Offshore finance centers claim ‘goalposts are being moved’
Offshore finance centers in the Caribbean are claiming that the ‘goal posts have been moved’ in relation to their attempts to clean up the system, reports the BBC.
Premier O’Neal, of the British Virgin Islands, told the BBC that his country has signed agreements with a number of countries to share information, including the UK, Australia, the US and China. He added that countries in the G20 were "shifting the goal posts".
In recent years offshore finance centers in the Caribbean have come under scrutiny after high-profile campaigns by some G20 nations.
The UK government vowed to clamp down on ‘tax havens’ and announced harsher fines for offshore tax evaders in 2009. Some claim that the taxes imposed on high earning individuals are driving company directors abroad. The latest figures, composed by the writer of the Sunday Times rich list, suggest that they are leaving the country at a rate of ten per week.
Pascal Saint-Amans, from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) told the BBC that it intends to create a global forum to discuss offshore finance on a ‘level playing field’.
Earlier in 2009, the Bahamas minister of state for finance made a pledge to run the country’s offshore business centres to the highest standards and ensure its removal from any blacklists.
Written by Chris Moore. 