Call for rule change on rich immigrants

Thursday 15th July 2004, 12:00AM BST.

A LEADING figure in the finance industry is calling for the rules on wealthy immigrants to be relaxed to boost the economy.

Richard Boleat, the president of the Jersey Association of Trust Companies, says that the Island could build the elusive ‘fourth pillar’ of the economy by encouraging the hedge fund industry to move here.

Hedge funds are among the star performers in investment business, and Mr Boleat says that enticing three or four of them to establish in Jersey would be a huge boost to the Island.

However, to do so he believes that the 1(1)K income bar should be lowered to enable brokers earning between £500,000 and £1m to move here – in other words the wealthy rather than the super-wealthy.

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