Where are the people to fight Jersey’s good fight?

At the risk of repeating the bones of the argument I set out in this column two weeks ago, I find myself drawn back to the thorny problem of how we promote our Island image while all around us are convinced that this rock exists solely to swindle, exploit and deceive.

I’m very well aware that I am preaching to the converted when I react forcefully against the loose comments from those who should know better, but who blithely refer to our Island status as a ‘tax haven’.

But where are the defenders? Because, you see, if we are such pariahs, then so is the City of London and many of the righteous members preparing to sit cosily round the G8 summit table in Northern Ireland next week.

Despite the barbs, this jurisdiction is acknowledged to outshine many of its detractors in the level of its compliance with international transparency. Nevertheless, the fiction goes on and has become entrenched in day-to-day folklore.

Let me quote you one recent example of the personal effect of such invective. It concerns a Gatwick official charged with processing the refund of VAT on goods bought in the UK who addressed a colleague thus: ‘You Jersey people just think you don’t have to pay tax on anything. It’s not your right to claim tax (VAT) back; it’s my discretion to give it.’ I would certainly have liked to have been behind her in the queue, but apart from such abuse being tantamount to racism, it’s symptomatic of the erroneous image that’s been allowed to fester and spread because we’re satisfied we’re right – so that’s OK .

Well it’s not OK. What have we just seen splashed over the Arts pages of the serious National newspapers, a couple of locally available ‘glossies’ and the final items in national TV news bulletins? None other than illustrated reports from the prestigious international Venice Arts festival, exhibiting in the British pavilion no less, a major contemporary work depicting the horrors of capitalism, featuring St Helier on fire (albeit in 2017) in an image reminiscent of the burning Reichstag and protestors on the streets.

Among other exhibits railing against capitalist excesses, there’s a full-sized crushed Range Rover bearing a Jersey number plate. We’ve seen enough of the power of artistic impact recently with the Danny Boyle extravaganza at the opening of the Olympics, to ignore such influence.

In general reportage, we are daily distanced from our previous description as a member of the British Isles to a mere Crown Dependency – which has a paternalistic colonial ring to it. It may suit the current tenants of Downing Street to drive a wedge between home-spun activity and those troublesome off-shore jurisdictions, but the Cenotaph in Whitehall, just around the corner should act as a poignant counter to those of such a persuasion.

Nevertheless, the Prime Minister is intent on being seen to be getting his own house in order and whether he ‘invited’ or ‘summoned’ – depending on which version of Fleet Street spin infuses your breakfast-time reading, a delegation from the Bailiwicks will troop in to see the headmaster this coming weekend – fog in the Channel, notwithstanding.

If any were feeling mischievous, they might remind their host that though he may have little clout over his other Island neighbour at the fringes of Europe, were he to raise a telescope to his blind eye, he’d spy in the Republic of Ireland, a country where the multinational conglomerate, Apple, sits on cash reserves of $100m – more than Dublin’s annual budget, yet it pays less than 2% corporation tax on its profits. Not surprisingly, Amazon and Google are based nearby. I see no tax havens, do I?

The run-up to the G8 summit will inevitably lead to a further stream of blather about tax avoidance, evasion and money laundering – and don’t expect the facts to get in the way of accuracy. I’m not sure whether to be encouraged or dismayed by our Treasury Minister’s confidence that the more the issue is discussed, the more the acceptance of our probity will help strengthen our reputation. It hasn’t done so far because of the prejudicial nature of the remarks. While international regulators might be satisfied, the message has certainly not taken roost at home.

The paving stones of Downing Street will need to transform themselves into a Damascus road – if that isn’t too perilous a concept in the current state of international affairs –if the principles and standards our delegation holds dear are to be taken seriously.

But soft, I hear the birth pangs of another cause for the arm-chair righteous to reach for their placards. Forget accusations of Vulture Funds and Tax Havens – enter rapacious mining contractors, hiding in locally-based convenience companies while the planet’s natural environment is plundered for profit. Surely somebody’s human rights are being trampled into the spoils of a foreign land. Sound the clarion! Clearly, once in the marksman’s sights, it’s difficult to dodge the bullets.

There’s certainly a whole lot of TLC needed to re-gild the once glowing image of Jersey CI, and frankly, local bottoms have for too long been sitting on their hats on the cultural diplomacy benches. Whilst jetting round the world to seal those vital reciprocal tax and financial agreements, we’ve taken our eye off promoting the positive culture and heritage which elevates any location and community.

It’s what people respect in a country and come here for. Otherwise, all we’ll be remembered for is the nonsense that underlies the image plastered all over the British pavilion at the Venice Festival. And why will such impressions become ingrained? Because, we’re not there to counter them.