The European Union Savings Tax Directive is a vital weapon against tax evasion. That's it's only purpose. Introduced in 2005 it requires that all EU states and their dependencies - such as the UK's tax havens - exchange information with each other on interest earned in one member state where the recipient lives in another member state.
There was, when introduced, an opt out to keep Luxembourg, Austria and Belgium (at the time, but not now) happy, which was that tax could be withheld from interest paid instead of information being shared if that was what their customers wanted. Of course, this still permitted evasion and did not disclose hidden offshore capital as the scheme was meant to do so, but it was a step in the right direction and was always meant to be an interim measure.
Most tax havens, Cayman apart, also went for this withholding option.
May have given it up now. The Turks & Cacos islands are the latest to do so, on 1 July 2012. Gunersey and the Isle of Man have too.
But Jersey hasn't. It persists in offering this option.
And there is only one explanation for it doing so. Jersey still wants tax evaded money in its banks - money that they are all too willing to handle, it seems. As I've noted often, their customers' refusal to have their income disclosed to their tax authority does not make these banks think that they may be money laundering when to any reasonable person it would be impossible to think otherwise.
Jersey's increasingly isolated on this issue. But all it's saying by being so is that it's a home for tax evasion. Is that the message it wants to send out? I can only conclude that it is.
Hat tip: Markus Meinzer
Thanks for reading this post.
You can share this post on social media of your choice by clicking these icons:
You can subscribe to this blog's daily email here.
And if you would like to support this blog you can, here:
Its highly relevant that there are only 8 banks in the Turks and Caicos Islands, all of which are tiny locally. Its never been a major banking centre (same as BVI).
Its therefore very easy for the Turks to have signed up to the EUSD as it has probably got no significant impact on them at all.
It’s taken it 7 years to get this far then
And T & C do have an international role, despite what you say
Perhaps because the tax withheld forms an income stream as (if I remember correctly) only 75% is passed on to the member state where the recipient lives (or was born). That extra 25% that Jersey retains is probably in the region of £50 million. By the same token, something in the region of £150M is therefore being passed on to the member states that prior to 2005 they would not have received, and if the money left Jersey, neither Jersey nor the member states would get it, or would receive a reduced amount.
You really should research before commenting
Your data is wildly out
Ok, granted. Due to ridiculously low interest rates, the amount they expect is minimal and they have actually removed it from their budget figures for this year.
Apologies.
So that leaves assisting tax evasion as the only possible explanation.
Thank you
Form what i seen jersey will give you the Interest paid via a Hong Kong subsiduary that way its still outside the EU … though the money may even still be in Jersey WHO KNOWS !!!!