PM’s warning ‘no threat to island’
Thursday 16th April 2009, 2:29PM BST.
GUERNSEY does not partake in the sort of ‘unacceptable’ tax avoidance that Gordon Brown wants to stamp out, according to KPMG executive director Tony Mancini.
He spoke out after the Prime Minister wrote a letter to Guernsey stating that international efforts would now focus on tax avoidance instead of transparency.
The PM also warned that it was ‘vital to the interests of the Crown Dependencies that they can readily meet any new international standards which emerge’ with regard to tax avoidance.
But Mr Mancini (pictured) said the international shift of focus desired by Mr Brown would concentrate on aggressive activity.
‘What they are trying to clamp down on is unacceptable tax avoidance,’ he said.
‘That is when the taxpayer has put something in place purely to try and save tax. It would be where something is put in place that has no real commercial benefit and it’s usually a very complex structure.
‘An example could be that money is passed from place to place but ends up back where is started. That’s what they don’t like, but Guernsey does not do much of that.’
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I’m sure KPMG and the other “big four” accountancy firms are and have been happy to provide advice on how to structure those sort of aggressive tax avoidance transactions though!
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Isn’t Accountant Mancini contradicting himself (the usual caveat that he has been correctly quoted applies)in the opening and losing statements
Opening statement “GUERNSEY does not partake in the sort of ‘unacceptable’ tax avoidance that Gordon Brown wants to stamp out, according to KPMG executive director Tony Mancini”
Closing “‘What they are trying to clamp down on is unacceptable tax avoidance,’ he said…
‘An example could be that money is passed from place to place but ends up back where is started. That’s what they don’t like, but Guernsey does not do much of that.’”
Seems Mr Mancini is aware that some of what he says is unacceptable tax avoidance does take place after all, albeit not much.
How much is not much Mr Mancini, and how do you know??
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good try Mr. Mancini, but it won’t work
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Haha… We don’t offer tax avoidance services, We offer tax reduction services. And then we tax the companies base here offering tax reductions services…
Oh no we don’t anymore. Not since zero ten.. we now tax the employee’s of the companies offering tax reduction services.
So am I correct in thinking we don’t directly tax the company based here so they are avoiding paying tax in our little haven.. So that make us what “a tax haven”…
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