Cayman won’t be bullied by ‘jealous’ rivals
Premier Alden McLaughlin at the Cayman Alternative Investment Summit
(CNS): The Cayman Islands will not be bullied by countries that cannot compete with this jurisdiction on a level playing field, Premier Alden McLaughlin told an audience at the Cayman Alternative Investment Summit last week. Outlining the challenges that the islands’ offshore sector continues to face, he said the decision by the Dutch government in December to blacklist Cayman was not based on regulatory questions. He said that despite the Cayman government’s cooperation on international standards, the Netherlands and others are more concerned about the zero tax rate here.
He said Cayman would comply with global standards and information exchange to allow the relevant authorities to do their jobs. “But we will not be bullied by those who are jealous of our success, resentful of our tax policies and unable to compete with us on a level playing field,” McLaughlin said.
However, the premier said the continued adversity for the jurisdiction also presented opportunities, as he spoke about the history of Cayman being flexible to seek out new business opportunities. He said that government supported the development of new markets such as fintech, as he pointed to the conference focus on technology as both enabler and disruptor.
McLaughlin said Cayman was preparing for the new digital financial services revolution, noting that Cayman’s registered blockchain companies were the fastest growing anywhere. What makes Cayman attractive to the financial sector also attracts those in the fintech space, he said and confirmed that government and CIMA were working on the necessary regulations and legislation to ensure that the jurisdiction played a key role in this new sector.
“Cayman is looking to the future,” he said, adding that it would exploit new markets. “I am confident in the future of our economy and in the role that financial services will continue to play. The government I lead will continue to speak for the industry internationally.
“We will continue to ensure effective but proportionate regulation, and we will continue to support innovation and diversity and work with industry to keep government actions aligned with developments in the sector,” McLaughlin said.
He added that Cayman was realistic about the future and invited those listening to be a part of it.
See the premier’s speech at the conference on CIGTV.
Category: Business, Financial Services
Pity he doesn’t apply this to himself.
Says the biggest bully of them all!!
Look at what he is doing to his own people!! Ramming a cruise ship down everybody’s throat and pandering to the guy who has the big bucks.
Does he even know how hypocritical he sounds?
Given Alden’s McLaughlin’s track record of mismanagement and flip flopping on most major issues impacting the financial services industry he cannot be taken seriously. This speech is nothing more than political posturing and bluster to suit the conference audience. As Premier he’s disconnected from daily reality in the Cayman’s
Come on folks, this is just a media show; at the end of the day he can care less as long as he gets for himself. Just better hope he doesn’t change the constitution to allow himself to be premier again.
Shouldn’t he be more worried about a bit of temporary fencing on our beach? get your priorities straight Alden!
I am glad the Premier is taking this position. The true objectives behind lists like these is so that these European countries can hive business to their own countries by creating a false narrative that tax havens like Cayman are not operating in accordance with international regulatory standards. This is all part of the Brexit situation. It is about time we collectively send the message that Cayman cannot be manipulated by every single grey or black listing threat.
Well, this Cayman Islands regime isn’t even cooperating with domestic FOIs or required gov’t transparency and disclosure, so the smart money is on the competing version of events. Seems much more plausible that we are being just as obstructive as reported, sadly. Or, you can believe in the sincerity coming from the chief banana of obstruction…
Our country is so lucky to have a leader as smart & caring for our country as Premier Alden, bless you sir!
People seem to forget why we are tax free, we earned it!!! If Caymanians didnt risk their asses saving other people that day it might have been a different story. Please know the history of our islands.
Sorry, but Cayman is NOT tax free. It simply collects taxes in a manner different from most European and North American Countries. Taxes on property sales (7%) at completion, Import duties top out at 27% on just about everything imported, and fees on all kinds of official documents, banking activities etc.
So Cayman is far from tax free. — Sorry!–
I hope to god you’re kidding. We are tax free due to amending the English Tax code in the late 60s, there is no link to the wreck of the ten sails. My gosh people, read our history #facepalm.
Furthermore for the sake of spreading knowledge, residents were not nice to the sailors on board the ships; patron were given the option to give up the good are drown. So please do your research before posting fallacies
Caymanians are quick to take offense, and give a revisionary account of the four centuries where deliberate ship-wrecking, diplomatic obstruction, insurance fraud, extorted cargo salvage, and crew and slave ransoms were the mainstays of the local economy. Thatch rope, and turtling were cottage industries by comparison. Not much has changed in this get-what-you-can-getaway-with attitude. Grand Cayman has more documented shipwrecks than all of the rest of the Caribbean put together – because they were guided on to the reef intentionally for commercial purposes, in several cases driven there by their conspiring Caymanian Captains. Many books, and hundreds of years of Lloyds insurance records, and surviving Captain and crew accounts all testify to this truth. But it’s taboo to speak of this!
That story has never been substantiated, its a nice story we like to tell ourselves but if there is no paper-trail or record to prove it, it is nothing but a tall tale
The fact of the matter is up until the late 60s and early 70s the UK had little to no interest in these islands
Our population was minuscule, and we weren’t exactly rolling around in cash
Administering these islands would have likely cost more than any potential revenues here that could have been collected
So they let us be
and hence the situation we are in now
Where we pretend we don’t pay taxes while we are strangled by fees behind the scenes
You think the CIG pulls funds out of thin air or what?
He should have made a level playing field when he made it for Jamaicans under 15 and over 70 could come to Cayman without having a visa and did not get the same for Caymanians going to Jamaica
Get yourself a European Union passport and you won’t have any issues in regards to getting a visa to go JA and having to pay $125 for it . PPM Govt was instrumental in 2005 in enacting this VISA rule and JA in turn enacted on Cayman Islands. Once you have that passport NO VISA needed to enter JA . I went to JA in Nov 2018 for a week and had no issues as its good when you know the laws of a country.
11:04 am, still not fare for Caymanians when our Premier is looking out for Jamaicans and not for Caymanians, just not right and he should be ashamed of himself
People this sounding off and big bluster is reminiscent of the times we were told that no agreement had been made on PubLic Registers, when in fact the agreement to do so had been made.
Is it that we have agreed to something to keep us off the EU Blacklist and they are not telling us now, but will eventually be revealed.
As they say once bitten twice shy.
right on, Mr. Premier! Enough with the ankle grabbing. These people (Socialist EU) have one objective. To destroy this economy because it conflicts and flies in the face of overly taxed jurisdictions (which are and have been all all going bankrupt). So instead of them fixing their tax regime, they seek to destroy anything that offers a glimmer of competition.
Brexiter, we understand!