UK Economists rally behind Cayman
According to a letter signed by leading UK economists from the London-based Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), the Cayman Islands should not be blamed for the financial crisis as the blame should be placed on world governments and central bankers.
The IEA experts said that no significant changes are necessary to the regulatory environment that surrounds offshore banks, tax havens, hedge funds, short selling, or private equity.
When commenting on the letter, Chairman of the Cayman Island’s Financial Services Authority (CIFSA), Anthony Travers OBE, concluded the following: “Hopefully the message is getting through that the Cayman Islands has a full and effective network of tax transparency treaties and is a totally transparent tax regime which has co-operated fully with the UK, EU and US Governments. We are astonished at the ill-founded comparisons with the opaque regimes still made by Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Lord Wallace of Saltaire and Senator Levin. The truth of the matter is that the real reason for the unwarranted attacks on the Cayman Islands can have nothing whatsoever to do with tax evasion. The concern of those politicians and the OECD can only relate to the increasingly high levels of tax in their respective countries, especially the 50% proposal in the UK. They know that there will be a stampede of individuals and companies attempting to escape their punitive taxes.”