Bermuda The Treasure Island

 

 

When you think of the islands, you probably picture beaches and palm trees and green golf courses. But many American citizens and companies see ¹⁾a different kind of green there, money. This week, the ²⁾IRS revealed two million Americans may be using ³⁾offshore¹ credit cards to access secret hidden income. Meanwhile, more and more American businesses are using the island as a tax haven². Some twelve thousand international corporations have a presence on Bermuda alone. 

It’s the new trend in corporate³ accounting⁴. ⁴⁾Incorporate your company in Bermuda and save millions of dollars a year in taxes. Tyco, the global conglomorate, has space in this small office building even though most of its operations are here in New Hampshire. Global Crossing, the telecom company, has four employees at its world headquarters. Here’s the real operation, in Beverly Hills. Ingersoll-Rand the industrial equipment maker⁵, expects to save 40 million dollars a year in taxes after moving into Verasta Bermuda last year but keeping its operations in New Jersey⁶. And others are following.

This tiny island off the North Carolina coast, just 21 square miles, is now home to more than twelve thousand offshore companies. Up more than 20 per cent in the last three years. This can be positively⁷ maddening in countries whose taxes these companies are trying to escape. Like the United States, where the Internal Revenue Service has estimated some 70 billion dollars a year in tax revenue is lost to tax havens⁸ like this one.

Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D Texas): There are billions and billions of dollars that we all have to make up for as ordinary tax payers that are being lost to the treasury⁹, and it’s really unfortunate.

The Bush administration agreed to study the explosion in companies moving offshore.  But officials say the real problem may not be in Bermuda but in the US. 

Marx Weinberger (Asst. Treasury Secretary for Tax Policy): We have a tax system for example that, we’re practically the only one in the civilized¹⁰ world, that taxes all income, no matter where it’s earned and most all foreign ⁵⁾jurisdictions only tax business income within their borders and so some companies may look at that.

C. Eugene Cox (Bermuda Finance Minister): You can avoid tax, but that’s not a crime, it’s when you evade¹² taxes you get into the technicalities where you’re committing an offense¹³.

And the companies that are incorporating here he says, are playing by the rules.

Cox: The people that come here, they’re not doing anything illegal, they’re looking for the ⁶⁾professionalism that they find, they’re looking for the ⁷⁾infrastructure¹⁴ that is here.

Bermuda does have a long history as a ⁸⁾legitimate¹⁵ business center with tough ⁹⁾anti-fraud and money ¹⁰⁾laundering¹⁶ laws. Bermuda’s insurance companies are among the most reliable in the world. They began setting up shop here in the 1960s to escape the web of state insurance regulations in the US. But their headquarters here are real. Real Bermuda businesses with real Bermuda employees. It’s the new wave of companies that are threatening Bermuda’s hard won reputation. Global Crossing and Globalstar Telecommunications both bankrupt. Tyco International and Elan ¹¹⁾Pharmaceuticals under fire for their accounting. At Bermuda’s central bank which screens every company that seeks to incorporate here they’re double checking their systems trying to make certain a Bermuda address doesn’t become a black mark. CE

 

 

11、百慕大—金银岛

 

提起海岛，你脑海中也许会浮现出一幅海滩、棕榈树和翠绿的高尔夫球场的画面。然而许多美国人以及美国公司却会想到另一种绿色的东西——钱。美国国税局本周公布，约有两百万美国人在用海外信用卡来获取秘密收入。同时，越来越多的美国企业将海岛当作避税港。仅在百慕大群岛上就有一万两千家国际公司设立了办事处。

公司会计的新趋势是——在百慕大岛上注册公司，一年能节省下数百万美元的税款。Tyco公司是一家环球公司，它的办事处设在岛上一幢小办公楼内，而它的大部分业务则在新汉普郡经营。而电信公司Global Crossing位于百慕大的全球总部才有四名职员，而它真正的办事处在贝弗利山。英格索兰公司是一家工业器材制造商，去年在百慕大注册公司，而大部分生意仍在新泽西经营，预计一年能从税款中省下四千万美元。其他许多公司都在纷纷效仿。

百慕大与美国北卡罗莱纳州隔海相望，面积仅二十一平方英里，但现在却有一万两千家公司，该数字三年内增长了百分之二十。在许多国家，公司利用海外注册来避税的情况越来越普遍。比如说在美国，据美国国税局估计，一年有七百亿美元的税款流失到了诸如百慕大岛的避税港。

劳埃·多格特（美国国会来自德州的民主党众议员）∶我们必须向普通纳税者征收数十亿、数百亿美元来填补国库的亏空，这是非常不幸的。

布什政府同意开始着手研究海外注册公司激增的情况。但是有关官员说，真正的问题并不在百慕大而在美国本身。

马克斯·温伯格（主管税收政策的财政部副部长）：比如，美国的税收系统实际上在全球是独一无二的，我们对所有的收入都征税，不管它是在哪里挣得的。大部分外国税收部门只对国内的商业收入收税，所以许多公司都会看到这一点。

尤金·考克斯（百慕大财政部长）∶你可以避税，那不是犯罪。但如果你动用手段逃税就是违法的了。

他还说，在百慕大注册的公司都遵守着这条规则。

考克斯：人们来这里不是违法的，他们到这里取己所需，利用这里的基层架构。

百慕大作为一个合法的商业中心已久负盛名，它的法律严厉制裁欺诈和洗钱行为。百慕大的保险公司在全世界享有极高的声誉。它们于二十世纪六十年代在这里成立，躲避美国繁琐的国家保险规章。它们的的确确在这里设有总部，确实在这里雇请职员经营业务。而新起的公司损害了百慕大好不容易才建立起来的声誉：Global Crossing和国际卫星电话服务公司都破产了。Tyco和Elan 医药公司正为清算帐目而头疼。百慕大中央银行对在这里注册的每家公司都要进行调查，并复查它们的制度，以确保百慕大的地址不会蒙污。CE

 

1) a different kind of green: 美元的纸币币面颜色是绿色的。

2) IRS: 即Internal Revenue Service，美国国税局

3) offshore [5CfFC:] a. 离岸的，海面上的

4) incorporate [in5kCpEreit] v. 使组成公司

5) jurisdiction¹¹ [ 7dVauEris5dikFEn] n. 权限

6) professionalism [prE5feFEnElizEm] n. 专家的地位，专业主义

7) infrastructure [5infrE 7strQktFE] n. 基础下部组织

8) legitimate [li5dVitimit] n. 合法的，合理的

9) fraud [frC:d] n. 欺骗，欺诈行为

10) laundering [5lC:ndEriN] n. 洗烫

11) pharmaceutical¹⁷ [fB:mE5sju:tikEl] a. 药学的，药物的

 

1 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

2 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

3 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

4 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。

5 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

6 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

7 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

8 havens   

n.港口，安全地方( haven的名词复数 )v.港口，安全地方( haven的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Your twenty havens would back out at the last minute anyhow. 你那二十个避难所到了最后一分钟也要不认帐。 来自辞典例句
• Using offshore havens to avoid taxes and investor protections. 使用海面的港口避免税和投资者保护。 来自互联网

9 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

10 civilized   

a.有教养的，文雅的

参考例句：

• Racism is abhorrent to a civilized society. 文明社会憎恶种族主义。
• rising crime in our so-called civilized societies 在我们所谓文明社会中日益增多的犯罪行为

11 jurisdiction   

n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权

参考例句：

• It doesn't lie within my jurisdiction to set you free.我无权将你释放。
• Changzhou is under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province.常州隶属江苏省。

12 evade   

vt.逃避，回避；避开，躲避

参考例句：

• He tried to evade the embarrassing question.他企图回避这令人难堪的问题。
• You are in charge of the job.How could you evade the issue?你是负责人，你怎么能对这个问题不置可否？

13 offense   

n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪

参考例句：

• I hope you will not take any offense at my words. 对我讲的话请别见怪。
• His words gave great offense to everybody present.他的发言冲犯了在场的所有人。

14 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

15 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

16 laundering   

n.洗涤（衣等），洗烫（衣等）；洗（钱）v.洗（衣服等），洗烫（衣服等）( launder的现在分词 )；洗（黑钱）（把非法收入改头换面，变为貌似合法的收入）

参考例句：

• Separate the white clothes from the dark clothes before laundering. 洗衣前应当把浅色衣服和深色衣服分开。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He was charged with laundering money. 他被指控洗钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 pharmaceutical   

adj.药学的，药物的；药用的，药剂师的

参考例句：

• She has donated money to establish a pharmaceutical laboratory.她捐款成立了一个药剂实验室。
• We are engaged in a legal tussle with a large pharmaceutical company.我们正同一家大制药公司闹法律纠纷。