Seems a ridiculously simple problem to fix if this country actually wanted to:
Just tell them to attend these meetings or there will be an international announcement that said areas are no longer under UK protection and they’re on their own.
But the real issue is the UK has no intention of doing anything about tax havens bar the most minimal veneer of attempts as an excuse.
…'cuz they and those who really hold the levers of power want those tax havens.
Tory government ministers sent formal letters asking for meetings with them to discuss tax evasion.
If they are “politely” asking, they are doing it wrong.
So there’s this thing that happens with conservative governments that don’t get the boot early on: their policies don’t work out so well, so they end up quietly drawing funds from elsewhere to support infrastructure and programs, all the while slashing budgets and turning the ill out onto the streets.
Now, in the UK we’re seeing the advanced form of this: there’s almost no more money to be siphoned from the citizenry, and thus the conservative government there is making its first forays into cannibalizing it’s own political base.
I guess they’ll just have to invade the Cayman Islands. Sigh. Oh well, can’t be helped.
Why would the tax havens want to capitulate if their hand isn’t completely forced? Aren’t they making money off this tax sheltering business?
From my uninformed perspective it sounds like their big stick neighbors are saying, "Hey, we have internal problems with folks not paying their fair share. So we’re going to need you to kill that goose you’ve got. You know, the one laying golden eggs. It might be your biggest source of income, but fair’s fair."
While the havens, working under the assumption that another country’s inability to police it’s own citizenry is not the haven’s problem, are trying to dodge the issue as long as they can.
The US will be right there fighting for the Caymans. In the name of Oil…Um I mean Money…um…FREEDOM!!
The wrinkle here is that both the Cayman, and British Virgin islands are not completely separate countries, they’re “British Overseas Territories”, and have a governor that is appointed by the UK. The fact that they make an enormous part of their income from helping people to dodge taxes is probably part of the reason they were set up in the first place, and why it’s particularly embarrassing that the UK government can’t get them to co-operate. Also, the inhabitants are British Citizens, so you can see why the government might feel that they should pay some attention when the UK says ‘jump’.
In contrast you’ll notice that they’re not going after Panama or Lichtenstein (or Switzerland or Delaware for that matter). Britain can’t really complain about other tax havens until it gets it’s own house in order.
(edit, I’ve just read about this which is just another little wrinkle)
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