France says Jersey is a tax haven deserving to be penalised for its failure to cooperate in the war on tax abuse

Posted on August 30 2013

France has stepped up its assault on tax havens by blacklisting Bermuda, British Virgin Islands and Jersey, in a sudden move set to impose heavy penalties on thousands of French individuals and businesses.

The three offshore centres have been added to a list of “non-co-operative jurisdictions”, triggering withholding taxes of up to 75 per cent on payments from France.

It added:

The finance ministry in Paris said the three territories had been added to the blacklist for not complying with a new criterion enforced by the government, of unsatisfactory compliance with an existing convention with France.

It said, in the case of Jersey, this concerned an individual who owed tax to France who had refused to supply information. It was up to Jersey to elicit the information, an official said. He added that the terms of the blacklist would not enter into force for the three territories until January 1 2014, allowing them time to be removed from the list if they fulfilled their obligations by the end of the year.

It has to be said that this somewhat blows apart the sophistry of Jersey's supposed 'good neighbour' policy and its claim that it's 'fully cooperative'.

I hear tales of the failure of that co-operation rather too often to believe that there is any substance to this claim. I'm pleased France has not only had the courage to say so, but has also had the willing to apply sanctions to back it up.

It's a pity more don't do so.

PS: Jersey's less than subtle response - from it's finance industry and not the official government (not that there's much difference) is here

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4 Responses

the fools and the roads says:

August 30 2013 at 9:10 am

It’s Amusing to read the comments of Geoff Cook from Jersey Finance Limited on this, um er, minor embarrassment. Jersey has very few French clients according to him, yet two major French Banks (BNP Paribas & SG Hambros) operate on the island. Denial as usual.

I wonder how Jersey’s Treasury Minister feels after the recent very public spat with a fellow politician, now that the French Government has made clear the island is indeed an uncooperative “paradis fiscal”? Who gets to apologise today?
A says:

August 30 2013 at 10:36 am

Jersey will sell it’s client out as it did with bank of Ireland which shut down within 2 weeks after giving info over bank of Bermuda and all of them !!!! just look at Co-op bank Guernsey 16000 customers 6000 local 3000 from Jersey and the rest from the UK according to the BBC news tells it all really built on a pack of lies
kimbjo says:

August 31 2013 at 10:23 pm

Richard,

You take every opportunity to pile it on with respect to Jersey, but never seem to want to report the truth do you?

1 French tax payer takes the TIEA disclosure process to court in Jersey.
The TIEA agreement states that Agreement doesn’t trump local judicial process.
This creates a ‘delay’ in the eyes of the French.

And you consider this intentional foot dragging by Jersey?

Here’s a baby, here’s some bathwater, choose wisely which you throw out Richard.
- Richard Murphy says:
  
  September 1 2013 at 9:09 pm
  
  I assure you – there is a lot more to it than that
  
  1) Continued non-disclosure under EU STD
  
  2) Poor quality data supplied
  
  Especially the latter