I was on Radio Guernsey yesterday morning.
My main point was that Guernsey is a tax haven or secrecy jurisdiction as I prefer to call them. I explained that secrecy jurisdictions are places that intentionally create regulation for the primary benefit and use of those not resident in their geographical domain. That regulation is designed to undermine the legislation or regulation of another jurisdiction. To facilitate its use secrecy jurisdictions also 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.
Guernsey's Chief Minister reponded. As BBC Guernsey report:
Guernsey's Chief Minister Peter Harwood has defended the island's finance industry against an accusation that it damages UK tax revenues.
Richard Murphy, from the Tax Justice Network, said the island was deliberately going out of its way to undermine other countries' tax systems.
Deputy Harwood said: "The remedy lies with the jurisdictions who feel that they are losing tax."
Deputy Harwood described Mr Murphy's comments as "a load of rubbish" and said Guernsey was under no obligation to assist the UK in collecting revenues.
I think the last comment says it all, and confirms all I said.
Thanks Deputy Harwood: case conceded by you, I think.
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Exactly, what a pathetic argument. According to Harwood’s logic, if a professional criminal robs somebody’s house because they have an old lock that’s easy to get past, the responsibility for the theft lies not with the criminal, but the householder.
What a shyster! (like so many others in the financial sector). We’re not asking Guernsey to collect the mainland’s tax revenues for us, we’re asking them to stop helping companies and individuals in the UK avoid their tax obligations to UK society in which most of them, presumably, make their money.
Surely you don’t expect countries to collect tax for other countries? It would be completely unworkable, especially for small or developing countries.
Yes I do expect full cooperation between states to collect tax – unambiguously so
And it isn’t the job of our bank clearing system to send money to financial institutions in Guernsey where it can avoid our taxes. It is the UK Government’s job to ensure good governance in Guernsey however.
Unfortunately (for millions of third world countries) any proclivity towards “good governance” is an unlikely propostion inside the inpenetrable corridors of deception which control the evil enigma driving the Crown Dependencies.
And the present UK government is part of the problem – not the solution.
Cockroaches come to mind.