A Virgin Islands delegation attended the Global Tax Transparency Summit this month at the House of Commons of the United Kingdom Parliament.

Benito Wheatley, the director of the BVI London Office, represented the VI along with BVILO Deputy Director Dr. Sandra Besson.

The Dec. 9 event, which was organised by the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee, included plenary sessions and a lunch roundtable on transparency chaired by UK Parliamentarian Caroline Flint, a member of the UK Public Accounts Committee.

The session was also attended by political leaders and officials from Jersey, Guernsey and Isle of Man.

During the event, Mr. Wheatley highlighted the territory’s value as an international finance centre, according to Government Information Services.

“The value proposition the BVI as a jurisdiction offers in the world economy is the legal certainty provided by the territory which practices English Common Law and is the headquarters of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court Commercial Division with appeal available to the Privy Council in the UK,” said Mr. Wheatley, who is also the territory’s UK and European Union representative.

The Global Tax Transparency Summit brought together parliamentarians, business academics, campaigners and tax experts to discuss tax transparency and tax avoidance, according to GIS.