Our monthly roundup of news, events and sponsor reading material.

Members' Area

The Members' Area will develop over time, and will be populated with consultation responses and papers / advice issued by GAT and / or the Technical Committee.

Please note:  GAT responses to the following consultation papers have been added to the Members' Area for your information:

• Statutory Instruments proposed to be re-issued
• Proposed replacement of the current Fiduciary Rules, 2020 by the new Fiduciary Rules, 2021
• Ancillary Vehicles
• P&R Charities and NPOs consultation

Message from the Chair

As always, I would be pleased to hear from members to understand any frustrations or concerns - contact me.

Enjoy your January newsletter.

Kind regards

Rhona Humphreys

GAT Chair

Annual Validation filing deadline

Members are reminded that Guernsey Company Annual Validations will need to be submitted to the Guernsey Registry by Monday 28th February 2022 in order to avoid penalties, together with payment of the appropriate fee.

GFSC - Professional Indemnity Insurance Consultation Paper

GAT has been made aware that many licensees have encountered issues with Professional Indemnity Insurance and have been encouraging the Commission to take action. 

We are pleased that the Commission has agreed to consult on this matter. Please find the Consultation Paper below. The online survey can be completed by clicking the button, or alternatively please email any questions or comments to Stephen Trevor so that the importance of the matter is reiterated and your comments are taken into account.  The deadline for responses is Monday 14th February.

FATCA and CRS Deadlines

GAT would like to draw members' attention in particular to the Bulletins accessed via the buttons below and remind members of the new provision which requires all financial institutions (as defined in the CRS or FATCA) to register with the Revenue Service regardless of whether they have a reporting obligation (for example, non-reporting financial institutions).

Where a valid self-certification is not held in respect of new accounts, the first report was due to be submitted on or before 31st January 2022 pursuant to the relevant reporting deadline in
Bulletin 2021/6.  In view of the concerns raised in relation to this reporting requirement, it has been decided to extend the first reporting date to 31st March 2022 for both new and pre-existing accounts (see Bulletin 2022/2 below).

All reporting Guernsey financial institutions, must submit their 2021 FATCA and CRS reports to the tax authority on or before 30th June 2022.

Guernsey Finance survey for GAT members

Guernsey Finance has, on behalf of GAT, put together a short survey consisting of 10 questions with the aim of better understanding the general direction GAT members would like us to go in for the year ahead, in terms of promotional themes and content to focus on. 

Members are encouraged to complete the survey by clicking the button below. The survey should take no more than 3-4 minutes to complete.  Responses must be provided by close of business on Monday 14th of February. 

The Guernsey Chamber Sustainable Business Initiative (SBI) Annual Business Sustainability survey

The Sustainable Business Initiative (SBI) of the Guernsey Chamber of Commerce are calling for businesses to fill out their annual Business Sustainability Survey. The SBI will be once again collecting data on environmental issues which will inform the group’s work with the Government and benchmark Guernsey businesses against the UK.

The survey looks to explore how important sustainability is to your business, why you care about environmental issues, what your business is currently doing regarding sustainability, among other questions. Members are encouraged to respond.

Rollo de Sausmarez, Co-lead of Sustainable Business Initiative, says: “We want to do this to understand Guernsey businesses’ views on their environmental impact, what they have in place already in regard to climate change or are planning to do, and how that changes over time".

NEWS

Technical Consultation on the Draft Prevention of Discrimination (Guernsey) Ordinance. 

The Committee for Employment & Social Security has made the decision to make the draft Prevention of Discrimination (Guernsey) Ordinance available to anyone who wishes to see it, in the interests of transparency.

Although draft legislation is not normally published when it is still in the process of being finalised, and when there is a technical consultation already in place, the move follows several requests and has been decided on after consultation with the Law Officers.  It demonstrates the Committee's desire to go above and beyond in its attempts to be open and transparent.  

Copies of the draft ordinance are available to download from www.gov.gg/discrimination or by clicking the button below. Members interested in submitting technical feedback are invited to email Sarah Harvey, Policy Officer at equality@gov.gg.

Government Work Plan Monitoring Report published

The first Government Work Plan Monitoring Report was published on Thursday 20th January, providing information on progress since the Plan was agreed by the States in July 2021.

The Monitoring Report provides updates on each of the Top Ten actions and the Plan's four priorities. The next Monitoring Report will be published as part of the annual review of the Government Work Plan to be considered at a Special Meeting of the States of Deliberation on 14th June 2022.

The Monitoring Report and a new Government Work Plan Summary booklet are available at gov.gg/GWP or by clicking the button below.  The booklet has been produced to help Islanders understand more about the Plan and what the States are seeking to achieve.

Deputy Heidi Soulsby, Vice-President of the Policy & Resources Committee, said:

"It's great to be able to provide Islanders with an easy reference summary to the Government Work Plan and to update on this States' advancement of their priorities. We know the public want to see progress; they want to see action, whether it's tackling the housing crisis; re-organising secondary and post-16 education; or securing digital infrastructure and transport links."

Revenue Service takes steps to reduce backlog

The Revenue Service is taking steps to reduce the number of outstanding tax returns which need to be assessed.

The Service has enlisted the support of ex-staff members to process assessments and is also in discussions with local accountants to identify resources who could be seconded to assist.

Currently 93% of 2018 personal returns and 68% of 2019 personal returns have been assessed. Whilst the number for 2020 cannot be reported given the deadline has not passed, the Service will continue to prioritise previous year's returns before focussing on 2020 returns.

The Revenue Service is currently undergoing a large technology transformation to improve internal processes, as well as customer experience. The programme delivered a new online tax form last year, which provided customers with a calculation of their estimated liability. Further enhancements are planned for the 2021 return, including providing customers, who completed their 2020 return online, with their data pre-populated in the form.

Update regarding cloned website

On Wednesday 26th January, the Commission reported that it had become aware of a website that had been established cloning the Commission’s own website and GAT circulated a mailshot to directly inform members on Thursday 27th January.

Since becoming aware of the matter, the Commission submitted abuse notifications to the domain registrar and the hosting provider as well as reporting the URL as malicious to the appropriate authorities. The cloned website’s domain has been taken down which means that the cloned website cannot be accessed anymore. 

If you think that you have been approached by the cloned entity, please contact your usual supervisory contact at the Commission or email info@gfsc.gg.

WE ARE GUERNSEY celebrates a return to physical events with the Guernsey Private Wealth Forum

WE ARE GUERNSEY were delighted to be able to host their annual Guernsey Private Wealth Forum, which was held at the Banking Hall in London on 5th October 2021.

Entitled 'The Power of Capital', the Guernsey Private Wealth Forum explored the topical and pressing conversations surrounding the good that wealth can do. 

The event opened with a keynote speech delivered by Cherie Blair CBE who outlined the importance of ‘moral capital’, and how philanthropic action through her Foundation has successfully transformed the lives of more than 100,000 women in several low and middle-income economies.

Click the button below to watch a short video reviewing the 2021 event.

EVENTS

GAT Members' Luncheon - Wednesday 6th April 2022

We are delighted that the recent relaxation of the States of Guernsey restrictions mean that it is possible for the next GAT Luncheon to take place on Wednesday 6th April 2022 in the conservatory at Moores Hotel.

Our guest speaker will be Tony Mancini from our sponsors KPMG, who will be presenting about the European Commission’s proposal for a Directive aimed at fighting the use of shell entities and arrangements.  The proposed Directive will impact on structures that use EU resident investment holding vehicles and may change the choices businesses make when structuring in addition to affecting the EU standards on third country substance rules, which could be equally as important to business on the island to the OECD Pillar 2 proposals.

The luncheon will also feature an industry update from GAT Chair, Rhona Humphreys. 

The 2021/2022 series of STEP Lunchtime Lectures welcomes the return of in-person events with the eleventh lecture of the series, presented by Kevin Davis, Director of the Economic Financial Crime Bureau on Friday 4th February 2022.

Kevin will be covering the changes to Guernsey’s enforcement landscape, why they have taken the stance they have and what this means for the regulated sector here in Guernsey.

Turbulence ahead - an online seminar

Wednesday 2nd February - 7.30am
Thursday 3rd February - 3.00pm

Volatility (turbulence for the sake of this metaphor) will be the key challenge for investors in 2022.  Loose financial conditions have added an extra hundred knots to markets over the past two years and autopilot has worked just fine. But not all turbulence is the same.

In fact, there are four main types, each of which require a pilot to adopt a different strategy. The return of market, economic, rates and inflation volatility will demand a deft touch from portfolio managers – agility and timing will be crucial.

In this webinar chaired by Rory McIvor, Alex Lennard and Kate Forsyth provide the view from mission control and share the flight path of Ruffer portfolios for the year ahead.  Alex and Kate will give a short presentation, and then open the floor to questions.

This seminar will qualify for 1 hour CPD, please click on the button below to choose a date and register.

Arbitration Tea Time

Date: Wednesday 2nd February 2022

Time: 1pm-2pm

Please join Adrian Winstanley OBE and Matt McGrath for an 'Arbitration Tea Time' on "Is it worth it?" - a discussion on how approaching disputes from a net-present-value (NPV) perspective can be used to optimise decision-making.
 
This conversation will be hosted by Clyde & Co's Cornelia Kunze and Georg Scherpf.
 
We look forward to a lively discussion and to seeing you there.  Please click the button below for more information and to register.

February Courses by the GTA

Launch – IoD Development Programmes
Join us to find out about the IoD Certificate and Diploma in Company Direction, the IoD Accelerated Certificate in Company Direction and the IoD Introductory Certificate in Board Readiness.  There will be a short presentation by IoD Guernsey, the GTA and a past student which will be followed by a Q&A session.  Tea, coffee and sandwiches will be provided but please let us know in advance if you would like to attend so we can cater accordingly.

Cost: FREE

Enrol by: 4 February 2022
Venue: GTA University Centre
Time: 12:30 to 13:30

Further details and registration here.

 
Supervisory Skills
This full-day course will provide attendees with the necessary skills to carry our a supervisory role.  Delegates will explore key management skills, qualities and characteristics, learn to understand their own development as a supervisor, how to improve team performance and many other key skills to provide them with a foundation for excellence in supervisory skills.

Cost: £295
Date: 10 February 2022
Venue: GTA University Centre
Times: 09:00 to 17:00

Further details and registration here.

STEP Certificate in International Trust Management

The STEP Certificate in International Trust Management offers delegates a detailed insight into the creation and administration of trusts in an international context and increases your knowledge of the practical and academic issues arising in the industry.  This course is delivered virtually with a four day revision course held in June 2022 immediately prior to the exam.

Cost: £1,575
Course Start Date: 11 February 2022
Venue: Online
Duration: 4 Months

Further details and registration here.

STEP Advanced Certificate in Trust Law and Practice (International) (Diploma Paper 1)
The STEP Diploma in International Trust Management is recognised worldwide as the benchmark qualification for those working in the international trusts industry.  The STEP Advanced Certificate in Trust Law and Practice (International) is the first of four papers which comprise the Diploma and the course provides a review of the trust concept and the role, powers and duties of a trustee to enable trust practitioners to manage wealth held in trust in a professional and effective manner in compliance with industry best practice.  This course is delivered virtually with a four day revision course held in June 2022 immediately prior to the exam.

Cost: £1,625
Course Start Date: 18 February 2022
Venue: Online
Duration: 4 months

Further details and registration here.

FATCA/CRS Visits – Preparation and Practical Tips
This one hour session will take delegates through what they can expect of a visit from the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) team of the Guernsey Revenue Service.  Under the bilateral FATCA agreement and the multilateral OECD agreement the Guernsey Revenue Service is the “competent authority” (or regulator) for both FATCA and CRS.  The Revenue Service, specifically the AEOI team, have a responsibility to perform regulatory supervision of reporting entities.  This course will help delegates and their business prepare for the visit.

Cost: £85
Date: 18 February 2022
Venue: GTA University Centre
Length: 09:30 to 10:30

Further details and registration here.

Please contact Camilla Hobbs GTA Programmes Manager for further details on any of the above courses.

Guernsey Finance Industry Update - Tuesday 29th March 2022

2021 presented as many challenges as 2020, but WE ARE GUERNSEY made encouraging progress in its promotional efforts, made a triumphant return to physical events and had plenty of industry success to share.

We invite all our on-island stakeholders and members to join us at St James for our annual Industry Update.

Members of the GF team will give an overview about what the agency has achieved over the past year, take our audience though the process of a promotional campaign, and inform how our plans are shaping up for 2022 and beyond.

SAVE THE DATE - Guernsey Private Wealth Forum 2022

The 2022 Guernsey Private Wealth Forum will take place at the Banking Hall in London on Wednesday 2nd November. 

More information on the theme, speakers and sponsorships will be available in due course. Please click on the button below to view the 2022 Guernsey Finance events calendar.

SPONSOR ARTICLES

Listen to Ruffer Radio – Ruffer round up Q4 2021

In this episode of Ruffer Radio, Investment Director, Matt Smith looks ahead at what investors can expect in 2022.

We briefly review the investments which worked well in Ruffer portfolios last year (and those that didn’t) and assess the opportunities and challenges arising from the return of economic, market and inflation volatility. Please click the button below to listen.

Please contact Rachel Holdsworth with any questions.

Carey Olsen's Russell Clark named in 2022 eprivateclient 50 Most Influential

Carey Olsen Guernsey managing partner Russell Clark has been recognised as a key player in the UK and offshore private client sector by eprivateclient in its annual 50 Most Influential list.

It is the third year in a row that Russell has been named on the list, and he remains the only Guernsey-based lawyer to be included.

Russell, who heads up the trusts and private wealth practice for Carey Olsen in Guernsey, specialises in both contentious and non-contentious trust matters and advising private clients on succession, estate planning and family governance.

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