Jersey Hosts High-Level French Delegation

by Jason Gorringe, Tax-News.com, London

08 February 2012

Following a visit by a States-led delegation to address the French Parliament in June 2011, two leading members of the French Senate Finance Committee on February 6, 2012, have reciprocated by holding meetings with decisionmakers in Jersey.

In a statement ahead of the visit, the Jersey government said that the President of the Senate Finance Committee, Philippe Marini, and the Committee’s Rapporteur General, Nicole Bricq would meet with the island’s senior politicians, including Chief Minister, Ian Gorst, and Assistant Chief Minister, Philip Bailhache.

The government said discussions would focus on Jersey’s role as an international finance centre, with particular focus on the island’s regulatory standards and the cooperative framework established through the conclusion of a Tax Information Exchange Agreement between Jersey and France. The visit comes at a time when France has just hosted the G20 Summit in Cannes and its Presidential elections are on the horizon for April 2012.

Monday’s discussions form part of a wider programme of engagement between Jersey and France, ranging from discussion of European issues between French representatives and the Channel Islands' Brussels Office to relations with Brittany and Normandy conducted via the Bureau de Jersey in Caen.

Ahead of the meeting, Bailhache said “We are pleased to have the opportunity to host the Senate Committee in Jersey and to continue the valuable dialogue that began in Paris last year. It is important that senior politicians like Marini and Bricq are able to see at first hand the high levels of regulation and transparency that are the cornerstones of Jersey’s reputation as an international finance centre.”

Recommended