There was a fascinating comment in the Scotsman newspaper this morning:
David Mundell, Scotland Office Minister, said that any comparison between Scotland and the [Crown] Dependencies was "completely misplaced".
He said: "They are on a completely different scale to Scotland and their function is also completely different, that of providing a different tax environment. Scotland is an industrial country with an entirely different profile to the Channel Islands."
So now we know: apparently it is UK policy that the Crown Dependencies provide a 'different tax environment'.
Official confirmation of all Nick Shaxson has argued in Treasure Islands if ever I heard it.
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Mr. David Mundell, Scotland Office Minister.
Perhaps the voice of good judgment — at least in respect of his observation that any comparison between Scotland and the [Crown] Dependencies was “completely misplaced” and that “They are on a completely different scale to Scotland and their function is also completely different, that of providing a different tax environment. Scotland is an industrial country with an entirely different profile to the Channel Islands.”
Any country (apart from other seedy “secrecy jurisdictions”) attempting to compare or align itself with the Crown Dependencies — Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey — would be less than well advised.
The world is changing fast — and the consumer/public now demands that the finance industry delivers transparency, truth, reliability and integrity. Qualities that are, to date, decidedly lacking in the Crown Dependencies.