Editorial for 23 January: Cayman again political football

Irresponsibility is rearing its ugly head again on the United States political circuit and, once again, the Cayman Islands finds itself in the fray.

Somebody put a bug in someone’s ear at US television’s ABC that Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney has money invested in the Cayman Islands.

Our first thought is that the ‘scoop’ came from President Barrack Obama’s camp, but with all the in-fighting in the Republican party as it tries to find a worthy candidate to beat Obama, no one can be sure.

But the spread of the news is malicious and intends to put a bad light on Romney and our reputation as a safe place to invest offshore money.

There is nothing wrong with people investing their money in the Cayman Islands, no matter what country they are from. The rules and regulations that dictate investments in Cayman are so stringent that it is against the law to invest money here to avoid taxes in your home jurisdiction; and that is partially what Romney is being accused of doing.

As Cayman Finance Chairman Mr. Richard Coles explained ‘not only does the Cayman Islands laws not prevent investors from complying with their tax obligations but that in fact the Cayman Islands are involved in a number of initiatives that encourage full cooperation with US authorities on numerous levels in the area of international cooperation on tax matters.’ Our Government signs tax information exchanges with countries on what seems like a daily basis. Those signings are not just photo opportunities; they are serious matters to prove that the Cayman Islands goes above and beyond when it comes to complying with tax laws of other countries. No, you cannot bring a suitcase of money to the Cayman Islands and hide it from your home jurisdiction.

It is a shame that once again foreign journalists and politicians are using the Cayman Islands as a political football when it comes to winning votes in US elections. In the past US politicians have come to Cayman to investigate alleged investment shenanigans, spending most of their time on the beach. Nothing like a little R&R on the US taxpayers’ dime to come here and realise that investing in the Cayman Islands is above board and quite legal.