From the Guardian this morning:
Tax havens will be forced to submit themselves to international scrutiny under plans to tackle their culture of secrecy being proposed by Gordon Brown.
Despite a rearguard action by tax havens, the prime minister intends next week's G20 summit to discuss plans for a multilateral exchange of information on "offshore" accounts.
G20 finance ministers discussed a crackdown on tax havens at their talks last weekend and Brown has told Britain's international partners that he wants to build on proposals from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to "make sure tax secrecy is a thing of the past".
Brown would like the Paris-based OECD to work out a detailed blueprint for reform over the coming months if, as expected, the London talks on 2 April back action to combat capital flight and improve transparency.
Government sources said the UK was taking reform of tax havens step by step, fearful that pressing too hard at this stage would damage the growing international consensus for reform. They said Downing Street had been "besieged" in recent days as tax havens reacted strongly to signs that they will be the prime targets of proposals to toughen up international regulation. Some tax havens - including Jersey, Switzerland and Liechtenstein - recently announced plans for bilateral exchange of information with specific countries, but Brown believes that this does not go far enough and would handicap developing countries.
I think this story is true: I do think this is what Gordon Brown wants. If so, this is a very welcome move.
Of course I want multilateral automatic information exchange. What’s being proposed is not that. And I want the secrecy of these locations shattered for good to end the abuse they permit.
But if this is the beginning and not the end of a process this is good news that I welcome. Because, let’s be realistic: the world is not going to change overnight on 2 April and all pragmatists (and I am one of them) know that.
That said, we’ll then be monitoring what Michael Foot has to say to see what comes next.
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This report from the Isle of Man today website will interest you, Richard.
“THE French Budget Minister today signed an historic tax agreement with the Isle of Man — and declared that it would no longer be correct to designate the Island as a tax haven.
On a flying visit, Minister Eric Woerth signed a tax information exchange agreement at a ceremony in Government Offices at Douglas.
He also signed a double taxation agreement in respect of shipping.
Asked if it would any longer be fair to describe the Island as a tax haven, Monsieur Woerth said: ‘It may once have been the case but now the Isle of Man has met its obligations and stepped up to the plate. This will not be a correct designation.’
It’s a significant vote of confidence by France, whose president Nicolas Sarkozy has been leading recent international condemnation of tax havens.
The tax agreement with France is the 14th has signed, and the 12th with an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development country.
“THE French Budget Minister today signed an historic tax agreement with the Isle of Man — and declared that it would no longer be correct to designate the Island as a tax haven.
On a flying visit, Minister Eric Woerth signed a tax information exchange agreement at a ceremony in Government Offices at Douglas.
He also signed a double taxation agreement in respect of shipping.
Asked if it would any longer be fair to describe the Island as a tax haven, Monsieur Woerth said: ‘It may once have been the case but now the Isle of Man has met its obligations and stepped up to the plate. This will not be a correct designation.’
It’s a significant vote of confidence by France, whose president Nicolas Sarkozy has been leading recent international condemnation of tax havens.
The tax agreement with France is the 14th has signed, and the 12th with an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development country.
Against the backdrop of the French Tricolour and the Manx flag, Treasury Minister Allan Bell welcomed the French delegation and said the Isle of Man was leading the way in negotiating with the OECD, the European Union and individual countries over tax co-operation and transparency.
Against the backdrop of the French Tricolour and the Manx flag, Treasury Minister Allan Bell welcomed the French delegation and said the Isle of Man was leading the way in negotiating with the OECD, the European Union and individual countries over tax co-operation and transparency.
This could be why the IoM doesn’t appear on the Black List.
Creg
I know all about this PR war
But that is all this is
TIEAs are utterly useless – and the establishment who wants to be seen to be doing something whilst allowing the abuse to continue are being conned into believing they are something else – or are hoping to get the public to believe that is so.
Thankfully there are the likes of me – who point out that the IoM remains a secrecy jurisdiction.
Secrecy jurisdictions are places that intentionally create regulation for the primary benefit and use of those not resident in their geographical domain that is designed to undermine the legislation or regulation of another jurisdiction and that, in addition, create a deliberate, legally backed veil of secrecy that ensures that those from outside the jurisdiction making use of its regulation cannot be identified to be doing so.
Whilst it refuses to fully information exchnage under the existing and new EU STD and refuses to put any data on companies on public record that is what it will remain – a state that sets out deliberately to assist the handling of stolen property.
Richard