Tax attacks threats must be heeded

‘We’re going after the tax dodgers.’ That was the refrain from Mr Corbyn’s election campaign script yesterday. Urging people to pick a side, the speech went on: ‘Are you on the side of the tax dodgers, who are taking us all for a ride? People who think it’s OK to rip people off and hide their money in tax havens so they can have a new super yacht.’

It begs the question of what does ‘going after the tax dodgers’ mean in practice? Guernsey has repeatedly stressed it’s a transparent jurisdiction committed to fighting financial crime. A place that plays a key role in funnelling critical investment into the UK and globally – including increasingly funds to help fight climate change.

But what if a Corbyn government sets its mind on radical action, regardless of facts as presented by the island? It’s fair to say that Mr Corbyn has form when it comes to what he describes as ‘tax havens’.

In 2016, the Labour leader suggested the UK should impose direct rule on the Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories to stop them acting as tax havens and ‘short-changing’ the British public.

Direct rule could be imposed almost immediately, said Mr Corbyn. It remains an extraordinary, and worrying, threat given the Crown Dependencies’ unique constitutional position. Throw into the mix the belief in some Conservatives circles that the UK parliament can legislate for the Crown Dependencies in areas such as tax and transparency – despite legal opinions to the contrary – and a constitutional crisis could erupt.

Perhaps it’s all bluster and bombast. A scare story that will never materialise. Electioneering, nothing more.

But given the extraordinary turmoil in the UK, can anything be ruled in or out right now? Our government is confident in the arguments it may need to make, with evidence to back those up. To such a backdrop, it can only be right that the States is therefore preparing for all outcomes.