Tax Havens: “Mythic†Cayman
Two reports examining and addressing key issues for such offshore financial centres as Cayman were released in May.
The Centre for Freedom and Prosperity Foundation (CF&P Foundation) released a study by Daniel Mitchell that discusses the misconceptions and inaccurate information that “wraps up†low-tax jurisdictions. This study called “Tax Havens: Myth versus Reality” examines 10 key “myths”. The president of the CF&P Foundation, Andrew Quinlan considers this study to be a tutorial for policy makers eager to learn the truth about “tax havens”.
According to the director of the Cayman Islands Financial Services Association (CIFSA) Eric Crutchley, such studies help “to highlight the role that low-tax jurisdictions play in the global economy and help remove some of the mistruths and stereotypes of offshore financial centres that are still being fostered in novels and movies”.
Another report was a study carried out by Camille Stoll-Davey of Oxford University for the International Trade and Investment Organisation (ITIO) and published by the Commonwealth Secretariat. Its title is “Assessing the Playing Field – International Cooperation in Tax Information Exchange”. This report is based on an analysis of objective data compiled by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
According to CIFSA director Eduardo D’Angelo Silva, the above-mentioned report indicated the common failure of large countries to adhere to the same tax standards that they themselves require from offshore financial centres.
Silva said that offshore financial centres such as the Cayman Islands “often lead the way in their compliance with regulations set by such bodies as the OECD and FATF however their involvement in the creation of such standards is limited”.