On notice

PRIME Minister Gordon Brown has warned Guernsey that it must continue to go above and beyond international standards of tax transparency or risk the issue coming back before the G20.

In a letter to Chief Minister Lyndon Trott, Mr Brown also said the island would need to be prepared to meet new international standards as global efforts shifted from dealing with tax transparency to focusing on the issue of tax avoidance.

The PM told Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man that inclusion on the OECD white list of cooperative finance centres did not mean the islands could stand still - instead insisting that the Crown Dependencies must put 'clear water' between themselves and other jurisdictions which only just meet international standards.

But when asked by the Guernsey Press for clarification on what constituted 'clear water', Number 10 was yesterday unable to do so.

All a spokeswoman would say was: 'The Prime Minister set out his position in the letter.'

Mr Brown told Deputy Trott that he welcomed the progress Guernsey had made in meeting the OECD target - although adding the steps should only be seen as an indicator that the island had committed to the principle of tax transparency.