Bermuda International Business Association (BIBA) has reacted angrily to a story in the Canadian press which labelled the Island as a tax haven and mistakenly said that it had been blacklisted - and demanded a retraction.

And BIBA has written a strongly worded letter to Business Section Editor of the Toronto Globe & Mail, Michael Babad, requesting a correction to an "erroneous" statement that Bermuda was "until recently," part of "an international blacklist of uncooperative tax havens".

Jeff Conyers, chairman of the Bermuda International Business Association, pointed out to the Canadian newspaper editor this statement was completely inaccurate.

In a written statement which was sent to the Toronto Globe and Mail, Mr. Conyers said: "Bermuda has never been included on any international blacklist of countries.

In fact, Bermuda is well regarded by the international business community and by a number of international regulatory bodies and governments including the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the OECD's Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the UK, Canadian and US governments as a world-class centre for international business.

"These organisations have praised Bermuda's regulatory framework for being long-standing, well established, fair, effective and sensible."

The offending article appeared in the Canadian paper on June 9 and said that Bermuda was the country of choice for Canadians who wanted to put their money in "tax havens" which were renowned for their secrecy laws.

In his rebuttal to the Canadian press, Mr. Conyer went on to defend Bermuda further, taking the paper to task over labelling Bermuda a "tax haven." He said: "Moreover, to refer to Bermuda as a `tax haven' is really a misnomer that implies that no taxes exist in Bermuda. This is simply not the case. Very real taxes are paid in Bermuda, and paid on a consistent basis. Bermuda's tax system is consumption-based, and always has been. That is to say that it was not designed or modified to attract business from overseas, but rather to be effective yet administratively efficient for a small country like ours."

Mr. Conyers added that BIBA was concerned to see Bermuda included alongside other offshore jurisdictions with very different approaches to taxation and financial regulations.

"Bermuda's international business community works in partnership with the government to design regulations that encourage innovation and preserve the highest standards of conduct.

"Additionally, Bermuda has a tax treaty with the United States that has been in effect for more than 15 years and sets in place a number of specific areas of co-operation in the enforcement of tax laws for individuals and companies in the United States and Bermuda."

BIBA urged the Toronto daily to make sure its reporters took the time "to carefully understand and differentiate between Bermuda and some of the other members of the offshore world" as it looks at the issue of Canadian investment in offshore jurisdictions.

Marketing Manager, Aaron Adderley suggested that in doing so, the paper would familiarise itself with Bermuda's proper standing in the international business arena.

"We are confident that they will recognise how and why Bermuda's approach to business has ensured that the island's reputation remains pristine in the eyes of the international business community as well as with international regulatory oversight organisations," said Mr. Adderley.