highlighted by the pressures that Jersey has faced from the international community regarding its key industry - international finance. It should first be stressed that, while
Jersey is a low-tax jurisdiction, it has never had banking secrecy laws to protect the anonymity of investors, or promoted itself as a "tax haven" to enable the evasion of taxes that are legitimately due to other governments. A number of revisions of the
regulatory regime have been implemented since the "Edwards Report" on financial regulation in 1998. Following a review by the International Monetary Fund in 2003, Jersey was rated as almost fully compliant in terms of its regulatory standards and anti-money- laundering measures. However, in recent years Jersey's
finance industry has been challenged to provide greater transparency in its transactions, including demands from the EU for disclosure of the savings held in Jersey on behalf of EU resident investors, and Organization for Economic Co-
operation and Development (OECD) initiatives to eliminate so-called harmful tax competition. It was clear that Jersey was not (and
continues not to be) a member of the EU and was not legally bound to comply with the EU Savings Directive. Nevertheless, in the interests of maintaining Jersey's excellent reputation in the international finance world as a co-operative jurisdiction committed to international standards, Jersey's government put in place a programme in partnership with the finance industry to meet the EU requirements. The OECD initiative proposed that
Jersey, alongside many other jurisdictions, introduce the effective exchange of tax information. The negotiation of such bilateral agreements is now being pursued by the island's government with all interested OECD nations . A key feature of these agreements is that, since the U.K. does not have responsibility for Jersey's fiscal or economic policy, Jersey itself is responsible for negotiating, concluding and fulfilling the obligations
arising under these agreements with other countries. Jersey can demonstrate that it is now
at the forefront of international regulation and is well positioned for any future changes. The island remains highly regarded as a reputable international financial centre with a sophisticated and well-regulated finance industry.
A new strategy Jersey's new ministerial government has been proactive in addressing these challenges in a way that almost certainly would not have been achievable under the previous committee system. The ability of ministerial government to respond effectively and rapidly to the international challenges has been vital for the continuing confidence of the financial services industry in the island. A significant consequence of the
changes in Jersey's international finance industry is a projected loss to the island's economy of some £80 million to £100 million annually. However, the Council of Ministers has been able to obtain the
The ministerial system is helping Jersey to fly the island’s flag even higher in the international community. 6 The Parliamentarian 2008/Issue One - Jersey