Channel Island relinquishes financial privacy for residents:

 

21/01/09  (The Times) - HMRC (the UK’s Revenue Authority) have dealt a fatal blow to financial privacy laws in the Channel Islands by pressurising Guernsey to sign an information sharing agreement regarding companies and individuals who may have used the jurisdiction to protect their assets. The agreement gives HMRC the right to obtain information from Guernsey even in cases where no tax liability may ultimately exist in the UK.

Given HMRC’s history of abusing such powers and its ideological commitment to concept of all sovereign authorities (whether engaged in tax collection or other regulatory activity) pooling information on tax payers, it should not come as any surprise that many now believe the Channel Islands are no longer a safe asset protection jurisdiction. Andorra and Monaco stand out as the two remaining jurisdictions where personal privacy is still regarded as an individual right worth protecting.

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