Stephen Platt is senior partner of law group Baker Platt.
On BBC Radio Jersey this morning he sounded very worried. He's issued a briefing on the US Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act, which Barack Obama is backing. He thinks Obama wants to close Jersey down. And he thinks it very unfair that the Act calls Jersey an offshore secrecy jurisdiction.
Even the BBC Jersey interviewer asked him wasn't that Jersey's own fault since its whole economy was built on attracting tax evaders to its shores?
Platt denied this. He claimed Jersey is not a secrecy jurisdiction as it has no shell banks or bank secrecy legislation.
True, it hasn't. But not a single company on the island has to file any real data regarding its affairs on public record. It has no idea how many trusts use its domain. It has 0% tax on corporate profits. It has sham trusts created for the sole purpose of facilitating international tax fraud. It allows corporate redomiciliation so fraudsters can stay ahead of the law. It allows the use of cell companies that no one has yet worked out how to penetrate. It refuses to exchange information under the EU Savings Tax Directive., It will not even enter into a Tax Information Exchange Agreement with the UK.
The man has seen the writing on the wall and sounded very worried. And there's nothing he can do to stop his trade being taken from him if that's what Obama, Sarkozy and others decide to do. And decide to do it they will, I think.
Time to smell the coffee Mr Platt.
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Richard
Nobody would be more delighted than me to see Jersey, the Isle of Man, the Caymans etc, terminated but I don’t believe for a second it will happen.
Isn’t it almost certain that Gordon Brown will resist any attempts to shut down the British offshore islands, however much pressure Sarkozy and Obama (assuming he is elected) put on him? The UK economy suffers from a chronic balance of payments deficit, doesn’t Britian depend on the City being able to suck in dirty money from its offhsore tax havens?
If Cameron gets in he will certainly veto any attack on his City friends, but even Brown is unlikely to budge in the time remaining to him.
Robert
HM Revenue and Customs posts Tax Information Exchange Agreements (reciprocal) between UK and Jersey, Gibraltar Guernsey, Isle of Man, Montserrrat, BVI, Netherlands Antilles, Aruba, (Non-reciprocal are) Anguilla, Cayman, Turks and Caicos,
Barrie
It’s an exceptionally limited agreement right now for the EU Savings Tax Directive
A full blown OECD based version is being refused by Jersey
Richard
The JFSC does know how many trusts are in Jersey. Just because this information is not made public what is the big deal? Perhaps you should blame the person who came up with the Trust idea back in 1066 for a change!
Matt
I don’t believe you
There is no mechanism for them to know
Prove me wrong
Richard
Every regulated entity must supply complete details of every client for compliance and licensing requirements and this includes Trusts. Believe me. They know what Trusts are in existence.
Matt
Please prove it. Chapter and verse. Deatils of what is provided. Precisely. And what statute and regulation requires it. And what details of the clinet have to be given, precisely.
But I stress: chapter and verse. With reference to actual regualtion, and documents.
Richard
With all due respect, but what authority do you have over Jersey to provide you with any proof? I know that the JFSC has a listing of all clients and it is part of the licence requirement and thats that.
This transparency argument is flawed, it is simply an untruth.
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