To refuse a public registry could appear 'secretive'
FIGHTING too hard against pressure to create a public registry of beneficial company owners could make it look like the island wants to hide something, a tax expert has warned.
Graham Parrott was speaking after David Cameron, pictured, wrote to the Crown Dependencies saying that the UK was looking to introduce legislation for a public register, which he hoped would be a 'key pillar' in the legacy of the UK's G8 presidency.
Mr Cameron hoped the island would consult on such a registry.
But it is expected that industry and politicians would put up some resistance.
Mr Parrott said the registry idea first came up during a G8 meeting and, to some extent, the island had already given some commitment to do something. At that time, there were three issues that the island was unsure about – how public it would be, whether it would include trusts and if there would be a level playing field if no one else did it, he said.
He added that an EU directive was passed a few weeks ago, which stated that such registers would include trusts and that public meant public.
'A lot of companies are not comfortable with this directive, including the UK,' said Mr Parrott. 'The question is what we do?
