G20 leaders from around the world met last week in St Petersburg to discuss their need for systems of information sharing and formulating plans to tackle their global tax problems.
At the same time in Cambridge, delegates from Anguilla were announcing and sharing our existing systems to enhance transparency, record and verify the many elements of substance – economic business purpose – residence and ownership of Anguilla businesses and assets.
The latter comprise the very qualifications for Anguilla businesses to legitimately take advantage of our longstanding zero income and capital gains tax legislation as well as to receive the approval and incentives of other countries under numerous generous international treaties.
The annual Cambridge Symposium attracts over 1000 delegates from more than 100 countries and has as many as 360 professional, legal, accounting, government and academic speakers and panelists. Anguilla has been represented since 1987.
The “due diligence” monitoring and analysis tools for clients, service providers, financial institutions, auditors and governments were originated in Anguilla by Flexeye Technology and continue to be developed in conjunction with users worldwide. Together with verification and certification (CEPR) processes, these tools assure the qualifications and maintain the compliance of Anguillian business with strict anti-money laundering, anti-terrorism financing rules and avoid illegal tax evasion. Our topic at the Symposium was “Unlocking the Potential of Big Data to Combat Economic Crime”
Meanwhile, representatives at the G20 meeting in St. Petersburg continue their global battle on tax evasion with plans to exchange information automatically among the members by the end of 2015 and they called on other countries to join the information exchange as soon as they can.
It is important to note that, in addition to increased transparency regarding money laundering, terrorism, bribery and other blatant criminal activity… most of the G20 efforts are directed toward two additional types of potential offenders: foreign multinational companies avoiding their domestic taxes in their home countries where they are legally resident and; wealth management of “passive income” absent any economic business purpose that might justify it being hidden abroad.
None of these enhanced rules or tools should deter any legitimate businesses from deriving its profits from economic activities in Anguilla where the value is created. Indeed, they should enhance the business and the country’s “reputational capital” and probity.
This opportunity is also a foundation for job creation in Anguilla from such worldwide business. Our tourism is an excellent example. No one can dispute that profits from a hotel or restaurant are derived in Anguilla. It seems unimaginable that those profits could be seen as unfair or that they could be taxed by some other country. Other examples of such active, legitimate Anguilla business would include – residence of Intellectual Property (music, software, biotech), e-commerce, capital formation and investment banking, to name a few.
Anguilla’s arbitrage advantage will become even greater as other nations increase their income taxes. This is already leading to the migration of corporations to more favourable or zero tax jurisdictions especially in areas of technology which is more moveable. It behooves Anguilla to be ready for and to welcome that trend.
Anguilla’s leadership in systems and procedures for transparency, due diligence and compliance will also be featured at the upcoming Digital Policy Alliance event at the London Science Museum on 10Oct13.
For more information, please contact: Lynwood Bell at bell.lynwood@gmail.com
– Press Release
(Published without editing by The Anguillian newspaper.)
