tax, business and financial advantages that are not currently available to us," the company said in the filing.

Leucadia National had planned to move out of the insurance part of its financial services industry by liquidating its operations in this area, but it is not known whether this will still take place with the proposed move.

The company's subsidiaries, Empire Insurance and Allcity Insurance, offer personal and commercial automobile and casualty coverage, mainly in metro New York.

Its subsidiaries also include American Investment Bank and American Investment Financial, which make consumer loans and auto loans below the prime rate.

Other Leucadia National holdings include a plastics division that makes netting for construction, packaging, and other purposes; US and European real estate; and stakes in more than 30 companies, including wineries and a Spanish mining firm.

On Friday lawmakers in the US vowed to push for legislation that will halt companies reincorporating in tax friendly locations like Bermuda.

The Senate Finance Committee leaders met yesterday and said they would aggressively press for legislation that stops US companies from moving their headquarters overseas to cut taxes.

"Our legislation ... is designed to put the brakes on the potential rush to move US corporate headquarters to tax havens," said panel chairman Max Baucus, of Montana.

During this year two tax bills have been introduced by US legislators in the House of Representatives aimed at stopping US companies from relocating offshore, particularly to Bermuda.

The bills have been proposed by Rep. Richard Neal and Rep. Scott McInnis and several American legislators have indicated they will put forward further bills, including Sen. Paul Wellstone and Sen. John Kerry.

In essence, the bills aim to levy US taxes on all income - including foreign revenues and sales - earned by corporations that reincorporate outside of the US.

The debate has largely focused on Bermuda-based companies such as Tyco, Global Crossing, Ingersoll-Rand and a company which has not yet redomesticated, Stanley Works.

Earlier this month Weatherford International Ltd also announced plans to move to Bermuda which are expected to be voted on by the end of the month.