Rivers heads to Brussels to keep Cayman off blacklist
FS Minister Tara Rivers
(CNS): Financial Services Minister Tara Rivers is in Brussels this week with the aim of keeping the Cayman Islands from being blacklisted by the European Union at the end of this year over concerns about unfair tax practices. The Cayman government has been engaging with the financial services sector here and is currently drafting legislation to address concerns raised by the EU to ensure the financial sector can continue to do business there. ‘This visit allows important face-to-face dialogue with EU officials about their concerns, and Cayman’s efforts to date to develop proposals and appropriate legislation,” Rivers said in a release about her trip.
The ministry is planning a public consultation within the next few months after draft legislation has been prepared to deal with the issue. This emerged last year when the EU issued a list of jurisdictions that it considered to be non-cooperative in tax matters with member states.
Cayman was not on the blacklist but, along with Bermuda, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey and Vanuatu, was listed as a jurisdiction that needed to “abolish harmful tax practices”. The jurisdictions on this ‘grey list’ were described by the EU as having “tax regimes that facilitate offshore structures which attract profits without real economic activity”.
The EU said it wanted that addressed by the end of this year in order to avoid being blacklisted. Officials here claimed it was not until June of this year that the EU Code of Conduct Group issued guidance on what they expected, but said the ministry had nevertheless worked on the issue since the list was published last December.
“The ministry has been working steadily with financial services industry representatives, international legal counsel, and government entities, including the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority and the Ministry of Commerce, in preparation for our legislative proposals,” Rivers said.
The visit to Belgium comes against the backdrop of further deteriorating relations with the UK over the exchange of information regarding beneficial ownership forcing Cayman to fight on two fronts to protect the financial industry.
The minister is travelling with Policy and Legislation Director Michelle Bahadur and the special projects coordinator, Anna Goubault.
Category: Business, Financial Services
We’ll get the usual “things went really well” and then two days later all EU countries will order the freezing of all assets with any kind of Cayman connection.
A lot of fallout from Brexit because the UK wanted a financial haven back in the day.
Give her a chance. She was once a student of mine even though she brushed me off at the super-market..probably does not remember. But I remember and believe she has the gusto and motivation to make this happen.
She had a chance as Education Minister and was less than useless so give her the benefit of the doubt now.
Tara is a bright lady and knows her stuff. If she has total control her efforts are magnified wonderfully, but if standing behind them men… they mess it up… naturally.
EU blacklisting of the BOT tax havens is inevitable as a result of the Brexit vote. No point in fighting against it.
They don’t have a hope of convincing this sanctimonious cabal of champagne socialists not to put us on the black list. The writing was on the wall from the day Leave won in the U.K. referendum. FU EU!
But posters on here keep saying it is up to onshore jurisdictions if their regulatory regimes do not prevent the leakage of tax revenues to offshore tax havens. One effective way of doing that is to blacklist.
She loves her air miles.
But she completely was non existent with education and now the dopey Alden trusts her with finance what a complete joke this government are.
Good job Honorable Rivers, you are a true Unity Team member!
Hope that wasn’t meant to be a compliment
God be with us….SMH
At leasr she’s taking somebody along that know’s what they’re doing.
I can’t remember the last thing she did that wasn’t ‘head to Brussels’. You know, come to think of it, I would quite like to head to Brussels. I’m really good with blacklists and stuff too, I read about them. Business class tickets and 5 star hotel please – I need to be fully rested to fight the blacklist. I would thank you but it is I who deserve thanks, for my bravery and sacrifice. Just get working on the celebrations would you?
Meanwhile, there are spec Real Estate markets all around the world attracting profits and stolen/embezzled money without having been derived from any real local economic activity or even residency – and few are required to ask questions on where that money originated, or verify identities or source of funds. Dubai, London, Vancouver/Toronto real estate laundering is where the fast and loose money has gone.
I’m bored, unna want go Europe? Yay, girls trip.
Nooo….Jude please go with them!
Hope she bring back some sprouts
You can get them on island. They are minging usually but you can get them at inflated prices.