As Tax-News.com has reported (straight from a press release, so I feel happy to copy it):
Jersey's Comptroller of Taxes has remitted to EU member states a total of GBP4m in retention tax for the year 2010.
Retention tax is applied by Jersey paying agents and passed to the Comptroller of Taxes in accordance with the EU Savings Tax Directive, which requires withholding tax to be applied to the deposits of the residents of EU member states.
Under the terms of the Directive, 75% of the tax retained (GBP4m) is sent to the individual member states and the remaining 25% (GBP1.3m) is to be retained by the Jersey government. Due to the fuller effect of low interest rates, the amount of tax retained in 2010 is significantly less than in 2009 when GBP8.85m was remitted to the Member States and GBP2.99m was retained by the Treasury.
The collection of retention tax relies upon the co-operation of local paying agents. The Comptroller of Taxes and the President of the Bankers' Federation are both happy that the process of exchanging information and the payment of retention tax is continuing to work extremely well.
Comptroller of Taxes, Malcolm Campbell, said: "I am extremely grateful once again for all the help received from paying agents, in particular banks, which bear the greatest burden as a result of these agreements."
The Treasury and Resources Minister, Philip Ozouf, said: "As in previous years this shows that Jersey continues to honour the commitments that it entered into voluntarily with member states."
Oh dear, who are you kidding Mr Ozouf?
Jersey Finance say that in December 2010 there was over £366 billion held in Jersey of which more than £160 billion was in cash and at least £30 billion of that was for EU depositors.
Let's apply a rate of 2.5% to this cash (which is low for the balances in question) and generate a return of £750 million. Tax was withheld at 27.5% on average during the year. So tax withholding applied to £14.5 million of the interest paid and the rest avoided the tax charge.
So, applying tax to less than 2% of deposits counts as full cooperation does it Mr Ozouf? And opposing all measures that might extend the scope - or even opting for full information exchange like the Isle of Man and Guernsey also counts as full cooperation does it?
Please pull the other one. No one believes you, and the evidence as to why is clear for all to see. We can all see why you think this process is working well - because it's very obvious it's hardly really working at all whilst giving you an essential fig leaf of respectability.
And then you wonder why people are sickened at the continuing abuse you promote. Well, you shouldn't be: the world can spot a sham when it sees one and your press release and all that lies behind it is just that.
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Expect the usual set gangsters to come out with:
Interest was much much lower
Most funds are in equities
Most funds belong to Indians, Mexicans, Saudis and Ukrainians
Withholding tax was 20%
95% of investors selected automatic exchange of info – that’s why Jersey fighting tooth and nail against this.
The fringe is now open to the Jersey supporting clan.
The Jersey government has already lost its reputation and respect so any statements issued by its spokesmen should be treated with incredulity particularly: – “I am extremely grateful once again for all the help received from paying agents, in particular banks, which bear the greatest burden as a result of these agreements.”
IN PARTICULAR BANKS!
Jersey don’t makes us laugh – if it wasn’t so serious we would be in hysterics.
The Jersey secrecy regime depends on the opacity of Jersey banking and banks are the last people to trust to honour any voluntary commitments that Jersey has (hypothetically) entered into with the EU.
How many of those EU depositors have you estimated have chosen to exchange tax information?
Supposedly about 50% do in jersey
So another say, £4m was auto exchange of info.. So now we only down to 96% evading the directive through entities and arrangements. Wot a larf.
Arent you forgetting the direct disclosure payments though? Correct me if im wrong but you have taken the stats from one way of paying the tax and calculated the % based on one method of collection rather than the two methods.
No I’ve not forgotten it
If half declare then we’re still dealing with tiny part of cash balances covered by the ESTD in total – and that was the point I was making – which is that tbhis is not effective information exchange
Told you it wouldn’t take long before the clowns started quipping that the withholding amount is extraordinarily low because” 95% of investors selected automatic exchange of info.
LoL
As a matter of fact (i.e. something I personally know to be true) many banks in Jersey do not offer the witholding option to clients. So all clients of those banks have their information automatically exchanged.
When faced with evidence that challenges your assumptions you are right to question the evidence. But you should perhaps equally question your assumptions.
Well then, explain why Jersey would rather have its nails torn out than agree to automatic exchange, eh?
I don’t know. I just said a number of banks in Jersey as a matter of policy automatically exchange.
But think of what you are insinuating – that EMPLOYEES of banks would be knowingly risking imprisonment by making false disclosures. Now, I an understand small trust companies might take risks, because the owners take home the profits. But if you think that any junior employee of a bank (and there are no senior bank employees/directors in Jersey) would knowingly sign off false information I would simply ask why? They have absolutely no incentive to.
Is that why 8 banks are being investigated by US for tax evasion?
These issues are systemic
The employees turn a blind eye because they’re told to do so
And remember that filming by Panorama in Lloyds a while bank? That was not chance and he was no lone bad apple or rogue. That’s what happens