Tuesday 21 November 2017
Guernsey and Jersey will be in Brussels this week as part of on-going efforts to ensure the Channel Islands' reputation as jurisdictions committed to meeting international standards is well understood.
Chief Minister Gavin St Pier will join Senator Ian Gorst in Brussels tomorrow as both islands will attend a series of meetings with the Commission, a number of representatives of the Parliament and Permanent representatives of EU member States.
Deputy St Pier said:
'This is the second official visit in a month and it has been carefully timed to ensure that the island's commitment to be a cooperative jurisdiction is understood in advance of the EU Code Group's assessment of over 90 non-EU jurisdictions on tax transparency and economic substance. The resulting list of non-co-operative jurisdictions is expected to be agreed in early December by the European Council. We are committed to working closely with the Council, the Commission and the Code Group as part of our good neighbour approach to our relationship with the EU.
'The misinformation spread from the stolen data in the so called "Paradise papers" risks distracting from the real issues and confusing the proactive role the island plays in fighting, not facilitating, tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance. Our reputation for transparency and cooperation is second to none. We will also be taking the opportunity to remind those who we meet, that Guernsey as a trading partner of the EU performs an important role in the global financial system as a source of capital for foreign direct investment into the EU.
'Tax cooperation is not the only matter on the agenda, Brexit negotiations are at a critical stage for the UK and it is important that EU Member States remember that Brexit will influence our future relationship with Europe.'
