Bankrupt Cayman Islands to get £38m bail-out

[Doctor Cynic]

Source: Telegraph

After lengthy wrangling, the British overseas territory on Wednesday confirmed that it has finally secured permission from the UK to obtain a CI$50m (£38m) bail-out loan to plug a 35pc-40pc collapse in revenue this year.

The island's government has also signalled that it is ready to cave into UK conditions on slashing government expenditure and an independent report on reform of its tax system that could see it start to impose direct levies to obtain further loans worth CI$229m.

Richard Parchment, an adviser to the government in George Town, said a letter would be sent to Britain with a formal agreement this week. Its severe shortage of cash meant it was days away from being unable to pay its civil service.

The Cayman Islands authorities claim that the UK has backtracked on stricter original proposals that insisted on direct taxes.

Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/financialcrisis/6248284/Bankrupt-Cayman-Islands-to-get-38m-bail-out.html

[BumRushDaShow]

1. "Its severe shortage of cash meant that...

it was days away from being unable to pay its civil service." all those tax dodging millionaires have been pulling their $$$ out like mad before the IRS gets it!"

Fixed.

[jberryhill]

6. 90% of all buildings were damaged by Hurricane Ivan

They've been running a major deficit rebuilding since nearly being wiped out in 2004. They are not all millionaires.

[jaksavage]

2. Hard to feel sorry

For an island stolen from its native peoples and turned into a tax free zone for folks with money.

[jberryhill]

5. Ummm learn some Cayman history

There were no native peoples. There is no source of fresh water in Cayman. Until electric desalination took off in the 1950's it was sparsely populated by settlers who collected rainwater in cisterns.

It was made tax free by royal decree after Caymanians rescued sailors from a British vessel which had foundered on the reef.

[quakerboy]

9. It is still hard to feel sorry for the government

when it is haven to so many companies avoiding taxation. They are in a spot, though. On the one hand, if they put in the same tax as anywhere else, those companies would relocate and the islands would loose any income from them. On the other hand, they are sapping tax revenue from other nations and empowering corporations to avoid contributing back to society.

[2Design]

3. wonder if accenture who is on the government payroll and not paying taxes is one of them - n/t

[JackRiddler]

4. Wow, all the international plunder that flowed through those accounts...

and in the end they even get to pretend they're bankrupt and take a bailout.

Nice work if you can get it!

[TankLV]

7. Excuse me if I don't give a FUCK about these fucking LEECHES on society - every single one of them!!

THEY have helped made the world WORSE for their EXISTENCE!!!

The hurricane should have wiped the island CLEAN...

[quakerboy]

10. all 51 thousand of them?

[tomm2thumbs]

8. they should only provide things their regular-folks can use - not the corrupt govt

don't send money - send food, housing materials and emergency items that real-people can use.

money is going to end up in the wrong hands