The expected measures to strengthen the fight against tax evasion materialised with the three Crown Dependencies all having indicated a willingness to enter into automatic information exchange on UK residents.
The Chancellor claimed a benefit of £1bn over 5 years or £200m per annum, frankly akin to searching the back of the sofa for small change in the overall scheme of things. In reality, a relatively modest balancing item to fund giveaways without borrowing.
What does this mean for Jersey? It could mean very little or a great deal, depending on how these agreements are concluded, and whether we see the emergence of a level playing field.
The crucial point here is whether Jersey has to report at a level that exceeds the information that the UK would require from its own residents. The most sensitive population will be the non doms, who have lived in the UK for up to seven years, or are claiming the remittance basis of taxation through paying an annual charge.
This group will generally only report value held in the UK together with remittances, and Jersey should not agree to data collection on this group that exceeds these requirements. Nor should it accede to pressure from other countries to enter into automatic information exchange until and if it becomes a global standard.
Provided these principles are observed, the addressing of any small legacy problem on non disclosure by tax evaders is welcome.
To read Geoff Cook’s full article, The Budget 2013 – What happened?, click here.
