From Robert Kisch.
THE JEP of 20 October includes two opposing views on zero-ten. Peter Body (page 21) suggests a joint Jersey-Guernsey approach for strength. EU members regard the Channel Islands as one bloc, if they recognise it at all, since the UK handles our external affairs.

On this basis he suggests we accept the EU ‘spirit’ of tax harmonisation, rather than Advocate Philip Sinel’s view that we should fight our own corner.

Advocate Sinel’s view (page 13) is based on ‘no taxation without representation’, backed up, no doubt, by the extensive researches carried out by the late Dr W J Heyting in his notes on the ‘Constitutional Relationship between Jersey and the UK’ – a copy should be in the States library. These are still relevant.

In the late 1960s, the UK seriously considered incorporating Jersey and Guernsey etc, as the Channel Islands, into Hampshire for all taxation purposes. It is this scenario which it seems the advocate has in mind.

It appears that the EU thinking is that any charter granted in the past, giving taxation independence to Jersey, is purely historic and now of no value.

However, if we are to be regarded as part of UK, then we have to offer some advantage to external finance management, much of which directly benefits the UK City of London as its investment destination. This is a point in our favour which might be lost if zero-ten is abandoned.

Ex-Chief Minister Frank Walker has indicated (JEP, 20 October, page 4) that the zero-ten policy was agreed by UK, ECOFIN and so on, prior to EU final agreement on fiscal policy. Such EU matters have, apparently, to be agreed by every member. Just who is objecting and exactly what they object to is not yet known – but the UK have told us to fight it out on our own.

On the face of it, it seems we should proceed with zero-ten until the objections are established.

We may not have to simply accept becoming part of the UK tax system as approved by the EU. Our skills lie in arranging arms-length finance setups world-wide, as hinted at during the Panorama entrapment programme.

There is even the intriguing possibility of such arms-length arrangements being beneficially owned within the UK City of London complex.
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