Like other offshore jurisdictions, the Cayman Islands have been under siege from overseas authorities for almost a decade. The jurisdiction has been labelled either a tax cheat, unfairly robbing other countries of their rightful fiscal revenues, or a sanctuary to criminals, who would use the islands’ financial system to conceal their nefarious deeds.
In that time, Cayman has answered its critics with beefed-up regulations to deter criminal activity; tightened up overall supervision of the jurisdiction; and relented to demands for increased information-sharing with onshore authorities. It has done this without abandoning its ‘light touch’ regulatory philosophy or compromising clients’ legitimate rights to privacy. And it has held firm against fierce accusations of unfair tax competition, protecting its right to administer taxes as it chooses.
