STEP: British ‘tax havens’ make plans to reveal who owns what

The leaders met UK Prime Minister David Cameron at Downing Street at the weekend, where he presented them with the demand ‒ softened by a promise that the UK and the G8 countries will do the same

The heads of Britain’s Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories are to produce national action plans on beneficial ownership registries.

The leaders met UK Prime Minister David Cameron at Downing Street at the weekend, where he presented them with the demand ‒ softened by a promise that the UK and the G8 countries will do the same. The G8 countries are meeting this week, and are expected to produce an agreement on a new standard for company beneficial ownership registries. Whether trusts are to be included is not yet clear.

The UK’s position is that the national registries should at least be made available to law enforcement and tax authorities, if not the general public. It is planning to issue a consultation paper during the summer concerning amendments to its own national legislation.