Premier’s delegation begins Brussels meetings
Premier Alden McLaughlin and his team greeted in Brussels by David Boublil and Gints Freimanis (CLICK TO ENLARGE)
(CNS): Premier Alden McLaughlin and the Cayman delegation he is leading to Europe began discussions on Monday with staffers from various EU commissions in Brussels about the blacklisting threats. The delegation began by meeting David Boublil, a member of the Cabinet of Pierre Moscovici, the Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs; Gints Freimanis, a member of the Cabinet of Valdis Dombrovskis, whose responsibilities include Financial Services and Capital Markets; and Emer Traynor, Deputy Head of Unit at the Director General of Taxation and Customs Union (DG Taxud).
The delegation then met with members of the EU Code of Conduct Group, which assesses whether particular jurisdictions have tax regimes that are deemed potentially harmful to EU states.
The delegation is expected to meet with several more European leaders and technocrats as the battle to keep Cayman from more blacklists in individual European countries as well as the EU list rolls on. The delegation will also be travelling to London and the US in its continued efforts to stave off the increasing pressure for Cayman and other offshore financial centres to conform to the rapidly changing regulatory international global finance landscape.
This latest trip also comes against the backdrop of increasing likelihood that the UK will face an early general election, which could see the Labour Party take power, putting even greater pressure on the Cayman Islands and other British Overseas Territories that have offshore financial industries to close up what are still, despite their efforts to argue otherwise, seen as the tax avoidance services.
In an interview with the BBC’s Stephen Sackur on HardTalk this weekend, Len McCluskey, the general secretary of Unite, which is one of the UK’s biggest unions, made it clear that a Labour government would be turning to tax havens for the cash it needs to fund its policies.
McCluskey said the money tree “was planted in the Cayman Islands” and £40 billion could be brought back to the UK treasury from tax havens to fund a Labour government’s agenda.
Listen to the interview on BBC Sounds here
Category: Business, Financial Services
Going on another pointless escapade! Why the premier and his government don’t put this energy into enacting the standards in public life and district councils legislaton in the constitution! I bet you won’t see the govt support this so expeditiously! #aldenajoke
They should have cancelled Brussels and flew over to England to lobby their friends to support Theresa May instead of corbyn. Oops! That would have been useless too. They should have stayed here and enact the standards in public life law and district councils in the Constitution as stated above. Oops! Our premier thinks the district councils would chip away at his power, standards in public life would effect his hand picked friends on boards etc., Looks like we are between a rock and a hard place
Sounds like mama wants to make sure and control is much of children’s money she can .
Now listen hear people it’s time y’all stop this baseless criticism. If the Premier sat here and did nothing you donkeys would be critical of his stance. All of youse who are immigrants and who don’t like what’s going on here then levers stragert, as for my dearly beloved fellow Caymanians, why don’t you march for changes, sign petitions and generally and forthrightly show your displeasure with the Government publicly and not anonymously. Cha sick all a ona
We are defenceless as being tied to post in the sand with our heads just above water at low tide. Unless we adapt to breath underwater, that’s it. Glug glug.
Well I guess many people who dont like Cayman and Caymanians but were forced to come here to work will now be leaving. This should make them happy.
What about the Caymanian women we were forced to marry? What will become of them when we leave?
5:53 Are you saying you were forced to marry them so you could stay here. Thats your problem but I would guess you will abandon them.
Forced to marry to get PR or what? Oh well sounds like marrying you was punishment enough for her.
When the angry poorly educated Little Englanders voted for Brexit they made it impossible for Cayman to stop the EU taking steps against it.
Why on earth is our delegation wasting their time with all these EU technocrats whose names they can’t even pronounce.They need to end this farce immediately and hotfoot it to London to deal with the real threat and arrange an immediate meeting with Len McCluskey to persuade him not to uproot the money tree.
Hope he remembered to take his squeaky nose and his big shoes
Cause this clown has no hope of accomplishing anything of note
Just like with the constitutional talks
If anyone believes that this jolly is somehow going to benefit the people of the Cayman Islands, then I have a lunar landing module to sell you complete with dishwasher.
Thanks David. I always enjoy your fictional writings. Keep it up
They should have stayed home and try rallying the other OTs to band together in the face of what could be disaster if Corbyn’s no confidence vote planned for tomorrow against Ms
May. What an angry man he is- reminds me of someone I know.