The Cayman Islands are passing a new law on national statistics, which happens to have fallen into my inbox. Section 7 of this law says:
7. With the approval of the Governor, the Director of the Economics and Statistics Office shall collect,whether in conjunction with the census or not, statistics relating to all or any of the following matters-
(a) population and housing thereof;
(b) immigration and emigration;
(c) vital occurrences and morbidity;
(d) social and educational matters;
(e) imports and exports;
(f) trade and commerce;
(g) industry and merchandising;
(h) land tenure, occupation and condition of land, and the produce thereof;
(i) primary and secondary production;
(j) wages, hours and conditions of labour and cost-of-living index;
(k) employment, unemployment and pay rolls;
(l) industrial disturbances and disputes;
(m) injuries, accidents and compensation;
(n) wholesale and retail prices;
(o) stocks of manufactured and unmanufactured goods;
(p) transport and communication by land, water and air;
(q) transfers, mortgages and leases of land;
(r) fire, marine, life, accident and other insurance and assurance;
(s) incomes and earnings;
(sa) the system of national accounts and balance of payments; and
(t) such other matters as may be prescribed:Provided that no information shall be required to be given under this section by or on behalf of any company exempted under section 164 of the Companies Law (2011 Revision), or any trust exempted under section 70(1) of the Trusts Law (2011 Revision).
I added the highlight. Why? Because what it says is that Cayman will collect data on everything that happens there except the most important data of all - which is what happens in its offshore sector.
The result is, of course, that the data produced will be meaningless! It's like producing statistics on the economy of the UK whilst banning the inclusion of any data on the services sector.
But it's more important than that though. This law makes clear tat the pretence of the offshore world is very definitely continuing. I explained this in a paper, here. In that paper I explained how the offshore world pretends that activity in their offshore sector takes place 'elsewhere'. They never ask where 'elsewhere' is - because if they did they would find it either does not exist, because the offshore entity is not registered where it actually trades or they'd find that it did not comply with regulation in that other place. And of course they wish to deny both those things could happen, just as much as they want to deny that the only place where many of these offshore entities record anything is in Cayman, if they bother at all.
As a result it is clear Cayman are refusing to ask questions about what happens in this sector as they know they would not want the answers to the questions. But in the process they expose the deceit at the heart of the offshore world, writ large here in Cayman Island legislation.
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I think you’ve got the wrong end of the stick.
If the Cayman government is building up data re economic activity which is taking place within Cayman, as opposed to from Cayman, then the activities of the exempted trusts and companies is completely irrelevant. Those categories of entity are not permitted to own land in Cayman, employ people in Cayman or conduct a trade or business on Cayman. Any and all activity of those entities by definition has to take place outside of Cayman, even though the directors and trustees of those companies and trusts respectively are based in Cayman. A director of a foreign company buying a New York apartment does not need to be based in the USA you know (which addresses your “elsewhere” point).
What you also fail to mention is that the Cayman registered agent of each Cayman company, and the Cayman trustee of each trust, is NOT exempt from supplying data about its economic activity of administering trusts and companies. The income generated from such services is the economic activity which is taking place in Cayman and which is relevant in Cayman, including employment of staff, buying or leasing offices etc. All of that activity is useful to Cayman, whereas the purchase of a New York apartment, for example, has no impact on Cayman’s domestic economy beyond the fee income for th eprovision of the company administration service.
It is therefore entirely logical that the highlighted exemptions are excluded from the Cayman economic data being gathered.
But almost none of those entities are recorded anywhere else either so the only place they can be is Cayman
So you are wrong and I am right
Do you understand offshore and secrecy jurisdictions or are you just dissembling on their behalf?
Er…no I’m sorry that’s wrong.
Why would they be “recorded anywhere else” unless they have a branch or agency or permanent establishment in another country? The mere ownership of assets in another country as investments doesn’t require a foreign company to register a presence in that country (in most cases).
So yes – the only place they can be is Cayman, which is indeed the case. Incorporated in Cayman, resident there under globally accepted central management and control tests, but not carrying out any domestic trading or investment activity “within”Cayman, so not of any use to the Cayman data gatherers as they aren’t utilising Cayman infrastructure or physical resources.
I certainly do understand offshore jurisdictions although I don’t tend to use the term “secrecy jurisdiction” as its not something I recognise.
I’m sure you don’t call them secrecy jurisdictions
No doubt that’s because you like the secrecy
I prefer to use the term “privacy”. Secrecy suggests wrongdoing. Privacy merely suggests private.
There is wrong doing
Please don’t insult our itelligence by saying otherwise
Shouldn’t the Caymanian authorities know what the hell these entities are doing round the world? Or should they do as they do now and turn a blind eye to what these companies do in the outside world?