Cayman Finance CEO Jude Scott, in a letter to the Editor of the Washington Post, has challenged misconceptions in a recent commentary written for that publication about the role of the Cayman Islands financial services industry.
Cayman Finance is proud to protect, promote, develop and grow the Cayman Islands financial services industry, including engagement like this.
You can view the letter on the Washington Post website or read it below.
By Letters to the Editor
June 21
Anne Applebaum's June 16 op-ed, "A perfectly legal form of bribery," missed the mark about conducting business in the Cayman Islands. She failed to acknowledge that the Cayman Islands has been recognized by U.S. authorities as a strong partner in combating corruption, money laundering, terrorism financing and tax evasion.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development gives the Cayman Islands the same rating for transparency and information sharing as countries such as Canada and England. By law, information collected through Cayman's verified ownership regime is available to law enforcement and tax authorities through existing information-sharing channels between the Cayman Islands government and other countries, including the United States.
Just last month, senior FBI official Steven M. D'Antuono told a Senate committee that the Cayman Islands provides "immense value" in combating financial crime. He noted beneficial ownership information is able to be provided to law enforcement within 24 hours of a request to support investigations by the FBI and other law enforcement agencies.
Although the Cayman Islands charges zero corporate income tax, investments are subject to all the relevant taxes owed in their home jurisdiction. Under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, the Cayman Islands proactively shares tax information with the relevant U.S. tax authorities.
Jude Scott, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
The writer is chief executive of Cayman Finance.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.