Chancellor has local accountants mulling the UK's next move

LOCAL accountants were yesterday pondering just how broad an 'attack' from the UK Government on tax 'avoidance' might become and the how the island might be pulled into the net.

Chancellor George Osborne's autumn statement made reference to clawing back up to £2bn a year by tackling both tax evasion – illegal activity – and avoidance, which is legal, and which has been a key part of the Guernsey financial services offering for many years.

'You could say that Guernsey has nothing to fear from increased focus on evasion but when avoidance is drawn in we don't know what we might be dealing with,' said one tax accountant.

It is felt that if avoidance is pursued, business life in the islands for those involved in wealth management structures might become much more difficult.