Terry Even as individual jurisdictions we are very much misunderstood now. The anti low tax lobby constantly put out mis-information on us, as a way of distracting their people’s attention from their own ineptitude and shortcomings as governments. So speaking as individual islands has not worked. I would suggest our more measured approach may show Jersey that more can be achieved by that route than by the maverick approach you have identified in the past. The truth is that globalisation is leading to more large dictatorships, as the big and powerful try to usurp their authority on small jurisdictions. The US for instance bullies anybody that doesn’t agree with them and threatens sanctions or other measures to force countries to look after the US interests. FATCA is just one case in point where it wants every country in the world to monitor the financial transactions of US citizens and report back to the US treasury on those movements. As does the European Union, that tries to impose its will on any jurisdiction that has different rules to its own, whether they are members of the EU or not. You will see in the next decade or so the real financial and military muscle of China coming to the fore. Israel continues to force its will on the Palestinians by military might. The world is being carved up into powerful blocks where democracy is gradually being eroded and the peoples ability to fight back is being diminished other than by armed insurrection. You have just witness leader being parachuted into Greece and Italy in order to do the EU’s bidding in propping up the single currency, the people of these countries had no say in it whatsoever. The UK that is also led by the nose from Brussels is now moving to moral arguments on tax rather than specific tax law and companies are being forced to consider whether European countries are really worth investing in as the EU attempts to strangle business with more and more red tape and punitive taxes. I know I have wandered of your point al little but what I an trying to say is that it is a much more hostile environment for small independent jurisdictions and we might have to get much closer together just to survive.
Voice For Victims
Voice for Victims is a campaign aimed at promoting the rights of those affected by child sexual abuse.
