Bermuda has been working diligently to remove itself from a list of tax havens released last month by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Bermuda's deputy premier said yesterday, according to the Washington Times.

"We resist and resent the appellation of tax haven," Paula Cox told the newspaper.

"With a number of overseas territories, it's easy to lump us all together," she said. "But the Bermuda brand has cachet," insisted Ms Cox, who acknowledged that 15,000 international companies are registered on the 21-square-mile island that is home to 64,000 people.

All these companies have administrative services provided by Bermuda, said Ms Cox, who is also finance minister of the island nation.

The White House unveiled a plan earlier this month that it said would raise about $200 billion over the next 10 years by curbing tax havens and removing tax incentives for shifting jobs overseas.

"Nearly one-third of all foreign profits reported by US corporations in 2003 came from just three small, low-tax countries: Bermuda, the Netherlands and Ireland," the White House said.

"Bermuda is a very efficient jurisdiction when it comes to the movement of capital," said Donald Scott, financial secretary at Bermuda's Ministry of Finance. Nevertheless, Mr Scott acknowledged, "that number was a little bit startling."