The authorities want to hear more before considering allowing non-Bermudians easier access to the purchase of Bermuda homes, Finance Minister Grant Gibbons said yesterday.

The Minister was responding to Bermuda Home chairman Donald Lines who again criticised as too high property taxes non-Bermudians are forced to pay.

Mr. Lines said at Bermuda Home's annual general meeting last week that it was clear that "non-Bermudian owners and potential purchasers of local property are very sensitive to a feeling of being taken advantage of and want to see some consistency and fairness in the way they are treated by Government and the community''.

But Dr. Gibbons conceded he was sensitive to the contributions made by non-Bermudians to the Island on many fronts and was aware of the perceptions and perspectives of realtors and foreign land owners.

He said the Chamber of Commerce's real estate and international companies divisions have made suggestions to the Ministry which are under review.

But the Minister noted Government policy had to be balanced.

The current policies, he said, sought to prevent non-Bermudians from flooding the housing market. Without regulation, it would be more difficult for Bermudians to realise their aspirations of home ownership. Another objective was to generate Government revenue.

The Minister said considering the Island's limited land mass, land here was not as expensive relative to other jurisdictions.

Mr. Lines had welcomed the scrapping of "the ill-advised and discriminatory capital gains tax'' faced by non-Bermudians who were selling their Bermuda land.

However, much like in Home's annual report, signed by him and president and CEO Arthur Haycock, he again voiced concern over Government's February budget provisions which increased the levy on non-Bermudian purchases from 20 percent to 22 percent.

He said together with stamp duties, it brought the total to a more than 30 percent levy on the purchase price of property.

"The level of this tax is, in our view, counterproductive and contrary to the interests of Bermuda,'' Mr. Lines said. "We also feel the increase in tax sends a message that we do not want non-Bermudians to invest in our Island or to live here.'' Dr. Gibbons responded: "The revenue we have generated this year to date is as strong as it has ever been for many years. So we are ahead of where we were the last few years. There doesn't seem to be any negative impact on revenue as a result of the 22 percent tax.'' Mr. Lines said: "In our view, we should be making greater efforts to encourage non-Bermudians to buy property, particularly if they work here -- rather than discouraging them from purchasing property -- for with the additional property Bermuda now has added to its stock as a result of the turnover of the bases -- purchases by foreigners who live and work here would have double the benefit of generating a higher return to Government on development of properties, while at the same time increasing the number of homes available to Bermudians for rental.'' He said Bermuda needed the foreign exchange revenues non-Bermudian homeowners imported in the form of local spending as well as employment opportunities they create. They bring in visitors, boosting retailing sales and employment, together with earnings in other tourist related businesses.

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