Crazy things happen to me - just when I thought I had a straightforward day planned a reporter from a French news agency came into my store along with Nick Le Cornu.
The reporter was interested to hear my thoughts about "the Jersy tax haven". Well I'm really tired of this line constantly being peddled by outside media.
Jersey has some of the best regulatory systems in place to ensure that illegal activity is flushed out and sent packing. It would appear to be very convenient for certain political leaders to harp on about tax havens as if they are to blame for the demise of the economy - absolute rubbish!
As I pointed out this lady journalist, small businesses like mine benefit hugely from the finance industry and I doubt that a speciality business like mine could floursh in many jurisdictions with a population of just 90,000 people if there wasn't the disposeable income and full employment provided by finance.
Sometimes we do make uneasy bedfellows. There is always the pressure of getting good members of staff given the wages paid in the finance industry. Thankfully not everyone wants to work in front of a computer screen.
There is also the pressure on land. An Island 9 miles x 5 miles which wants to remain green but still house people is always going to see upward pressure on real estate prices, which in turn causes its own social problems.
The removal of the finance industry from Jersey would be an economic catastropy which makes one appreciate that we urgently need a plan b. With the amazing educational system we have here (more about which I'll blog on later)Jersey has a huge opportunity to offer highly skilled niche solutions to the rest of the world.
As I've said before it's a team effort and the more ideas people can put forward the more likely we are going to get a plan b. Maybe a twitter forum will deliver what so far has been undeliverable.
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