Thursday 26 October 2017
Guernsey is a leading international finance centre with real economic activity and substance, as well as meeting every international standard of transparency and information exchange.
That will be the message from Deputy Lyndon Trott when he meets EU Member States representatives in Brussels next week. Deputy Trott will meet lead representatives from Ireland, Romania, Cyprus, Italy, the UK and France during the trip, where he will be joined by Jersey's Chief Minister.
Deputy Trott said it is vital that Guernsey takes a strong stance when engaging with Member States, not least given the EU's ongoing "screening process" of third countries.
'The EU Code of Conduct Group is currently assessing about 90 non-EU jurisdictions on tax transparency and economic substance - though, to date, their panel has not shared its assessment of jurisdictions with those they are looking at. The Code of Conduct Group should remember that only a few years ago Guernsey voluntarily submitted its tax regime for evaluation, and it was found fully compliant with EU rules. If it isn't now, then the goalposts have been moved and no one has told us.
'Guernsey is not and never has been a "brass plate" jurisdiction. We do not host corporate business unless it has substance in Guernsey, and by that we mean our view is the same as any expert - real people making real decisions in real time. Moreover, we have committed ourselves to the principles of the OECD's anti-base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) plan.
'Guernsey does not facilitate tax evasion - we have a General Anti-Avoidance Rule in place - and it does not make tax rulings for corporates. We also have a beneficial ownership register in place that facilitates timely and verifiable information exchange with other jurisdictions - and we are one of the very few jurisdictions in the world to regulate trust and corporate service providers, having done so since 2000.
'These are crucial facts about Guernsey that need to be understood by EU Member States. I aim to use my trip to Brussels next week to ensure that message is heard loud and clear.'
Guernsey is a member of the OECD's BEPS Inclusive Framework, and has already put in place the OECD model of country by country reporting and has signed up to the Multilateral Instrument.
Guernsey voluntarily adopted the EU Savings Directive and moved to automatic exchange of information from 2011. This means information relating to accounts held in Guernsey by individuals resident in an EU Member State is automatically sent to their home jurisdiction every year.
Guernsey was also part of the Early Adopter Group of the Common Reporting Standard on automatic exchange of information, after signing the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement in October 2014.
