Cayman Finance Respond to US PIRG Report

Jude Scott, CEO of Cayman Finance, issued the following statement in response to an Open Society Foundations-funded report on International Financial Centers issued last week by US PIRG and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy:

“Reports such as this conveniently overlook how International Finance Centers (IFCs) like the Cayman Islands use their commitment to global standards for transparency and cross-border information sharing with law enforcement and tax authorities. Unfortunately, every jurisdiction is at risk from those who will attempt to get around the systematic safeguards, but the laws and regulations adopted by the Cayman Islands make us a strong international partner to address these concerns no matter where they originate.

“Cayman is a premier global financial hub, efficiently connecting law abiding users and providers of investment capital and financing around the world. Cayman is an excellent extender of value for the US, UK and other major economies, helping to pool global investment capital and financing for major initiatives like infrastructure development.”

“Cayman is a transparent jurisdiction due to our combination of a verified beneficial ownership regime, the adoption of more than twenty global financial standards and adherence to both US FATCA and the EU’s Common Reporting Standards. Cayman also is participating in the OECD’s BEPS initiative and will be introducing Country-by-Country Reporting by December 2017. We meet none of the descriptions used by entities such as the OECD or Transparency International to define a tax haven. In fact, our system purposefully lacks any laws or regulations like double taxation treaties or foreign incentives that support the shifting of tax base by foreign entities to avoid corporate taxes in their home jurisdictions.”