Departing HM Procureur Warns Guernsey Over EU And Tax

by Jason Gorringe, Tax-News.com, London

10 October 2002

Retiring HM Procureur (Attorney General), Geoffrey Rowland has warned that Guernsey and the other Crown Dependencies will be viewed with increasing suspicion as long as they remain outside the European Union.

Speaking to the Guernsey Press and Star in his last interview before assuming his new position as Deputy Bailiff, Mr Rowland predicted that:

'The time will soon arrive when the only European jurisdictions not in the EU will be Norway and the Crown Dependencies. Officials in Brussels who favour persistent tax convergence and ultimate tax harmonisation may already construe our failure to join their club with suspicion.'

He went on to add that: 'They think our reasons for staying out are based on a desire to promote tax evasion to the detriment of the EU member states. That is simply wrong, but it is an attitude that is already quite noticeable in Brussels and many EU member states. As a result they look at what we do, or fail to do, with a great measure of cynicism.'

Speaking with regard to his time as HM Procureur, during which he had many dealings with international bodies such as the EU and the OECD, Mr Rowland told the newspaper that: 'It is difficult to change entrenched perceptions. I have done as much as I could in the last six or seven years to put the record straight but it is a difficult, if not impossible, task.'

The Island's new HM Procureur, Nik van Leuven was sworn into office in the position on Monday.

Recommended