Gordon Brown Writes To The Isle Of Man . . .

[Cronky]

Manx Radio UK government tightens pressure on the Isle of Man

 

Gordon Brown has written to the Manx government and to their Channel Islands counterparts, telling them further moves must be made over tax and banking secrecy.

 

It will come as a disappointment to Tony Brown, Allan Bell et al after the Isle of Man was put on the OECD white list last week, but not as a suprise.

 

I wonder what they are threatening this time?

[Evil Goblin]

Here is the text of the letter Broon has written to Jersey - I understand that the one to the IoM is the same.

 

THE PRIME MINISTER 9 April 2009

 

Dear Senator Le Sueur

 

Recent developments have underlined the importance of

embracing international standards on tax transparency.

 

I fully support the current initiatives and believe it is strongly in the

interests of all jurisdictions - including the Crown Dependencies - to

meet these international standards.

 

I welcome the progress which has already been made by the

Crown Dependencies in meeting the OECD target of 12 TIEAs.

This standard should be seen as an indicator of commitment to the

principle of tax transparency. I think it is particularly important that the

Crown Dependencies continue to set the pace in this process and put

clear water between themselves and those jurisdictions which only just

meet the international standard. If genuine progress in agreeing,

implementing and abiding by these agreements does not continue to be

made I will encourage the G20 to look at this issue again until all abide

by the highest standards.

 

Similarly, as international efforts on harmful tax practices start to

refocus on the issue of tax avoidance, it will be vital to the interests of

the Crown Dependencies that they can readily meet any new

international standards which emerge.

 

The Foot review and the Ministry of Justice will be able to provide

support to the Crown Dependencies on these matters over the coming

months.

Yours sincerely

Broon

 

Senator Terry Le Sueur

[Lagman]

Manx Radio UK government tightens pressure on the Isle of Man

 

Gordon Brown has written to the Manx government and to their Channel Islands counterparts, telling them further moves must be made over tax and banking secrecy.

 

It will come as a disappointment to Tony Brown, Allan Bell et al after the Isle of Man was put on the OECD white list last week, but not as a suprise.

 

I wonder what they are threatening this time?

 

I knew it, I was waiting for someone to post this, eventually decided to do it myself,as soon as I do - it gets posted again. Oh well.

 

Anyway maybe resurect the possible viability of independence? - These Fkrs just aren`t going to leave us alone.

[Lagman]

Manx Radio UK government tightens pressure on the Isle of Man

 

Gordon Brown has written to the Manx government and to their Channel Islands counterparts, telling them further moves must be made over tax and banking secrecy.

 

It will come as a disappointment to Tony Brown, Allan Bell et al after the Isle of Man was put on the OECD white list last week, but not as a suprise.

 

I wonder what they are threatening this time?

 

How about we send back - Dear Mr.Brown you have won £1 BILLION on the manx national lottery all you need do is send £500 million in administration costs etc.

[manshimajin]

Here is the text of the letter Broon has written to Jersey - I understand that the one to the IoM is the same.

The official text of the letter from the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to the IOM Government has now been released:

 

THE PRIME MINISTER (take that Tony!!!! I'm it, I'm it!!!!!) 9 April 2009

 

Dear Tony & Allan - (I meant Tony B above...bother that's Tony Blair - no offense meant Tony B)

 

Herewith please find attached a brown (hoho) paper bag with £500 million enclosed. We accidentally borrowed this from you when KSF went bust. Sorry about that. Hope you didn't miss it. Unfortunately Alistair was having another off day. Sorry if the ink is a bit wet on the notes but young Allie nipped round personally to the BoE to pick them up for you.

 

You'll be pleased to know that I am arranging for you to be removed from the list of 'international terror states and agents of darkness' that somehow you accidentally got put onto. I promise that I will be more careful in future when I sign any papers that Alistair and his 'Treasures' put on my desk.

 

The G20 meeting was great - particularly the food that Jamie cooked for us - my how I laughed when Sarkozy told me that the English (the cheek of him) were good at cooking the books. And Angela made a joke (not bad for an East German) that the banana custard Jamie gave us for dessert reminded her that the UK had now qualified as a 'banana monarchy plonked between the Irish Sea and the North Sea'. Shame she doesn't want to do some fiscal stimulation with me...hmmmmm. Wonder if she woud be interested in some quantitative easing too???

 

I need to talk to you about some serious things now that I have managed to organise for the UK to achieve the same high OECD whitelist rating as you guys.

 

Firstly I have this lot of Russkie billionaires who are hiding their wealth in the UK - is there any chance I could arrange some offshore accounts for them on your superb Island? They are a bit nervous that Dmitry Anatolyevich and Vladimir Vladimirovich might put some gas pressure on me to start handing out details of their numbered bank accounts to the Krimalin (that's my joke guys - Krimalin...Kremlin..get it????).

 

Secondly can you tell me what Governments need to do to balance the books? Alistair keeps telling me its something to do with printing dosh faster than you spend it. Is that what you do on your sun blessed island? By the way can I get some of those great £1 notes from you too - they sell for a lot more on eBay than these rotten UK £1 coins. It might be one way out of the big hole recovery I have dug for the UK economy in the street outside No.10. Anyway if you can give me some advice I might be able to swing a couple of knighthoods (or one peerage and one knightood if you can decide who gets what).

 

Thirdly, given our new banana status is there any chance of negotiating with you for the UK to become a Crown Dependency of the Isle of Mann?

 

I tell you, lads, I was relieved (figuratively, not liquidly, that is) when the OECD managed to squeek us in at the same ranking level as yourselves. Barak was just waiting to pounce if they hadn't - he kept on whistling that irritating old song 'What did Delaware Boys' as a hint that he was watching and waiting...and Milliband keeps telling me he has all those missiles in Poland?

 

I welcome the progress which has already been made by the Crown Dependencies in meeting the OECD target of 12 TIEAs. This standard should be seen as an indicator of commitment to the principle of tax transparency. However I think it is particularly important that the Crown Dependencies, including your tax transparency paradise, don't get too far ahead of what Alistair and I have managed to do. So could you please slow down a bit and give us a break!!! After all those Chinese so and so's have managed to just stay ahead of Macau and Hong Kong by leaving them out of the OECD report. And my good friend Barak has managed to stay ahead of Delaware (by leaving it out of the OECD report) and I'd like to win my bet with Angela and Nicolas by staying ahead of you two too (haha). Remember the Honours List (nudge, nudge, wink, wink).

 

If you find it difficult on your island, with its green hills by the sea, to slow down your enthusiasm for signing TIEAs and to revert to standards acceptable to HMG the Foot review and the Ministry of Justice will be able to provide support on these matters over the coming months.

 

Yours to a Loch Fyne kipper

 

Gordie

[Gladys]

You have to read these things very carefully, but on first review it does not look as threatening as implied by MR. I would say it is a letter of gentle encouragement, no doubt if we don't come up to whatever standard Gordon decides to set as the interntiaonl standard, then his tone will harden.

[pongo]

You have to read these things very carefully, but on first review it does not look as threatening as implied by MR. I would say it is a letter of gentle encouragement, no doubt if we don't come up to whatever standard Gordon decides to set as the interntiaonl standard, then his tone will harden.

 

I agree. The MR headline is a bit shrill. It does not seem like anything serious.

 

I think it is a face saving exercise on his part. His govt has been critical of the IOM and calling it a tax haven but the G20 / OECD has said otherwise. So he is basically saying "ah but".

 

The real threat to the IOM remains - which is over dependence on the finance sector. That issue needs to be raised at every possible opportunity. It should be the number 1 political issue.

[Declan]

It reads to me as if he is saying carry on in the direction you've been going. Don't let the g20 be the final word, keep going. I'd be very worried if what it says is any different to the way Alan Bell is thinking anyway.

[Albert Tatlock]

Here is the text of the letter Broon has written to Jersey - I understand that the one to the IoM is the same.

 

THE PRIME MINISTER 9 April 2009

 

Dear...

Actually...I don't read that letter as threatening at all. It says (paraphrasing):

 

1. Broon recognises these international standards and the importance of transparency

2. Broon fully supports our efforts to meet them

3. Broon thinks it's good that the crown dependencies are leading this (and effectively not embarassing him)

4. Broon says he will pursue this at G20 until all agree by these already agreed standards (at least 12 agreements) i.e. pursue at G20 those not abiding (not us)

5. Broon says if any additional standards and agreements come out, please carry on leading

6. Broon says the foot review will spell out what the already existing TIEA (between the UK and the Isle of Man) actually covers

 

No surprise there for me - we have already signed a TIEA agreement with the UK, what else do people expect that to be other than a TIEA?

 

People should read this letter more carefully IMO.

[Dave Hedgehog]

Perhaps he should consider getting his own house in order before telling other jurisdictions how to go about their business

[Tugger]

He's got about a year left.

[pongo]

before telling other jurisdictions how to go about their business

 

Albert and Declan have both explained it fairly well. The people at the local radio station have misunderstood the story or put some kind of odd spin on it for their own reasons. Not for the first time.

[manshimajin]

Perhaps he should consider getting his own house in order before telling other jurisdictions how to go about their business

Some support for what you say from last week's Economist:

MONEY launderers are moved by greed, unlike Jason Sharman, a political scientist at Australia’s Griffith University. Yet with a budget of $10,000 and little more than Google (and the ads at the back of this paper), he showed how easy it was to circumvent prohibitions on banking secrecy, forming anonymous shell companies and secret bank accounts across the world. ... The most egregious examples of banking secrecy, money laundering and tax fraud are found not in remote alpine valleys or on sunny tropical isles but in the backyards of the world’s biggest economies.

America is not the only rich nation Mr Sharman tested. He tried to open anonymous shell companies and bank accounts 45 times across the world. These were successful in 17 cases, of which 13 were in OECD countries. One example was Britain, where in 45 minutes on the internet he formed a company without providing identification, was issued with bearer shares (which have been almost universally outlawed because they confer completely anonymous ownership) as well as nominee directors and a secretary. All was achieved at a cost of £515.95 ($753). “In practice OECD countries have much laxer regulation on shell corporations than classic tax havens,” Mr Sharman concludes. “And the US is the worst on this score, worse than Liechtenstein and worse than Somalia.”

The Economist

[John Wright]

The interrnational aim is 12 TIEA's

 

Guernsey and jersey do not yet have 12 TIEA's each, I believe, n hencer the reference in the l;etter, and the letter encourgaes more. Our letter cannot be the same, we already have 15?

[Gladys]

Which numbskull in the local media decided that this was a threatening letter (assuming our letter is the same or better than the Jersey letter)?

 

Times are pretty critical at the moment and this sensationalising of some threat that seemingly doesn't exist with the only likely result of antagonising a situation should result in at least a sideways move. Is it too much to ask that someone who can read is employed in the MR newsroom?

 

Frankly, I would have thought that Alan Bell would welcome that letter as it implies that we are setting the bar and encourages us to raise it.

 

Did MR rely on a press release or put their own interpretation on it? If the former, heads should roll in the office which issued the release, if the latter, heads should roll in MR.