Isle of Man due to signal shift in tax policy - Isle of Man Today .
Isle of Man Treasury Minister Allan Bell was due today to signal a major shift in the Isle of Man's tax policy — with the aim of silencing the critics who accuse us of banking secrecy.
Credit where it is due: this and putting all trust and company information on public record comprise our major demands of the IoM.
If they intend to do this I wlcome it, of courss. It's a big step in the right direction.
But don't say pressure has not worked.
Now for Jersey, Guernsey and ever onwards.
And having that other data on public record.
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Guernsey and Jersey have been looking at the same option.
“Don’t say pressure has not worked”?
I’d say more irritation at the constant racket of people barking up the wrong tree has worked. But the irony is, Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man have nothing to hide here, as you will hopefully find out in 2 years time.
In fact, if it was not for the problems regarding free movement of people, Jersey and Guernsey would almost certainly want to join the EU.
“all trust information on public record”, why not put more pressure on the UK for them to implement it and then others will follow.
Creg
Trust me – I bore the pants off them about it
Richard
This notion that all trust information needs to be on the public record reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of a trust. A trust is not an entity but is a relationship. Every parent who opens a bank account for their child is a trustee. Do you think it is realistic to say that every parent needs to register thier child’s bank account with the newly created office of registrar of trusts. That is going to be incredibly popular with the general public. What about the local football club or PTA where the treasurer operates a bank account on behalf of the organisation. Another trust relationship, so all of those matters need to be registered as well.
A trust can be created very simply and easily, also what about contructive and resulting trusts? You don’t know they exist until a court tells you they do. How can you register those?
A trust is a relationship between two (or more people). How do you write a law that says all relationships of trust will be registered at some central office?
Barwick
I think I understand exactly what a trust is. I have been a chartered accountant for 27 years
Trusts involve the transfer of property rights – rights that sometimes need to be enforced because they can be abused
Transparency delivers that
And if the PTA were a company in the UK it would file accounts – so why not if a trust?
After all – companies are argued by many to just be relationships – and the substance is that they are
Richard
There is of course a requirement to inform HMRC in those cases where UK trustees expect to receive have income or capital gains. That is, trusts already have some sort of official existence (though not public). Why not simply extend this to a full register?
TaxTwit
Actually, Barwick, most parents who open bank accounts for their children will not do so as trustees. They will keep the account in their name so that they can keep control of when the child gets their hands on the money. For the obvious reason that you don’t know when your child will be sensible enough. As an aside, this is another reason why I don’t like these Child Trust accounts the government has set up.
PTAs have to do (fairly simple) accounts, because the various stakeholders need to know where the money came from and is going. It’s no big deal to send those accounts to Nottingham Trusts Office.
Paul, no doubt the unrighteous judge pestered by the widow in Jesus’ parable would have said pretty much the same thing 😀
I can assure you the decision in the IOM was not taken because the UK ‘demanded it’ and what the UK may call ‘pressure’ we treat as ‘irritation’. It was done because (a) it is the right and transparent thing to do and (b) the IOM wanted to do it. How much humble pie will the UK be eating I wonder when little is found apart from the odd MP’s expenses squirrelled away for safekeeping! WMD and Iraq springs to mind.
“that they can keep control of when the child gets their hands on the money”
That is what a mainteance and accumulation trust is for, or even a descretionary trust with the parents as trustee would work to control the bank account.
Richard
I’m surprised that you haven’t yet picked up on Jersey’s announcement today that it is following suit with automatic exchange from July 2011. Maybe you are still in a state of shock ?
Keith
Do you honestly think we’re stupid?
Richard