Cayman Islands responsibility of UK government

LONDON, USA: ePolitix, April 23, 2009 – The presence of seven British overseas territories on the OECD’s ‘name and shame’ list of tax havens came under scrutiny during a Westminster Hall debate today. During a debate on the foreign affairs committee’s report on overseas territories, Andrew MacKinlay (Lab, Thurrock) accused the government of attempting to distance itself from its responsibilities. “Ministers can’t pretend it’s a remote problem they are trying to get their hands on, they are to blame,” he said.

McKinley argued that in the case of the Cayman Islands, the government could not even pretend the problem was territory governments “dragging their feet”. “The Cayman Islands are wholly the responsibility on the UK government,” he said. “I find it amazing that ministers have the audacity to get up at the despatch box and refer to the OECD’s list... when amongst them is at least one territory where the person in charge is someone appointed by Foreign Office.” “If there is a deficiency, the person to blame is the foreign secretary or the chancellor,” he added.

The British territories of Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat and the Turk and Cacaos Islands were all named by the OECD as “unco-operative tax havens”. G20 nations pledged to crack down on tax havens following the London summit in April.


Noteworthy Cinco de Mayo in Grand Cayman

NEW YORK, USA: About - News & Issues, April 23, 2009 – If you’re on the Caribbean coast of Mexico – in Cancun, Cozumel, or elsewhere in the Riviera Maya – you may find some Cinco de Mayo celebrations in the big bars, but these likely will be more for the benefit of American tourists than Mexicans. Oddly enough, one of the most noteworthy Cinco de Mayo events in the Caribbean takes place not in Mexico but in Grand Cayman, where the local Hard Rock Cafe hosts an annual air-guitar contest on May 5. No, it’s not very Mexican, but you can at least tip your hat south by getting your guitar-hero groove on to the music of Jalisco native Carlos Santana.