manshimajin Posted November 8, 2008 Share Posted November 8, 2008 On the other hand I hope the IOMG's PR firm are monitoring the things that are being said. On RTE this morning their Brussels correspondent did a piece about the forthcoming meeting of the G8 et al. Towards the end of the piece he said one of the aims of the meeting was to improve international financial regulations and reporting. He then commented as a finale that one of the things that would be pushed very hard was to include such controls in 'non-ccoperative tax havens' - and then added his final words 'so watch out Isle of Man!'. The government do not seem to be very good at getting the word out that the IOM is one of the more compliant offshore centres - both with the OECD and with the EU. It is a cheap bit of RTE sniping but we really do need to get our PR act in order. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebrof Posted November 8, 2008 Share Posted November 8, 2008 Sebrof, if you don't like Leeds, how about The Centre for Medieval Studies as The University of York, Centre of Medieval and Renaissance Studies Oxford and The Medieval Reading Group, Cambridge. The prevalence of the spelling medieval has nothing to do with Americanization - it is to do with the etymolgy. Ævum means 'age' in Latin and although the dipthong vowel it represents was indeed written as a e, rather than the 'ash' character - æ, in Classical Latin, the word medieval came to English from seventeenth century Italian. As in the vast majority of cases where words with the ash dipthong æ have come into English the æ was replaced by simple e, but keeping the long i sound of æ - eg demon (which Phillip Pullman prefers in the "His Dark Materials" trilogy to spell dæmon - probably to indicate his concept is closer to the classical concept than the more familiar Christian concept). You may find many examples of mediæval in older British English, but not so many examples of the spelling mediaeval. It is a shortcoming of computer keyboards that there is no key for æ. Thank you for supplying the combination. S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snaipyr Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 On the other hand I hope the IOMG's PR firm are monitoring the things that are being said. On RTE this morning their Brussels correspondent did a piece about the forthcoming meeting of the G8 et al. Towards the end of the piece he said one of the aims of the meeting was to improve international financial regulations and reporting. He then commented as a finale that one of the things that would be pushed very hard was to include such controls in 'non-ccoperative tax havens' - and then added his final words 'so watch out Isle of Man!'. The government do not seem to be very good at getting the word out that the IOM is one of the more compliant offshore centres - both with the OECD and with the EU. It is a cheap bit of RTE sniping but we really do need to get our PR act in order. I listen to RTE every day - I find it the most informative and least boring of radio stations - even the ads are bearable. But in the days when I used to Listen to Manx Radio (before a certain construction company started to advertise block paving) I remember listening to an interview with the newly appointed government PR person. He actually said that he didn't like talking live on radio! (How on earth did he get the job - and before anyone goes on about work permits, he definitely wasn't Manx!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BPs Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 They all seem to have it in for the IOM. But it is not surprising is it? Remember a few years ago according to the Times. A former Chief Constable and Governor were summoned to London over a tourist grant fiasco. Result... A Chief Minister was effectually sacked after his wife was charged with fraud. But he remained as an MHK until the last election. Also a former Governor conducted an enquiry into the Mount Murray Housing fiasco. It declared the Treasury Minister misled Tynwald, yet the minister remains in office to this day. How can the world hold respect for the Isle of Man when we do not clear up the shit in our back yard until we are told to? Good luck Tony Brown with your meeting with Jack Straw. You go there with a poor history from your predecessors. So you certainly need luck with you. And writing grovelling letters to Barrack Obama will get you no brownie points if you do that at the same time declaring the UK is responsible for the Isle of Man's international affairs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbms Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 It could be worse, we could have to suck up to the French Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moghrey Mie Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 Probably more about Brown protecting his knighthood (or MBE). Let's hope we get a bit of positive PR out of this meeting for a change. We don't need PR and spin. But we do need serious study and clarification of many apects of the relationship between the IOM and the UK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manshimajin Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 I listen to RTE every day - I find it the most informative and least boring of radio stations - even the ads are bearable... I remember listening to an interview with the newly appointed government PR person. He actually said that he didn't like talking live on radio! Agree with you about RTE - their current affairs interview technique is much less confrontational than the BBC - end result is that people being interviewed 'open up' much more as they don't start off on the defensive. But I groaned when I read your comment about the IOMG PR person. Wonder how the job appointment process was conducted? I would have thought a willingness to be interviewed by the media was a core competence. How on earth do you appoint a PR person who does not like being interviewed? It could be worse, we could have to suck up to the French President Sarkozy has been making noises about regulating 'tax havens' so peut être maintenant M.LeBrun doit apprendre à parler en français. We don't need PR and spin. But we do need serious study and clarification of many apects of the relationship between the IOM and the UK. Moghrey Mie, I think what we actually need is well managed PR - not spin combined with a proper understanding of the issues involved. Analysis of what the issues are, identification of the people that need to be spoken to, some understanding of their attitudes, key messages to be communicated, consistency by everyone in their comments, proper practice in delivering the messages, monitoring of what is being said and well thought through responses. Otherwise we leave ourselves wide open to the sorts of comment I heard on RTE and being classified as an 'uncooperative tax haven'. It is like any crisis management - you have to understand the issues and manage the situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freggyragh Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 Looks others have seen and understood the benefits of freedom - http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/polit...-but.4675419.jp Shetland, the Western Isles, the Channel Isles - maybe a Federal Republic of the Isles on the horizon? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manshimajin Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 Has anyone come across a clear and detailed statement of what the actual issues are that the UK, EU, G8, US President-Elect etc... are actually concerned about in relation to the way the IOM manages its financial regulation and practies? I have read a lot of generalities which seem to be high on 'for home consumption' rhetoric but low on substance. Is there anything specific that is floating around out there that you know of? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
%age Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 I am aware of other matters that are concerning and will concern those organisations plus a few more such as the Celtic League, but specifically related to the Finance Sector? Nope. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebrof Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 Its time to tell the UK to get stuffed and approach Europe for a deal which would make us 100% what they would call co-operative. Don't forget if we can be an EU member in our own right we can raise and keep our own VAT rather than the current common purse agreement, we could also get shed loads of money to help us engineer our economy away from what they currently view as 'un co-operative' etc, etc. Before approaching the EU, the IOM would have to be a sovereign state. And I suspect that the UK would prefer to swallow the island up and make it a county rather than have a new micro-state on its doorstep. The other problem is the quality of political leadership. Are the present gang up to the job of running a sovereign state, and if not, how would suitable people be found? S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manshimajin Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 Another little tax haven I'd never heard of before. By coincidence I am reading a detective novel by Michael Dibden called 'Medusa'. Part of the plot takes place in a district in Northern Italy called Campione d'Italia. It sounds to have a strange economic arrangement given that it is part of an EU Member State. Found this description on the web: Due to its strange position, Campione is Swiss from certain points of view and Italian from others: official currency is the Swiss Franc, but Italian taxes are paid (even if foreigners resident in Campione do not pay the full Italian income tax, but only a fraction and this makes Campione a de facto tax haven well known in Europe), residence permits are issued by Italian authorities, but access to the territory of Campione is governed by Swiss visa regulations (there isn't any frontier between Switzerland and Campione), its residents receive Swiss telephone service and Swiss mailing addresses served by the Swiss postal service, but electrical power is brought directly from Italy and there isn't the required Swiss military service... in short, it boasts the typically Swiss qualities of cleanliness, efficiency and excellence as well as the well known Italian qualities of liveliness. It sounds distincly suspicious: Campione Immigration & Taxation love places that say: Campione offers important tax benefits. The full exploitation requires experts advice. Therefore, we recommend you to arrange a personal consultation. If the EU start getting upetty maybe arrange a well planted leak to the effect that the EU in agreement with the Italian Government will be withdrawing the special taxation status from Campione d'Italia - and then wait for the proverbial to hit the fan... I suspect that it might be a bit like the French and the use of unpasteurised milk in cheese making - fine to have the rules as long as it does not apply to us. Another little "tax haven" for Alistair to pursue? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldmanxfella Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 The issue to me after the healthcare debate and KSFIOM is that at present the UK does not seem interested in being our protectorate, and to be fair there are much better partners out there if that is how they feel. I think the UK need to be asked the question - are we your dependency or not? If so get off your arses and kick some Icelandic butt on our behalf as you're constitutionally supposed to. However evidence does rather point to the fact that they don't want to be responsible for our external relations despite our historic constitutional position as a Crown "dependency" and despite the fact that they are responsible for our defence and yet froze our UK sited banking assets under anti terror legislation. They have treated Manx assets as the proceeds of terrorism. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheeky boy Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 Before approaching the EU, the IOM would have to be a sovereign state. And I suspect that the UK would prefer to swallow the island up and make it a county rather than have a new micro-state on its doorstep. S The gripe the UK have with us is about lost tax revenue. If we became a full member of the EU and were given assistance to develop an economy which did not rely on offshore finance, then I don't see why our becoming a micro state would cause the UK any problems Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frances Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 They have treated Manx assets as the proceeds of terrorism. my understanding is that the relevant act emcompassed both criminal acts as wells as terrorism - the money was seized under the former heading as it appears the bank was acting illegally + the Icelandic government as oweners had refused to cover non-domestic investors; but guess it doersn't sound as dramatic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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