YET another wave of remarkable events rolled into the Island’s consciousness last week.

Coming from the north, the announcement by UK Chancellor Alistair Darling that there would be yet another review of the three Crown Dependencies and 14 Overseas Territories met a mixed response.

Officially, senior Jersey politicians trundled out the line that this would be another excellent opportunity for Jersey to show that it was superior to other island finance centres, such as the Isle of Man, Cayman, Antigua and so forth.

In one sense, our senior politicians are right. In the past year to 18 months the eagle-eyed regulators down in Castle Street have been scouring the missives of the major standard setters to find the pieces missing from Jersey legislation and then finding ways to apply them. In theory, then, if there is anything left to be done, it should be of minor importance.

This in itself is not the reason for the UK Chancellor’s renewed interest in Britain’s offshore finance industry. Mr Darling, more than most, will be aware of the use that the City of London makes of offshore functions and the gap that the loss of them would leave in City services.

The real pressure now is coming from the taxpayers of both the UK and Europe. As the financial crisis hits their pockets, the taxpayers of the UK will want to see their politicians making every effort to haul in revenue.

The taxpayers of Europe will be putting the same pressure on their own governments. All politicians will be posturing, in an effort to demonstrate that they are taking revenue collection very seriously indeed.

The UK, as the sitting chair of the G20 countries for 2009, will also be under extra pressure to comply with the deliberations made at the summit in Washington earlier this month, to stabilize financial markets and turn around the economic crisis which some say is in danger of heading past recession and towards the morass of depression.

One of the things that the UK Chancellor says he will not be doing is to consider changes to the UK’s constitutional relationship. He will, however, be reviewing fiscal arrangements, according to his pre-budget speech. I have to say that I find this a little odd, because I was under the impression that the heart of the special relationship was the Island’s independence in all fiscal matters, apart from those applied for trading purposes.

As recent events have shown, although Jersey is in theory free to set its own taxation, this seems to apply only if the system fits the criteria preferred by the international standard setters. Although in theory the OECD should not be able to impose its will on Jersey’s tax rates, it can and has named and shamed the Island on a previous blacklist.

And although the UK cannot dictate how the Island runs its tax system, it can threaten to withdraw c-ooperation if Jersey refuses to comply with OECD requirements – and has done so, in 2003. Which is why we are now paying GST, to fill the black hole about to be made by the new zero corporate tax rate.

FROM the east last week came news of political unrest in the very place where Jersey has been targeting its marketing efforts. For some months now, politicians and financial services specialists have been heralding the dawn of a new relationship with the emerging market of India, where the economy has begun to rival the phenomenal growth of China.

Indeed, Jersey-based business Computer Patent Annuities is fast building its own Indian empire in providing oursourcing services to hard-pressed legal firms. A few months ago, the spectre of political unrest was not really on the agenda. Economic Development Minister Philip Ozouf, having visited the region in February, had no hesitation in commiting up to £500,000 of public funding to the marketing of the Island’s finance industry, particularly at a time when the Indian authorities were removing previous regulatory barriers.

Last Thursday’s shock waves are a reminder that, in a global village, not only is Jersey likely to be touched by such incidents, but also that political stability is easy to take for granted.

THE shop windows of Woolworths in Queen Street and Halkett Place are looking great this year. Jokes about the wonder of Woolies apart, it is difficult to say at this stage where the current negotiations will lead. Notices on the windows thank us for our support over the years, but the anguish of one of the largest and best known British retailers as it up-ends and starts to sink is not a pretty sight.

Some say that there is life in the old girl yet and that, managed properly, the fortunes of the pick’n’mix queen can be reversed. By the same token, as the festive season rings hollowly along the shop floor, yet more jobs could be on the line.

BANKERS are starting to be more vociferous in blaming the UK and American governments for the current financial ills. They were under pressure, they say, to get voters onto the property ladder. Bankers used to be good at saying no. Perhaps more of a balance between prudence and greed may be required in future.