United Kingdom Prime Minister Theresa May has been tight-lipped on the issue of public beneficial ownership registries since taking office in July, but some of her colleagues in parliament have begun the push in earnest to require the Virgin Islands and other OTs to establish such lists.
Labour Party legislator Margaret Hodge announced on her Twitter page on Tuesday that she tabled an amendment to the Criminal Finances Bill, “which finally cleans up the UK’s notorious tax havens.”
“The UK’s overseas territories include the British Virgin Islands and the Cayman Islands, which constitute some of the world’s most notorious tax havens,” she stated. “These secretive jurisdictions allow criminals and tax avoiders to hide their money away.”
A cross-party coalition of 80 UK legislators supports the amendment, which would require Britain’s 14 overseas territories — but not its Crown dependencies — to establish public beneficial ownership registries by 2020, according to the Guardian.
The amendment proposed states that the UK would provide assistance to help the OTs establish public registries by the end of 2018. If those jurisdictions aren’t establishing public registries by then, the amendment provides for the UK to prepare an Order in Council to force them to do so.
Yesterday, Premier Dr. Orlando Smith released a statement criticising the legislation, and disputing the characterisation that the VI is a tax haven.
Dr. Smith said the proposed amendment will only encourage companies to move to jurisdictions that aren’t as well regulated as the VI.
“Public registers are not yet a global standard, with very few jurisdictions having these in place, and calls for piecemeal implementation must be made with caution,” he said. “Efforts instead should focus on the development of a level playing field upon which all jurisdictions can fairly compete.”
The premier added that contrary to the statements of Ms. Hodge, the VI is a valuable contributor to the global economy.
See the Dec. 22, 2016 edition for full coverage.
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