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| Theresa May is standing foursquare behind Britain’s tax dependencies | Theresa May is standing foursquare behind Britain’s tax dependencies |
| (about 2 months later) | |
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| Sat 2 Dec 2017 16.00 GMT | |
| Last modified on Mon 4 Dec 2017 11.27 GMT | |
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| Shortly before triggering article 50, Theresa May and Philip Hammond invoked the tax-haven threat. | Shortly before triggering article 50, Theresa May and Philip Hammond invoked the tax-haven threat. |
| Should Britain not get its way in the negotiations for a post-Brexit trading relationship with Europe, the chancellor explained that Britain could be forced to abandon its “European-style taxation”. A spokesman confirmed that the prime minister stood ready to do so. | Should Britain not get its way in the negotiations for a post-Brexit trading relationship with Europe, the chancellor explained that Britain could be forced to abandon its “European-style taxation”. A spokesman confirmed that the prime minister stood ready to do so. |
| Could Britain become a fully fledged tax haven? Eleven months and several offshore scandals later, the question still hangs in the air. | Could Britain become a fully fledged tax haven? Eleven months and several offshore scandals later, the question still hangs in the air. |
| From Jacob Rees-Mogg to Arron Banks, to the many hedge-fund bosses who contributed to Leave campaign coffers, the donors and politicians pushing for a hard Brexit have extensive offshore dealings. | From Jacob Rees-Mogg to Arron Banks, to the many hedge-fund bosses who contributed to Leave campaign coffers, the donors and politicians pushing for a hard Brexit have extensive offshore dealings. |
| The prime minister’s own husband, Philip May, is employed to market a Los Angeles investment fund called Capital Group. It appears extensively in the files of the offshore law firm Appleby, whose data was at the centre of the recent Paradise Papers revelations. | The prime minister’s own husband, Philip May, is employed to market a Los Angeles investment fund called Capital Group. It appears extensively in the files of the offshore law firm Appleby, whose data was at the centre of the recent Paradise Papers revelations. |
| Her response to that scandal has shown beyond question that May’s government is standing foursquare behind Britain’s network of tax havens. | Her response to that scandal has shown beyond question that May’s government is standing foursquare behind Britain’s network of tax havens. |
| David Cameron was consistent in arguing for more transparency, and he used last year’s Panama Papers to push through reforms, making the names of shell company owners easier to access for law authorities, if not the general public. | David Cameron was consistent in arguing for more transparency, and he used last year’s Panama Papers to push through reforms, making the names of shell company owners easier to access for law authorities, if not the general public. |
| May, by contrast, is fighting tooth and nail to protect the jurisdictions that conceal the financial secrets of multinationals and the global super-rich. She has refused to heed calls for more offshore transparency, by forcing overseas territories to publish registers of the beneficial owners of companies and trusts. Now Britain is blocking attempts by the European commission to blacklist its dependencies. | May, by contrast, is fighting tooth and nail to protect the jurisdictions that conceal the financial secrets of multinationals and the global super-rich. She has refused to heed calls for more offshore transparency, by forcing overseas territories to publish registers of the beneficial owners of companies and trusts. Now Britain is blocking attempts by the European commission to blacklist its dependencies. |
| While it remains within Europe, the UK is using its remaining political capital to block reform. Its departure in 2019 will remove an important protection for those tax havens that recognise the Queen as their head of state. | While it remains within Europe, the UK is using its remaining political capital to block reform. Its departure in 2019 will remove an important protection for those tax havens that recognise the Queen as their head of state. |
| Pierre Moscovici, the Brussels commissioner leading the blacklist push, wants to follow up with an agreement on sanctions for those jurisdictions singled out as tax havens. | Pierre Moscovici, the Brussels commissioner leading the blacklist push, wants to follow up with an agreement on sanctions for those jurisdictions singled out as tax havens. |
| Some have suggested the aid tap could be turned off for developing nations that resort to tax havenry. The most stringent measure put forward is a withholding duty on transfers of funds into tax havens. There are precedents. When America wanted to force banks in Switzerland and elsewhere to disclose US account holders to the tax service, it threatened those who failed to share the information with a 30% levy on transfers out of American accounts. Rather than pay, most complied. | Some have suggested the aid tap could be turned off for developing nations that resort to tax havenry. The most stringent measure put forward is a withholding duty on transfers of funds into tax havens. There are precedents. When America wanted to force banks in Switzerland and elsewhere to disclose US account holders to the tax service, it threatened those who failed to share the information with a 30% levy on transfers out of American accounts. Rather than pay, most complied. |
| Tax Justice Network chief executive Alex Cobham says Europe could take similar action if provoked. British banks could be denied the passporting rights that allow them to trade in Europe. For this reason, he believes the regulation free, low-tax paradise that some Brexiters dream of is a receding prospect. “Withholding passporting rights would be a relatively light sanction and easy to agree but the impact for the UK would be enormous,” says Cobham. “This is probably the last time that the UK can play the role of major blocker.” | Tax Justice Network chief executive Alex Cobham says Europe could take similar action if provoked. British banks could be denied the passporting rights that allow them to trade in Europe. For this reason, he believes the regulation free, low-tax paradise that some Brexiters dream of is a receding prospect. “Withholding passporting rights would be a relatively light sanction and easy to agree but the impact for the UK would be enormous,” says Cobham. “This is probably the last time that the UK can play the role of major blocker.” |
| Tax havens | |
| The Observer | |
| Tax avoidance | |
| Theresa May | |
| Corporate governance | |
| Philip Hammond | |
| Brexit | |
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