A Brussels office is a must, says Finance head
Monday 5th October 2009, 2:30PM BST.
BUSINESS leaders are supporting the idea of setting up an office near the European Parliament.
They say that a base in Brussels would have huge benefits and the island would be at risk without it.
GuernseyFinance chief executive Peter Niven (pictured) was clear on its worth.
‘It is something I have been banging on about for years because it is so important,’ he said.
He agreed with Guernsey International Business Association chairman Paul Meader that it would be the best £200,000 spent in 2010.
‘We see too many issues coming out of the EU that will affect us and where we need to have a voice at an early stage,’ said Mr Niven.
‘By having someone there talking to the politicians and bureaucrats on a regular basis, we can be better informed, and they can be better informed about us – at the moment they are very poorly informed.’
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Of course it is! (Shame it has taken nearly 30 years of increasing european integration and island isolationism for this to register to our politicians
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But Why?? We are not part of the EU so why do we need an office at the heart of it. Just explain why and i might change my mind. If it is for the finance sector then they should pay for it… after all they are not paying much tax to the island anymore .
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Molly, much of what the finance industry does here can be done in a dozen or more other places. What is important for Guernsey is that they do it here and employ us locals who do pay a lot of tax. The more levy’s and taxes we place on local branches the more likely their masters in foreign places will be to move to where it is cheaper to operate. This would cost jobs and in turn reduce tax receipts. Guernsey has to keep itself an attractive place to do business. Spending £200k a year could save us millions. We need representation in Brussels to stop them closing us down unfairly and it should be paid for by the Island to prove we want to keep the financial services business here.
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