|
Phillip Fry |
Spain wants 'tax haven' Gibraltar blacklistedBy Fiona Govan in Madrid on the Telegraph newspaper website http://www.telegraph.co.uk March 18 2008 Spain is calling for the British colony of Gibraltar to be blacklisted as a tax haven amid claims it shelters corrupt businesses. Spanish authorities will this week ask the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to list the disputed territory of Gibralter as "uncooperative" because it is failing to help investigate financial corruption. The Spanish Treasury Department claimed Gibraltar had not been forthcoming in helping to clamp down on Spanish tax evaders and money launderers. The 2.53-square-mile territory has more than 28,000 registered companies and Spain said many of them operate outside the control of financial authorities. Peter Caruana, the Chief Minister of Gibraltar, disputes claims that his government is being obstructive. "If the Spanish government is saying that the Gibraltarian authorities are not cooperating with Spain in the way we cooperate with other countries, then that is simply untrue," he said yesterday. The complaint is the latest in a series of attacks by the Spanish government against the territory and comes weeks after Gibraltarian and British authorities were criticised by Spain for failing to secure a stricken ship in disputed waters off the peninsula. The vessel eventually broke up, causing an oil spill on Spanish beaches. The Spanish government summoned the British ambassador in Madrid for an explanation. Gibraltar was seized by the British in 1704 with the Spanish ceding sovereignty in 1713 under the Treaty of Utrecht. But Spain has retained a constitutional claim and calls for its return, an issue that has long tarnished relations between Spain and Britain. The two nations considered sharing sovereignty, but in a 2002 referendum 99 per cent of Gibraltarians rejected the move and voted to remain a British colony. In 2006 Britain, Spain and Gibraltar signed a historic agreement to solve problems that have coloured relations in the region for decades.
|
|||
|
|
||||
