Finance welcomes US move on ‘tax secrecy’

Wednesday 20th July 2011, 3:00PM BST.

Jersey Finance chief executive Geoff Cook

THE body responsible for promoting the finance industry has added its voice to those welcoming Jersey’s omission from the draft of a US bill aimed at tackling tax havens.

Jersey Finance chief executive Geoff Cook said that he was pleased that US Senator Carl Levin had abandoned a list of offshore secrecy jurisdictions in his Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act in Washington.

A number of offshore jurisdictions were previously termed ‘offshore secrecy jurisdictions’ on a list prepared when the bill was first launched in 2009. The list included Jersey and the other Crown Dependencies.

Mr Cook paid tribute to the work of Island ministers who have lobbied in Washington and he said that their efforts must have helped persuade Senator Levin to drop the list in his re-tabled bill.

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1
GuernseySeasiderUK

July 21, 2011 at 9:18 am

Some reports tend to suggest that Levin has simply withdrawn the whole list of “Offshore Secrecy Jurisdictions” from his re-tabled bill, not removed Jersey, or Guernsey for that matter, from it.

Why all the euphoria and back-slapping in both islands over this issue?

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2
Arnald

July 21, 2011 at 1:25 pm

Yes GsySsdrUK

From the increasingly Daily Mail-like Telegraph
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/offshorefinance/8645603/Crown-dependencies-celebrate-no-longer-being-on-US-tax-haven-blacklist.html

Once again it shows the CIs are *just* as good as the likes of the Turks & Caicos. Well done!

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3
Martin

July 22, 2011 at 2:23 pm

As somebody (UK)based who advises on international tax planning – I see increasing flows of assets moving to the “newer” offshore centres that take a pragmatic view of the world, and are not influenced by historic ties.
The US is a superpower/economy on its last legs – 20 years from now the economic drivers will be much further east, and it it will be their standards that matter – my advice – forget the past and its twee views on regulation – Hong Kong and Singapore matter – the old crown dependencies are becoming irrelevant

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