Vexed Bermoothes

The Grim Scotsman has apparently written the overseas territories wagging his finger:

The Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, has put British overseas tax havens under renewed pressure to end their culture of secrecy within six months or face sanctions. Mr Brown has written to all British Crown dependencies and overseas territories, setting them a September deadline to sign agreements to share tax information with the authorities…

The new move by Downing Street puts Britain in the unusual position of threatening punitive action against its own dependencies.  Mr Brown has also signalled in the correspondence that he wants to tackle not just illegal tax evasion through personal offshore bank accounts, but also tax haven companies used for tax avoidance by corporations and super-rich individuals.

Two comments:

1. In the interests of transparency, the Bermuda Government should publish this letter as well as Bermuda’s official response.
2. Mr. Brown should also speak with the bankers in the City of London, who represent a “brain trust” of tax avoidance strategies.  Good housekeeping starts at home, chums.