Tax Haven Man in Town

Written By: - Date published: 10:08 pm, February 20th, 2018 - 11 comments
Categories: capitalism, Economy, equality, Financial markets, Free Trade, tax, trade, uk politics - Tags:

The Lord Mayor of the City of London is visiting New Zealand. Its not Sadiq Khan; Charles Bowman is a PwC partner leading London’s financial centre lobby. He’s here to talk to business and regulators. He’ll no doubt be talking up  more deregulation.

“Trust Us’, he said in an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald, as his delegation is also visiting Australia. In it he outlines how the title goes back to the grant from King John at Runnymede as part of the Magna Carta. The City of London now is the heart of London’s deregulated financial centre and the hub of offshore tax havens.

I just happen to be reading Nicolas Shaxson’s excellent book ‘Treasure Islands” about the role tax havens have played in creating the massive rise in inequality in the last fifty years. The City of London has been at the centre of this change with its anything goes approach to regulation.

This visit follows close on the heels of that of Liam Fox, the UK’s Minister for Trade. Fox outlined how New Zealand, Australia and the US were on the Conservative government’s priority list for trade agreements post Brexit. It is becoming increasingly clear that the Tory right’s vision post Brexit is for a completely deregulated Britain – especially in finance and food. Those trade agreements will need to be closely watched.

The SMH reporter said:

I try to engage him on the issue of the Panama and Paradise papers, and London’s reputation as a place for dodgy oligarchs to stash their wealth.

Bowman says there needs to be an “agenda around trust which allows society to have greater confidence in and a better relationship with business”.

This can be done through “good leadership”, he says. But he won’t be drawn beyond that.

I doubt if  the good burghers of the City of London would not have been interested in the Charter of the Forests, also granted by King John at Runnymede, and later issued separately, which gave subsistence rights to ordinary people.

11 comments on “Tax Haven Man in Town ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. tc 1
    21 February 2018 at 7:07 am

    Interesting to see parallels with the Tories in power and the English FA cuddling up to their respective dark forces and spinning it for all its worth. The market and FIFA respectively.

    The FA’s chairman, Greg Clarke, continues to mirror his govt inept performance and soulless vision for a future that sees the fat cats continue to take the bulk of a cake desperately needed to recover the games grass roots.

    Sounds familiar doesn’t it.

  2. Bill 2
    21 February 2018 at 7:42 am

    I’d pick that any reasonable reporting of the discussions had during this visit would put any remaining speculation on the nature or intent of this Labour led government to bed.

    Not that I expect any such reporting.

    Maybe the fact that dialogue and discussion is being had with such “luminaries” and, as far as I’m aware, no regular contact is undertaken at any level between the NZ Labour Party leadership and the Jeremy Corbyns and Bernie Sanders of the world and what they represent…maybe that’s all we need to know. 😉

    • The Chairman 2.1
      21 February 2018 at 1:36 pm

      Perhaps the Greens should consider bringing out Corbyn and Sanders and others of that ilk?

      And if they can’t afford that, there is always the option of doing a live feed conference.

  3. Sparky 3
    21 February 2018 at 9:41 am

    Antiquated titles sit well with antiquated ideas.The neo cons want us all back in the 19th century with a fully deregulated market and neo Dickensian society with all the evils that entails.

    I would have hoped we had a guardian at the gates with this new govt but given their neo con (CP-TPP) leanings I think that’s a forlorn hope.

  4. greywarshark 4
    21 February 2018 at 11:18 am

    Love this quote from the post, it rolls around the mouth like a spoonful of whipped cream. “Bowman says there needs to be an “agenda around trust which allows society to have greater confidence in and a better relationship with business”.”

    I heard him on Radionz this morning, smooth, diplomatic. He mentioned something about regulations being shared between the countries he was talking to and I think I heard a Free Trade Agreement mentioned. I heard Australia, New Zealand, the UK mentioned and a desire to have the USA involved but that was going to involve a lot of talks I think. I don’t remember Canada mentioned.

    There was mention about the value of having a common language and culture, so the Brits are going after the Commonwealth, picking up the pieces and polishing them – they have understandings with Singapore and Hong Kong. NZ and possibly Australia look like easy pickings no doubt, too backward to embrace learning other languages and able to form direct relationships with important non-English-speaking countries.

    (I think Russian has been dropped from university study as have other subjects from the Humanities which add to the depth and breadth of a student at tertiary level. But Chinese, Mandarin mostly, I think is popular and may have overtaken French which had a diplomatic, intellectual standing.)

  5. savenz 5
    21 February 2018 at 11:46 am

    Deregulation (economic, educational, trade, environmental etc) has bought NZ lower wages, leaky buildings, a workforce that is considered unskilled and hopeless, a good percentage of population who need benefit top ups, accomodation, super, working for families, disability etc), Pike River and CTV building, lost opportunities in Christchurch to build a work class city quickly, houses people can’t afford to buy or rent on local wages, 30 beaches shut in Auckland due to pollution and many many rivers and lakes dying and polluted, Kauri dieback disease being spread, a rising prison population, banks making record profits that are sent back overseas etc etc.

    Send him down Pike River to find out first hand what deregulation does to business and then ask him how 29 workers are dead but nobody held responsible and no rescue attempt ever made. Is that progress in the 21st century?

    NZ falling like a stone in education rankings with the deregulated approach meaning private institutions are just fronts for immigration scams, primary kids falling against international tables, our universities falling in international tables with the focus on bums on seats lower quality but user pays degree for tertiary, and apparently you can’t get truck drivers, fruit pickers, restaurant workers, trades people, because they stopped training people on the job.

    Something went wrong in NZ and it started with Rogernomics and degregulation.

    The people gaining most are the Australian banks and multinational coporations asset stripping NZ and then using tax loopholes to pay nothing for the privilege.

  6. savenz 6
    21 February 2018 at 11:49 am

    The guy has probably heard politicians are getting cold feet on trade deals and here to smooth talk.

    All good, Labour and NZ First sign TPPA and then lose next election, Natz step in with business as usual. What could be better for neoliberal business planning?

  7. savenz 7
    21 February 2018 at 12:31 pm

    Foreigners’ financial stake in NZ up 653 pct in 28 years, says lobby group

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11998864

  8. McFlock 8
    21 February 2018 at 1:04 pm

    probably preparing the ground for a post-brexit commonwealth (well, mostly the white bits) FTA.

  9. Incognito 9
    24 February 2018 at 12:27 pm

    A conspicuously low profile visit; it seems to mostly feature on the NBR website but nothing in MSM!?

The server will be getting hardware changes this evening starting at 10pm NZDT.
The site will be off line for some hours.