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It's always frustrated me that Jersey/Guernsey/Isle of Man get away with reaping the benefits of being part of the UK (EU and EEC membership) whilst not actuall
by hackerboos 11y ago
It's always frustrated me that Jersey/Guernsey/Isle of Man get away with reaping the benefits of being part of the UK (EU and EEC membership) whilst not actually being part of the UK, undermining our tax system, generally gaining from tax avoidance and evasion on the mainland.
These territories need to be given an ultimatum become part of the UK and implement UK tax laws or remain independent and be 100% responsible for their own affairs.
Edit: Amazon and Play.com used to operate out of Jersey to avoid VAT being charged on orders [1].
[1] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VAT-free_imports_from_the_Channel_Islands#United_Kingdom_2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VAT-free_imports_from_the_Chan...
- raverbashing 11y agoWell, the British Overseas Territories have a similar relationship with the UK (Also the Channel Islands are not fully within the EU https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jersey#Relationship_with_the_European_Union https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jersey#Relationship_with_the_E... ) I can only imagine their current relationship with the UK is with their (UK) accord.
- hackerboos 11y agoSorry to clarify - they benefit from the UKs EEC and EU membership, not that Jersey is a member of either the EEC, EEA or EU [1]. [1] - https://www.gov.je/Government/JerseyWorld/InternationalAffairs/Pages/RelationshipEUandUK.aspx https://www.gov.je/Government/JerseyWorld/InternationalAffai...
- arethuza 11y agoI suspect the City gains a lot of benefits from having a few tax havens a short flight away.
- TheOtherHobbes 11y agoYes indeed. And so does the EU.
- hencq 11y agoOf course the City is a tax haven itself as well, but yes, there probably is a lot of pressure/lobbying power to leave things as is.
- rquirk 11y agoThe IoM isn't part of the EU or the UK. As a Manxman living in Europe, I'm fortunate that my mother's side of the family is English or I'd have more trouble with work permits and whatnot. I haven't been able to exchange my Manx driving licence for a Spanish one, for example, since it isn't recognised. As for taxes, people on Mann get screwed over on prices - everything from groceries to petrol is more expensive than the north of England since it has to be shipped in. The tax breaks for residents are less than for corporations too, without the corporate breaks I think there would be less work there in general. Might get rid of the southern English bankers that all moved there in the 2000s if they removed so many incentives so it wouldn't be a complete loss ;-)
- orf 11y ago> everything from groceries to petrol is more expensive than the north of England since it has to be shipped in I can assure you that the North is one of the cheapest places to live in the UK. I could rent a huge, 4 bedroom house in some places for less than I'm renting a single room in London. Out of interest how much is petrol/groceries? What popular UK brands do you have over there that could be compared?
- Xophmeister 11y ago> is more expensive than the north of England [emphasis mine] The Isle of Man is off the north west coast of England, so he's comparing the prices there with the nearest mainland.
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- orf 11y agoOh right, I think it should be 'than England, to the north' in that case though? 'The north of England' is a commonly used phrase to group counties like Yorkshire, Cumbria etc so even with the emphasis I still parse it wrong.
- pm24601 11y ago
- branchless 11y agoSo they can run their illegal tax schemes directly through The City? Or arrange their ledgers so they pay no tax? We need a full reform. This is a small part of it.
- briandear 11y agoStart by lowering UK taxes. That's the reform that's needed.
- vkou 11y agoYeah, capitulating to their demands... I'm sure that won't encourage more tax arbitrage.
- justincormack 11y agoUK corporation taxes are pretty low in global terms and the UK is already an offshore tax haven.
- hackerboos 11y agoNorthern Ireland will soon get its own corporate tax rate of 12.5-13%.
- damieng 11y agoGuernsey and Jersey are independent countries that have an agreement with the crown of England that has been in place for hundreds of years. They are under no obligation to placate your current government or adhere to their wishes. They have their own elected governments that suits them better. Yes they get some benefits from that agreement such as military protection which didn't help them much during WWII where they became occupied by Germans.