Cayman Islands in the Foreign Press

January 20, 2009 – Amid a loss of confidence in offshore banking centers, the British government has announced it may implement an offshore bank account tax as part of a deposit protection scheme. The British government may impose a tax on offshore bank accounts as part of a deposit protection scheme amid the global financial crisis, financial consultancy Zetland reports.

The tax levy on income from offshore bank accounts would be in return for the guaranteeing of a certain level of cash deposits, Hong Kong-based Zetland says on its website. The plan is part of review announced by the Chancellor in December’s pre-budget report that will examine the regulation and transparency of offshore havens, as well as their tax arrangements.

The move comes as confidence in offshore banking has plummeted after thousands of British savers lost money in offshore accounts owned by Icelandic banks last year. The offshore review will cover Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Gibraltar, the Turks and Caicos Islands, the British Virgin Islands and Anguilla, but not Luxembourg.