23 May 2007
Chief Minister, Senator Frank Walker has submitted a statement to the United States Senate defending the reputation of Jersey as a legitimate, well regulated and well respected offshore finance centre. The statement has been submitted to the Senate Finance Committee Hearing which was convened to discuss offshore tax evasion as a result of Bills that have been introduced seeking to restrict the use of offshore tax havens to inappropriately avoid Federal taxation.
In the statement to the Hearing Senator Walker defends the reputation of the Island, “Jersey is a long standing international finance centre providing a wide range of financial and professional services and in compliance with international standards. It is no part of Jersey’s policy to assist directly or indirectly the evasion of taxes properly payable in other jurisdictions. Such business is actively discouraged.”
Senator Walker has drawn the Committee’s attention to the fact that Jersey has entered into a tax information exchange agreement with the United States and has a well recognised good relationship with the US administration on financial crime matters generally. He has emphasised Jersey’s determination to strengthen this relationship.
Senator Walker went on to comment: “Our good name and reputation is of huge importance to us. I have told the Senate Finance Committee of our compliance with international standards of financial regulation, anti-money laundering and combating financing of terrorism and of our cooperation in the pursuit of those engaged in financial crime. I have said that our good track record should be recognised and that our present good relationship with the US, which is to our mutual advantage, should not be damaged by what in our view would be unfair discriminatory legislation."
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Notes to Editors:
1. The Statement to the United States Senate.
2. For further information, please contact Senator Walker on 440401 or Colin Powell (Adviser on International Affairs to the Chief Ministers Department) on 440414.
3. The Bills referred to in the statement are –
· Bill 396 - ‘To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to treat controlled foreign corporations established in tax havens as domestic corporations’ in which Bill Jersey is included in the list of tax havens.
· Bill 681 – ‘To restrict the use of offshore tax havens and abusive tax shelters to inappropriately avoid Federal taxation, and for other purposes’, introduced by Senators Levin, Coleman and Obama in which Bill Jersey is included in an initial list of ‘offshore secrecy jurisdictions’.
4. A similar statement has been submitted by the Chief Minister for Guernsey.
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