AN EARLY indication that funds administered in Guernsey will remain tax neutral in the island’s zero-10 shake-up was crucial, according to a leading industry figure.

Guernsey Investment Funds Association chairman Grant Cameron said the announcement made by Chief Minister Lyndon Trott during this month’s States meeting – that the tax neutral platform for funds administered in Guernsey would stay, no matter how the island decided to fix its tax strategy – would settle any concerns the market might have had.

Mr Cameron (pictured) said it would also have been catastrophic for the island not to keep it neutral.

‘The reason that this announcement was needed in advance of finalising the tax structure was to ensure that there was no uncertainty on this point.

‘Guernsey needed to send a clear message to existing and prospective fund promoters that this issue is not up for debate.’

He said although the tax neutral measure had always been implied during discussions Gifa had held with the States working party, since it was revealed in October that zero-10 was not going to be accepted by the EU, it had not been guaranteed until now.