Last week, Britain’s Prime Minister, David Cameron, wrote to the leaders of all of the UK’s Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.* The letter formed a part of the UK Government’s attempt to have the leaders of all G8 nations ‒ the grouping that brings together the world’s wealthiest countries ‒ agree a concrete action plan to tackle tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance.
Mr Cameron’s initial objective is to be able to demonstrate by the time of the G8 meeting on June 17-18 in Northern Ireland, that he is getting his own house in order by first bringing the UK’s Overseas Territories and Dependencies into line. His hope then is that all G8 nations, including the US, will agree to adopt similar principles, with the ultimate objective being a changed global approach to taxation and tax information exchange.
As Mr Cameron’s letter states: ‘‘There is no point in dealing with tax evasion in one country if the