Senator Carl Levin is credited with saying the above. It’s my current mantra, and will be for some time to come, I suspect.

Gordon Brown put it differently according to the FT: he talked on Friday about

the beginning of the end of tax havens.

It might be: I just stress there’s a long way to go.

Angel Gurr??a, secretary-general of the OECD, noted that:

many jurisdictions still maintain arrangements that prevent them from assisting foreign authorities in tax investigations.

He’s right. Let’s be under no illusion that the puff of PR we’ve seen in the last few days (for it is no more as yet) is anything but that as yet. As the FT notes:

Bankers and lawyers in the finance centres affected by this month’s announcements have been keen to emphasise the limits to the concessions. Jean Schaffner, a Luxembourg partner of Allen & Overy, said the state’s proposals were a “good compromise between the need to co-operate with foreign tax administrations and the desire to preserve privacy”. Fears that foreign authorities could make “blanket requests” for information were not realised.

And the reality of what is happening is revealed by  Geoff Cook of Jersey Finance who said the concessions made

will defuse [pressure at the g20] to a large degree.

We know that’s what you hope Geoff. We’re not daft. But nor are the G20 governments. This time I genuinely believe they are going for broke. Breaking you that is, Geoff, plus your partners in crime.