International business leaders claim Bermuda could lose half of its economy if it is placed on a worldwide blacklist of tax havens.

Top Ernst and Young accountant Jan Spiering, chairman of the International Business Forum, warned Bermuda could even face "Cuba-type sanctions'' if it was discredited as a harmful tax jurisdiction.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has asked around 30 countries, including Bermuda, to provide financial information in an international crackdown on tax havens.

Mr. Spiering, a managing partner for Ernst and Young, told an independence forum last night that the IBF was already raising its concerns with Government.

He told a crowd of 150 at Hamilton's Leopards Club that Bermuda needed to present a united front to prove it was not a tax haven.

Otherwise, he said Bermuda's international businesses could be pulled back to their on-shore homes or desert Bermuda in droves, scared of tough economic sanctions.

Island could face Cuba-type sanctions Mr. Spiering, denying Independence would provide a solution, said: "The OECD doesn't actually say what it will do to countries that end up on the list.

"But some of the talk has been that it could be just like what the Americans did to Cuba.

"If you go independent, you will have the Cuba-type sanctions available. Cuba has suffered that for a long time.

"We have to fight this fight and I'm not sure going independent will help.

The OECD countries have got several means to powerfully deal with our international business community, which contributes 50 percent of our revenue.'' Mr. Spiering said Bermuda was not a tax haven because international and local businesses paid the same levels of employment and payroll tax.

But lawyer and political activist Philip Perinchief, a panelist at the independence forum with fellow separatists Rolfe Commissiong and Walton Brown, denied Mr. Spiering's claims that Bermuda was not a tax haven.

And he said the Island finally had to strive for Independence -- or take on full British citizenship and be shackled by the tax restrictions of the OECD.

"Contrary to what the Premier says, Bermuda is clearly a tax haven,'' he said. "Any place that allows offshore companies to operate tax free or at a lower tax rate than the country of origin enjoys the advantages of a tax haven.

"Comparing Bermuda to other tax havens is an apples and apples argument.'' He said Independence would allow Bermuda to formulate its own tax structure, including income tax, and fight OECD restrictions. And he said he felt international companies would support a new referendum on Independence "because of the major challenges that are facing them now''.

Mr. Commissiong, chairing the meeting, said he sensed a new alliance for Independence among traditionally rival groups.