Hidden on page 8 of JEP 8th Dec was a little story about growth. No, not the growth of the economy but the mushrooming civil service. This was the day when all eyes were on the vote for Chief Minister and therefore I suppose a good day to bury expensive news.
This is how the story reads : ( my comments in green)
The two new people will have the titles of "director of international tax" and "director of international affairs / deputy director of international finance" ( Aren't they beautiful ? Bit long for a business cards mind you )
The successful applicants will work ( hard ) alongside Martin de Forest Brown (which is a beautiful name to go with his title of) "director of international finance", a post only created 2 years ago. and under the guidance of the advisor to the States on international affairs Colin Powell
Fiancial resources for the new jobs were set aside in the States business plan in September At this time £200.000 was earmarked for the new strategic post, rising to £220.000 by 2013 ( if the finance industry is still here )
An additional £570.000 was approved to strengthen resources in the Chief Minister's office ( also known as the "Yes Minister's office " ) including £200.000 for international affairs.
Mr de Brown Forest reportedly said : What Jersey needs to do is to build an intenational indentity ( I thought Walker did this on newsnight.. ) - for example with the United Kingdom, The British Irish Council, The Common Wealth Parlimentary Association - but there are very limited resources to deal with it.
A lot of this, which is non-finance work, ends up on my desk, so bringing in an additional resource will pick up a big piece of that work, which leaves more time to do international finance ( I suppose your call this delegating.. )
He said that the appointee would need to be able to deputise for senior personnel ( while they are on the golf course ) at internationial meetings and be able to represent the island ( I thought that was the Chief Minister's job / Didn't Guy the Faye go to Paris for one of these ? .. ) In terms of the tax strategist post, this would need to be someone with specialist knowledge ( Oh yeah, another specialist ! ) probably from within the finance industry
"I am not a tax expert" said the Forest Brown. I am an accountant and can deal with tax at most levels but this needs someone who can get to the fine details ( What about the Scottish bloke who is in charge of the tax office in the parade ? ) One of the first tasks is likely to be a "Tax Information Exchange Agreement with the UK and other key countries as well as ongoing work when various TIEAs are reviewed and revised, consultations with the UK over the treatment of resident non-domiciles , and keeping an close eye on other juristrictions with finance centres ( watch the news ? ) " It is true that these will be senior and expensive employees ( you're not joking mate ) said de Forest Brown " but in terms of the challenges the island faces it will undoubtedly the money well spent ( you mean our money well spent )
What do you think ? Is this much money well spent ?
