0:00:02 > 0:00:03We may be shivering,
0:00:03 > 0:00:07but there's one bit of Britain where things are very different -
0:00:07 > 0:00:08the Cayman Islands.
0:00:08 > 0:00:13It's a Caribbean paradise of sun, sea and cocktails,
0:00:13 > 0:00:18but there's something else going on - big money.
0:00:18 > 0:00:21It's one of the most secretive places on earth
0:00:21 > 0:00:23and for one very good reason.
0:00:23 > 0:00:26- Cayman is a tax haven.- Correct.
0:00:26 > 0:00:27Cayman is a tax haven.
0:00:27 > 0:00:31'Or is it that simple? I'm here to get the truth.'
0:00:31 > 0:00:35- Are you saying you're not a tax haven?- We're not a tax haven at all.
0:00:35 > 0:00:40Is what happens here a scandal or is it just how the world does business,
0:00:40 > 0:00:43including many of our household brands?
0:00:44 > 0:00:46I'm Jacques Peretti
0:00:46 > 0:00:49and I want to find out, what does this place mean for all of us?
0:01:05 > 0:01:10I'm coming to a secret bit of Britain, 4,500 miles away,
0:01:10 > 0:01:13and 400 miles south of Florida.
0:01:13 > 0:01:15In Britain, we're obsessed with...
0:01:15 > 0:01:21Tax evasion and tax avoidance. This is an issue whose time has come.
0:01:22 > 0:01:25But on the Cayman Islands, no-one pays a penny.
0:01:27 > 0:01:31And for the first time, they'll be opening their doors to an outsider.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39And while the beaches aren't much like Blackpool
0:01:39 > 0:01:42and the suburbs are a bit more glitzy than Slough,
0:01:42 > 0:01:47the Cayman Islands are well and truly British, with one big difference.
0:01:49 > 0:01:53- So no-one pays tax here, Hyacinth, including you?- No-one pays taxes.
0:01:53 > 0:01:56We're a tax-free haven here, you know.
0:01:56 > 0:02:00Cayman's the same size as Bognor, with the same number of people.
0:02:02 > 0:02:06It's a British Overseas Territory, which means they have
0:02:06 > 0:02:11their own government and a British civil servant watches over them.
0:02:14 > 0:02:16But this Bognor-sized island
0:02:16 > 0:02:20has a staggering one and half trillion pounds in the bank.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23But for the first time, they're letting cameras in.
0:02:23 > 0:02:25After years of being slagged off,
0:02:25 > 0:02:28they want to show the world they've got nothing to hide.
0:02:28 > 0:02:31'I'm going to use this unique opportunity to confront
0:02:31 > 0:02:35'the people who make this tax-free island tick...'
0:02:35 > 0:02:37Explain to me how the system works.
0:02:37 > 0:02:39Yes, but you've got to please turn off the camera.
0:02:39 > 0:02:41'..to discover what life is like for ordinary Brits
0:02:41 > 0:02:43'on this island of the super-rich...'
0:02:43 > 0:02:48There you go - ready meal, no rice, 14.29.
0:02:48 > 0:02:53'..and most importantly, to find out what effect its existence
0:02:53 > 0:02:55'could have on our lives back home.'
0:02:55 > 0:02:57What's going to really happen in Britain
0:02:57 > 0:03:00is that you guys are going to have, like, a social unrest,
0:03:00 > 0:03:03because people there are a lot different from the people here.
0:03:07 > 0:03:11The first thing I need to understand is how this place works.
0:03:12 > 0:03:15I'm meeting millionaire businessman Marcus Cumber,
0:03:15 > 0:03:18whose family connections could help me unlock Cayman's secrets.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23- Hi there, you must be Jacques. - Marcus, nice to meet you.
0:03:23 > 0:03:25- Nice to meet you.- Shall I get in? - Absolutely. Welcome to Cayman.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28Well, we're in West Bay, so let's have some fun.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34'Marcus's grandfather ran this place when the British government
0:03:34 > 0:03:38'first turned Cayman into a tax haven in the 1960s.'
0:03:38 > 0:03:42So here we are, Jacques, at a school named after my grandfather.
0:03:42 > 0:03:44He was obviously very, very honoured.
0:03:44 > 0:03:48The foreign affairs said, "You're going to the Cayman Islands."
0:03:48 > 0:03:50And, of course, in those days you had the globe
0:03:50 > 0:03:52and he looked and he looked and he looked
0:03:52 > 0:03:54and literally it was a little pinpoint that said, "UK."
0:03:56 > 0:04:00'Marcus is going to show me how this little pinpoint was
0:04:00 > 0:04:04'transformed into a paradise for the big business and the super wealthy...
0:04:05 > 0:04:09'..starting with one of Cayman's most exclusive neighbourhoods.'
0:04:09 > 0:04:13This is where I'm hoping to build.
0:04:13 > 0:04:17We've got shipping magnates, we've got Krispy Kreme Doughnuts.
0:04:17 > 0:04:18The guy who owns that.
0:04:18 > 0:04:22You know, some of the most successful lawyers in the world.
0:04:24 > 0:04:28'Of course, Marcus has bagged the best plot for himself.'
0:04:28 > 0:04:30Six bedrooms, eight bathrooms.
0:04:30 > 0:04:34It has a gym, it has a sort of man cave, if you want to call it that,
0:04:34 > 0:04:36it has three swimming pools.
0:04:36 > 0:04:38'And the best thing about an oceanfront mansion...'
0:04:38 > 0:04:42I want to be able to walk around the property here completely naked
0:04:42 > 0:04:45and no-one see me, so we've got the best landscapers as well.
0:04:45 > 0:04:46We've got the same landscaper
0:04:46 > 0:04:48that I'll show you that did the whole of Camana Bay.
0:04:48 > 0:04:51- Can I walk around naked when I'm here?- Absolutely, if you wish to.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54The only people that should see you are people that would be in a boat
0:04:54 > 0:04:55that happened to go by.
0:04:55 > 0:04:57- Right, well...- You'll have to dive for cover.
0:05:02 > 0:05:04Cayman may be beautiful,
0:05:04 > 0:05:07but the world's wealthy and some of our biggest businesses,
0:05:07 > 0:05:12including Tesco, Barclays and BP, are here for another reason...
0:05:13 > 0:05:15..its financial system.
0:05:16 > 0:05:19If you want to understand how Cayman works
0:05:19 > 0:05:22and how the whole global economy works,
0:05:22 > 0:05:26you need to understand one simple little word - offshore.
0:05:32 > 0:05:34It's a British invention
0:05:34 > 0:05:38and it turns everything you think you know about money on its head.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44Given the nod by a man at the Bank of England in 1958
0:05:44 > 0:05:48called George Bolton, offshore is fiendishly clever.
0:05:50 > 0:05:54It meant that certain deals made in London would now be viewed
0:05:54 > 0:05:56as not taking place in London at all...
0:05:59 > 0:06:03..but the first time where business actually happened
0:06:03 > 0:06:06and where regulators said it happened could be different.
0:06:08 > 0:06:13So these deals were happening nowhere at all - in thin air...
0:06:15 > 0:06:19..an unregulated space we now call offshore.
0:06:26 > 0:06:28Offshore changed everything.
0:06:29 > 0:06:34It's not a tax dodge, it's at the heart of how the world does business
0:06:34 > 0:06:39today and the idea would become the basis of Cayman's entire existence.
0:06:40 > 0:06:45So how does offshore work here? Marcus wants to explain it to me.
0:06:46 > 0:06:51It is an amazing lifestyle that you have here, no doubt about it,
0:06:51 > 0:06:52that you've shown me,
0:06:52 > 0:06:55but, you know, to the rest of the world, to the outside world,
0:06:55 > 0:06:58the only reason...the perception is, the only reason
0:06:58 > 0:07:00you can fund it is because Cayman is a tax haven.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03Correct. Cayman is a tax haven. I think it's best
0:07:03 > 0:07:05- if I just pick up a stick and try to show you.- Yeah.
0:07:05 > 0:07:11If we say this circle here is Japan and this circle here is America
0:07:11 > 0:07:15and you've got a company here that wants to buy 10 billion
0:07:15 > 0:07:17- worth of steel over five years... - Right.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20..what will happen is, where do you make that transaction?
0:07:20 > 0:07:22Does it happen here in America or here in Japan?
0:07:22 > 0:07:26No, what happens is they come down to somewhere like Cayman,
0:07:26 > 0:07:29a neutral tax haven, and they open up a holding company.
0:07:29 > 0:07:33So Cayman is providing basically the vehicle for international capitalism
0:07:33 > 0:07:35- to work, essentially?- Correct.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41But it turns out that invisible business transactions
0:07:41 > 0:07:45aren't the only weird thing offshore in Cayman.
0:07:46 > 0:07:49Marcus has one last thing to show me.
0:07:51 > 0:07:54- Those are, um, those are stingrays. - They are stingrays indeed.
0:07:54 > 0:07:56- Behold my Bond moment.- OK.
0:07:58 > 0:08:01Give yourself a big shove but we don't want to land on a stingray.
0:08:01 > 0:08:04- I'll come with you, hang on. - One, two, three, go.
0:08:07 > 0:08:09Whoa!
0:08:09 > 0:08:11So they're having a little frenzy right now.
0:08:13 > 0:08:18'The stingrays coming for tasty bait remind me of only one thing -
0:08:18 > 0:08:20'companies flocking to Cayman.'
0:08:20 > 0:08:23I'm going to call this one Sainsbury's, this one Tesco,
0:08:23 > 0:08:28that one Facebook, this one Manchester United. He can be Disney.
0:08:28 > 0:08:31They've all come to the Cayman Islands.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36'All these companies say they're not here to avoid tax
0:08:36 > 0:08:38'and that they paid their liabilities in the UK.
0:08:40 > 0:08:45'So is it a giant loophole in the sun or is it something else?
0:08:46 > 0:08:49'What's been created here is extraordinary,
0:08:49 > 0:08:51'but it's not the whole story.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53'In fact, it's just the beginning.'
0:09:01 > 0:09:03Marcus comes from a Cayman dynasty,
0:09:03 > 0:09:06but there's plenty of ordinary Brits who've moved here too.
0:09:06 > 0:09:10'What does their life here tell us about how an economy like Cayman's
0:09:10 > 0:09:12'works for ordinary people?'
0:09:13 > 0:09:18- Paula.- Hey.- I'm Jacques.- Hi, pleased to meet you. Paul, Jacques.- Paul.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21- Hello, Paul.- Come on in.- Come in, Jacques.- Cheers, thank you.
0:09:21 > 0:09:25'I'm meeting Manchester's own, Paula and Paul, to find out.'
0:09:25 > 0:09:27Come on, Paul.
0:09:27 > 0:09:29- There you go.- Lovely.
0:09:29 > 0:09:33- Well, a fry-up in 90 degrees.- Yeah!
0:09:34 > 0:09:36Are there lots of Brits out here?
0:09:36 > 0:09:39Yeah, well, can you believe we moved here
0:09:39 > 0:09:43and then the man next door comes out and he's a Manchester United fan
0:09:43 > 0:09:45and we're Manchester City?
0:09:45 > 0:09:46So we were like, "Really?
0:09:46 > 0:09:49"We've come all this way and this is what happens."
0:09:49 > 0:09:51There is another reason for coming here
0:09:51 > 0:09:53- which is you don't pay any tax, do you?- No.
0:09:53 > 0:09:57- Was that an attraction to you? - You know, at the time that we came,
0:09:57 > 0:10:01yeah, we were paying a lot of taxes, corporation tax, all kinds of taxes.
0:10:01 > 0:10:05I worked for British Gas doing payroll,
0:10:05 > 0:10:10- Paul had a construction company.- I had a construction company, roofing.
0:10:10 > 0:10:12'So has the tax-free pay packet paid off?'
0:10:12 > 0:10:13I mean, do you mind me asking...
0:10:13 > 0:10:15- No.- ..but how much do you earn when you're here?
0:10:15 > 0:10:18I would say our average weekly wage between us
0:10:18 > 0:10:22- is...- 1,000.- ..about 1,000 CI.
0:10:22 > 0:10:25- It's about £800 a week.- 800. - About £800 a week.
0:10:27 > 0:10:31'800 quid a week jointly is just over £40,000 a year,
0:10:31 > 0:10:34'the same earnings as an average family in Britain.
0:10:35 > 0:10:39'Paula earns it looking after cruise ship passengers,
0:10:39 > 0:10:44'working all day on a sun-drenched island and paying no tax on it.
0:10:44 > 0:10:50'It sounds like a sweet gig to me, but I'm about to find out.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53'Paula's invited me to try it out for myself.'
0:10:55 > 0:10:59- Tropicana Tours.- Green and yellow bus.- Green and yellow bus.
0:10:59 > 0:11:02- Bus driver John.- John.- John.- John.
0:11:02 > 0:11:04I've lost my lollipop.
0:11:04 > 0:11:08- Right, and your schedule.- And my schedule, oh, my God!- Let's go.
0:11:08 > 0:11:10You walk round with that sign,
0:11:10 > 0:11:14you go to the bathroom with that sign and 21 people will follow you.
0:11:14 > 0:11:18- Oh, my.- So just... - I'm looking forward to that.
0:11:18 > 0:11:22Two, four, six, seven.
0:11:22 > 0:11:27Does a baby count? Stay with me.
0:11:27 > 0:11:30- You're in safe hands.- You want to keep shouting, Jacques.- Yeah.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36'Cayman's tourism industry means that on cruise ship days,
0:11:36 > 0:11:42'10,000 people pour off the boats looking for T-shirts and cocktails.
0:11:44 > 0:11:50'This tiny island is rammed, but Cayman's finance industry
0:11:50 > 0:11:55'has brought 100,000 businesses here, that's 10 for every tourist.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58'I wonder where they all are.'
0:11:58 > 0:12:01Five, six, seven... Oh, start again.
0:12:01 > 0:12:03All right, is everyone ready for their tour?
0:12:03 > 0:12:05- ALL:- Yes!
0:12:05 > 0:12:08I would just like to say a warm welcome to you all.
0:12:08 > 0:12:09It is nice having you with us
0:12:09 > 0:12:14today on our little island of paradise which is Grand Cayman.
0:12:14 > 0:12:16Also, Cayman is tax-free
0:12:16 > 0:12:20and we have over 600 offshore banks on the island today.
0:12:20 > 0:12:24Got all your belongings? Good. Enjoy yourselves. Have a great day.
0:12:26 > 0:12:28Is that it? Have we done it?
0:12:28 > 0:12:31Well, you've got to just make sure everyone's settled.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34It's not the end of your day yet. Why, are you tired?
0:12:36 > 0:12:38'So that wasn't as easy as I thought.
0:12:40 > 0:12:45'Paula works as hard as she did back home and earns the same, but doesn't
0:12:45 > 0:12:49'pay a penny of income tax, so surely she's much better off?'
0:12:49 > 0:12:52- What do you need to buy? - Just something for tea.
0:12:52 > 0:12:58- Let's have a look.- Cod steak, yeah. - And we're living on the ocean.
0:12:58 > 0:13:04- 6.79, which is about £4.50. - That is ridiculous.- Yeah.
0:13:04 > 0:13:09- We have got to get this. - OK, all right, fishfingers.- 11.
0:13:12 > 0:13:14- Shall I get...- We've got to get it, Paul eats it.
0:13:14 > 0:13:17- It's his favourite.- OK. - Got to get them.
0:13:17 > 0:13:22'That's £8.50 for a pack of fishfingers.
0:13:22 > 0:13:25'Why is everything so expensive?'
0:13:25 > 0:13:28So you don't pay taxes, but you burn through the money at the supermarket.
0:13:28 > 0:13:31Yeah, yeah, cos the prices are inflated. I mean, obviously,
0:13:31 > 0:13:33cos of the import tax, they've got to import everything,
0:13:33 > 0:13:35especially for buying British things.
0:13:35 > 0:13:38They're coming in on the planes and boats, but, yeah,
0:13:38 > 0:13:41you've got to eat, Jacques, so what are you going to do?
0:13:41 > 0:13:43- I think we'll head on out. - Definitely.
0:13:43 > 0:13:44'What I'm learning here
0:13:44 > 0:13:47'is that though companies don't pay tax on profits,
0:13:47 > 0:13:51'duty is loaded on to ordinary people's everyday shopping bill.'
0:13:52 > 0:13:59- This is our big shop.- Yeah, oh, one thing, Jacques.- Of course.
0:13:59 > 0:14:06- Eight dollars.- Eight dollars for Hello! That's a bargain.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09- That's quality gossip, isn't it? - Quality gossip.- Gossip at a price.
0:14:09 > 0:14:10And two weeks late.
0:14:12 > 0:14:14I've worked a shift and I'm knackered,
0:14:14 > 0:14:17but I've learnt an important thing about this island.
0:14:17 > 0:14:19Paula doesn't get taxed on her income,
0:14:19 > 0:14:22but she does pay taxes whenever she buys food.
0:14:23 > 0:14:25So even though her pay packet is the same
0:14:25 > 0:14:27as when she worked for British Gas,
0:14:27 > 0:14:29the only way Paula's got more in her pocket
0:14:29 > 0:14:31is by cutting back on her spending.
0:14:33 > 0:14:36I'm discovering that in spite of its tax breaks,
0:14:36 > 0:14:41this island doesn't necessarily work so well for ordinary people.
0:14:41 > 0:14:43Does it work for the rich?
0:14:45 > 0:14:48To really understand Cayman, I need to find out.
0:14:49 > 0:14:52If I want to become a Cayman resident and pay no tax,
0:14:52 > 0:14:54one of the ways to do it is to buy a house here,
0:14:54 > 0:14:56so I'm going to meet Michael Joseph,
0:14:56 > 0:14:58who deals with millions of pounds' worth
0:14:58 > 0:14:59of property every year.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03- Hi.- Hi, Michael. Nice to meet you. - Absolutely. You too. Welcome aboard.
0:15:03 > 0:15:08- Cheers. Come on down. Thanks. Thank you.- This is Pablo...- Hi, Pablo.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11- He's my... Well, I don't know. - He's your boss.
0:15:11 > 0:15:15Well, whenever I get on the boat, he has to come with me.
0:15:15 > 0:15:18'Michael is Cayman's number one estate agent.'
0:15:18 > 0:15:22We've got, on Seven Mile Beach, which is at the high, high demand
0:15:22 > 0:15:27and low supply, a running foot of beachfront there
0:15:27 > 0:15:30- is going to go from sort of 100,000-200,000.- Wow!
0:15:30 > 0:15:33Up here, is probably the second choice
0:15:33 > 0:15:36as far as demand is concerned.
0:15:36 > 0:15:42'An average four-bed in Cayman - nearly £2 million.
0:15:42 > 0:15:45'What's their real attraction -
0:15:45 > 0:15:48'the golden sand, the spectacular views
0:15:48 > 0:15:52'or a bricks-and-mortar passport to a tax-free status?'
0:15:52 > 0:15:54Looking at the people who are buying these properties,
0:15:54 > 0:15:56you could probably add a nought
0:15:56 > 0:15:58and actually still afford it, pretty much.
0:15:58 > 0:16:02So if they're buying the property and they're becoming a Cayman resident,
0:16:02 > 0:16:05then actually the benefits they're getting from that are probably
0:16:05 > 0:16:08all the financial benefits, you know, the tax benefits,
0:16:08 > 0:16:10- that's kind of what it's about, do you see what I mean?- Yes.
0:16:10 > 0:16:13It does make sense and, again, I don't want to broach
0:16:13 > 0:16:16too much into the tax implications or advantages.
0:16:16 > 0:16:22- My job here is to sell lifestyles and...- But is that what people...
0:16:22 > 0:16:24- You're...- I do get an awful lot of people that come here
0:16:24 > 0:16:27and they investigate and I direct them to different attorneys,
0:16:27 > 0:16:28whether it's a tax attorney
0:16:28 > 0:16:31and I encourage them to speak to their own tax attorney,
0:16:31 > 0:16:33whether it's stateside or in Europe.
0:16:34 > 0:16:36'With all this talk of lawyers,
0:16:36 > 0:16:40'Michael seems very keen to reassure me there's nothing shady going on.'
0:16:41 > 0:16:44I mean, I'm asking you about the sort of people who are moving here
0:16:44 > 0:16:47because they want to get the tax benefits and all the tax haven stuff,
0:16:47 > 0:16:50do you think Cayman gets a bit of a bum rap in a way because...?
0:16:50 > 0:16:52Gosh, absolutely, Cayman, you know...
0:16:52 > 0:16:54It's the same as when you're watching these films
0:16:54 > 0:16:58and it's some sort of terrorist chase in Brazil or something
0:16:58 > 0:17:01and then you can almost predict exactly when they're going to say,
0:17:01 > 0:17:03"Well, we've got to wire the funds to the Caymans."
0:17:03 > 0:17:06It's like, really, how many times have we heard it? It's just so...
0:17:06 > 0:17:09It's harder to open up a bank account in the Cayman Islands
0:17:09 > 0:17:11than it is anywhere else in the world.
0:17:11 > 0:17:14Now, admittedly, yes, of course, back in the day,
0:17:14 > 0:17:15in the '60s and '70s,
0:17:15 > 0:17:19there were those terrible stories of wet money in suitcases that
0:17:19 > 0:17:24came off Noriega's boats, but again, for the last 15, 20 years,
0:17:24 > 0:17:26it's impossible for that stuff to happen any more.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29'One way to get Cayman residency
0:17:29 > 0:17:35'and that tax-free lifestyle is to have an annual income of £94,000
0:17:35 > 0:17:38'and to invest £390,000 on the island,
0:17:38 > 0:17:41'which could mean buying a house.
0:17:41 > 0:17:45'Back home, 390 grand gets you a semi in Croydon,
0:17:45 > 0:17:47'here it gets you Cayman residency.'
0:17:47 > 0:17:49I love that one, that's really...
0:17:49 > 0:17:55- Visualise it, visualise it. It will be yours.- OK. A suitcase of cash.
0:17:55 > 0:17:58No, that doesn't happen any more. That does not...
0:17:58 > 0:18:00Seriously, that does not happen any more.
0:18:00 > 0:18:02That was back in the days when...
0:18:02 > 0:18:06- Well, you've called your dog Pablo after Pablo Escobar.- No, it's not...
0:18:06 > 0:18:07There's a little influence,
0:18:07 > 0:18:10but that's just the comedy factor, that's all.
0:18:10 > 0:18:13- It's nothing to do with Pablo... - OK.- ..the true Pablo Escobar.- No.
0:18:15 > 0:18:17What Michael's shown me is this -
0:18:17 > 0:18:22unbelievable homes, jaw-dropping homes, on a James Bond island
0:18:22 > 0:18:25where finance is the only game in town.
0:18:27 > 0:18:30So I've discovered a lot from the three people I've met,
0:18:30 > 0:18:34but to uncover how this place really works and its importance for us
0:18:34 > 0:18:38back in Britain, I'm going to have to do some investigating of my own.
0:18:38 > 0:18:42You'd think the first step to taking advantage of this place is
0:18:42 > 0:18:43to get a bank account.
0:18:43 > 0:18:46Cayman bank accounts are famous the world over,
0:18:46 > 0:18:48so how easy is it to get one?
0:18:48 > 0:18:53Michael told me it's harder here than anywhere else in the world,
0:18:53 > 0:18:55so let's find out.
0:19:00 > 0:19:04Wow! That is amazingly simple,
0:19:04 > 0:19:07it's unbelievable how easy it is to open a bank account here.
0:19:07 > 0:19:10Basically, I was just given this piece of paper which says...
0:19:10 > 0:19:14They've helpfully highlighted, in case I'm a complete idiot,
0:19:14 > 0:19:16just the four things that you need.
0:19:16 > 0:19:19Bank reference letter from a bank you've been dealing with,
0:19:19 > 0:19:20an employment letter,
0:19:20 > 0:19:22some bank statements from the past three years,
0:19:22 > 0:19:26photocopy of your driver's licence or a passport
0:19:26 > 0:19:29and a recent utility bill and that is it.
0:19:29 > 0:19:31Once you've got those things,
0:19:31 > 0:19:35you have yourself a bank account here in the Cayman Islands.
0:19:35 > 0:19:38But before you pack your bags, a reality check.
0:19:38 > 0:19:42Like a bog-standard bank account back in Britain, this is just a place
0:19:42 > 0:19:47to put money and they'll need to check I'm not a money launderer.
0:19:48 > 0:19:52To get Cayman's tax-free benefits, you need to be a resident here, but
0:19:52 > 0:19:56is being here something a British business needs to worry about?
0:19:56 > 0:20:00We know profits registered in Cayman are tax-free,
0:20:00 > 0:20:04so how do companies bag that benefit?
0:20:04 > 0:20:06I've heard it's as easy to buy a Cayman company online
0:20:06 > 0:20:08as it is to buy a DVD.
0:20:10 > 0:20:15You can set up the company in Cayman from anywhere in the world.
0:20:15 > 0:20:17I need a shareholder and a director
0:20:17 > 0:20:20and that could be the same person, so I guess that's me.
0:20:22 > 0:20:24No taxes. That's nice of them.
0:20:29 > 0:20:32All I've got to do now is register it.
0:20:32 > 0:20:34That takes up to 24 hours.
0:20:34 > 0:20:3624-hour turnaround.
0:20:36 > 0:20:41For 487.80. Done.
0:20:41 > 0:20:45There will be due diligence checks, so now I could go to bed
0:20:45 > 0:20:49and tomorrow be the proud owner of a Cayman registered company.
0:20:54 > 0:20:57So do I actually have to have offices here?
0:20:57 > 0:21:01To find out and to get closer to how Cayman really works,
0:21:01 > 0:21:05I'm going to track down some brands we all know back in Britain
0:21:05 > 0:21:07that have linked companies here.
0:21:09 > 0:21:12I need to find the offices of Manchester United Football Club.
0:21:12 > 0:21:13Do you know where they are?
0:21:13 > 0:21:16I would presume the offices for Manchester United club must be
0:21:16 > 0:21:18in Manchester, England.
0:21:18 > 0:21:20Tesco? What about Disney?
0:21:20 > 0:21:22- Burger King?- Yes.- Yes.
0:21:22 > 0:21:23I haven't seen a Disney office here.
0:21:23 > 0:21:27- Have you seen them here?- No, sir.- No?
0:21:27 > 0:21:30But is it their offices or is it just a branch of Burger King?
0:21:30 > 0:21:31It's just a branch of Burger King.
0:21:31 > 0:21:36'As always, if you want to know where something is, ask a taxi driver.'
0:21:36 > 0:21:40- They're based here. - What, in one of the banks, or what?
0:21:40 > 0:21:41Yeah, they're...
0:21:41 > 0:21:44Have you heard of any of these companies? Do you know about them?
0:21:44 > 0:21:46These companies are basically undercover,
0:21:46 > 0:21:52- so you won't see them physical.- That seems to be the... All undercover.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55- That's how the world is. - That's how the world is.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59Andrew and his mate basically said that the companies here
0:21:59 > 0:22:03are undercover, so that's what I'm looking for - undercover companies.
0:22:03 > 0:22:04Everyone here knows what the deal is.
0:22:04 > 0:22:06The only people who don't know what the deal is
0:22:06 > 0:22:07is us back in Britain.
0:22:07 > 0:22:10When even the taxi drivers can't help,
0:22:10 > 0:22:14where do you begin to look for an undercover company?
0:22:14 > 0:22:17It turns out that just at the end of the high street
0:22:17 > 0:22:19is Cayman's most notorious building -
0:22:19 > 0:22:22Ugland House.
0:22:22 > 0:22:25President Obama picked on this place as the symbol of everything
0:22:25 > 0:22:28that's wrong with the tax haven system.
0:22:28 > 0:22:31You've got a building in the Cayman Islands that supposedly
0:22:31 > 0:22:33houses 12,000 corporations.
0:22:33 > 0:22:37That's either the biggest building or the biggest tax scam on record.
0:22:37 > 0:22:42In fact, Obama got it wrong - there are nearly 20,000 companies in there.
0:22:47 > 0:22:50'When the island struggles to fit 10,000 tourists,
0:22:50 > 0:22:55'how on earth does a single building hold almost 20,000 companies?
0:22:55 > 0:22:57'I'm going to find out.'
0:22:57 > 0:22:59- Hi, there.- Morning.- Hello.
0:22:59 > 0:23:03- I wondered if I could come in? - No, sir.
0:23:03 > 0:23:05I'm sorry, but this is private property
0:23:05 > 0:23:07and there's no filming, it's not allowed, I'm sorry.
0:23:07 > 0:23:11Oh, OK, because... Why is that? Who owns the building? Do you know?
0:23:12 > 0:23:15I mean, there are nearly 20,000 companies in here, aren't there?
0:23:15 > 0:23:16- Is that right?- Yes.
0:23:16 > 0:23:19And who should I speak to? Is there anyone I can speak to here?
0:23:19 > 0:23:21Can you please turn off the camera, sir?
0:23:22 > 0:23:24So it's pretty clear that the polite
0:23:24 > 0:23:27but very firm security guard is not letting me in.
0:23:27 > 0:23:29There are nearly 20,000...
0:23:29 > 0:23:3320,000 companies registered in that one building
0:23:33 > 0:23:36and I can tell you looking through the window, I saw a lot of desks
0:23:36 > 0:23:40but there wasn't a single person sitting at any of them.
0:23:42 > 0:23:45Of course, there are people working in Ugland House,
0:23:45 > 0:23:48lawyers looking after all those companies
0:23:48 > 0:23:52and I'm going to meet someone to get answers on how one building
0:23:52 > 0:23:55can become a multi-million pound Tardis.
0:23:55 > 0:23:59They almost never speak to the media, but someone from the very heart
0:23:59 > 0:24:01of Cayman's finance has agreed to meet me.
0:24:05 > 0:24:09'Jude Scott used to be CEO of the law firm in Ugland House.'
0:24:09 > 0:24:11Hello, Jacques. Welcome. Come right in.
0:24:11 > 0:24:15'Now he speaks for the whole of Cayman's finance industry.'
0:24:15 > 0:24:17All these British brands with registered companies
0:24:17 > 0:24:20here in Cayman, what are they doing here?
0:24:20 > 0:24:22You know, it would depend on the individual company,
0:24:22 > 0:24:23but, for example,
0:24:23 > 0:24:26it can be circumstances where they're looking to do expansion...
0:24:26 > 0:24:29- So you think they're...- ..and they're looking to raise funds.
0:24:29 > 0:24:31They can also be companies that are
0:24:31 > 0:24:33looking to expand their investment opportunities.
0:24:33 > 0:24:36Are you really telling me with a straight face that
0:24:36 > 0:24:38it isn't anything other than tax avoidance?
0:24:40 > 0:24:43What I'm saying to you is it very much depends on particular
0:24:43 > 0:24:47organisations as to the reasons why they're using the Cayman Islands.
0:24:47 > 0:24:54Cayman has this reputation as being this place of massive tax avoidance
0:24:54 > 0:24:59and President Obama actually pinpointed Cayman specifically.
0:24:59 > 0:25:03Well, you know, it's fascinating, there are actually buildings
0:25:03 > 0:25:07in the US, in Delaware, that house 110,000.
0:25:07 > 0:25:09Delaware was a competitor, you know,
0:25:09 > 0:25:11there are lots of other tax havens across the globe,
0:25:11 > 0:25:15not just the Cayman Islands and so do you think, in a way,
0:25:15 > 0:25:18a lot of these comments is because they are playing politics,
0:25:18 > 0:25:19do you think?
0:25:19 > 0:25:23I think quite often they're politically-motivated comments.
0:25:23 > 0:25:26'Cayman is singled out by critics,
0:25:26 > 0:25:30'but the truth is that it's competing with tax havens across the world.
0:25:32 > 0:25:36'They hope a cleaner reputation will give them an edge over their rivals.'
0:25:36 > 0:25:38Say I was a British viewer and I was watching this show
0:25:38 > 0:25:42and I just felt really furious with the way these companies operate.
0:25:42 > 0:25:46Many years ago, the question was, you know,
0:25:46 > 0:25:50"Is there tax evasion taking place with a particular organisation?"
0:25:50 > 0:25:54Tax evasion being black and white, it's either legal or not legal.
0:25:54 > 0:25:59That discussion has now extended to, "Well, it may not be illegal,
0:25:59 > 0:26:01"but is it unpatriotic?"
0:26:01 > 0:26:05And that's where it becomes a very, very difficult question.
0:26:08 > 0:26:11Well, as you could see, Jude is a pretty smooth defender
0:26:11 > 0:26:14of his industry and of what goes on in this island.
0:26:14 > 0:26:16He says that they're just sticking to the laws,
0:26:16 > 0:26:19so maybe in order to get some answers,
0:26:19 > 0:26:22I need to speak to the people who actually do make the laws.
0:26:27 > 0:26:32The thing about Cayman is that it's got its own government and premier,
0:26:32 > 0:26:36but it's also got a governor who's a British civil servant,
0:26:36 > 0:26:38so who really calls the shots here?
0:26:41 > 0:26:43Time for some phone bashing.
0:26:43 > 0:26:46I'll start by trying to track down Cayman's premier,
0:26:46 > 0:26:48a guy called Alden McLaughlin.
0:26:49 > 0:26:51All right, that's brilliant, thanks.
0:26:51 > 0:26:54So I've just found out that I've got a meeting
0:26:54 > 0:26:57with the most important person on the island, the premier.
0:27:01 > 0:27:05'But before I meet the big man, let me give you the lowdown.
0:27:05 > 0:27:11'Cayman isn't a one-off. It's part of a global web of tax havens.
0:27:11 > 0:27:16'The system here is clever, not criminal. It's all legal.
0:27:16 > 0:27:19'At the last count in 2013,
0:27:19 > 0:27:22'an NGO study found that 98 out of the top 100 firms
0:27:22 > 0:27:26'on the UK stock exchange had companies in tax havens,
0:27:26 > 0:27:29'though many of the companies we contacted told us
0:27:29 > 0:27:33'they aren't using Cayman to avoid tax liabilities back home.'
0:27:33 > 0:27:36Wow, that looks good. What are you cooking?
0:27:36 > 0:27:39- Local lobster tails and vegetables. - Wow, can I have some in a minute?
0:27:39 > 0:27:40You must!
0:27:43 > 0:27:45What we think of one firm is actually made
0:27:45 > 0:27:48up of lots and lots of different companies.
0:27:50 > 0:27:54Tesco told us it's had four Cayman subsidiaries. One, two, three, four.
0:27:54 > 0:27:59National Grid told us it's had six. One, two, three, four, five, six.
0:28:01 > 0:28:03BP has had eight.
0:28:05 > 0:28:08Barclays has said they've had more than 100.
0:28:15 > 0:28:18They've all told us it's not for tax advantage.
0:28:18 > 0:28:23At the last count, those top 100 businesses on the UK stock exchange
0:28:23 > 0:28:29between them had a whopping 8,000 tax haven registered companies.
0:28:29 > 0:28:32Now, businesses may have registered companies in Cayman
0:28:32 > 0:28:34for all sorts of reasons,
0:28:34 > 0:28:38but some have pulled off some breathtaking creative accounting.
0:28:39 > 0:28:41Take Facebook.
0:28:41 > 0:28:45Facebook opened two companies in Dublin, Facebook Ireland Limited
0:28:45 > 0:28:48and Facebook Ireland Holdings Limited.
0:28:48 > 0:28:52Facebook Ireland Limited made £1.4 billion.
0:28:59 > 0:29:00Thank you.
0:29:00 > 0:29:04But then they got charged £1.4 billion, which would have been
0:29:04 > 0:29:09unlucky if the company charging them hadn't also been owned by Facebook -
0:29:09 > 0:29:11Facebook Holdings Limited.
0:29:13 > 0:29:17After paying that, this company made no profit
0:29:17 > 0:29:21and this company made a profit of £1.4 billion.
0:29:21 > 0:29:25And this one's shareholders are other Facebook companies,
0:29:25 > 0:29:28including one in the Cayman Islands.
0:29:28 > 0:29:30But guess where the money went?
0:29:30 > 0:29:34It went to tax-free...Cayman.
0:29:37 > 0:29:39Mmm! That's good.
0:29:44 > 0:29:46Facebook says the company
0:29:46 > 0:29:49complies with all relevant corporate regulations.
0:29:49 > 0:29:52Strategies like this are perfectly legal,
0:29:52 > 0:29:55but because they're so shameless, they're also hush-hush.
0:29:56 > 0:29:59In fact, Cayman's even got a law that means
0:29:59 > 0:30:03I could be arrested for asking certain questions about business.
0:30:03 > 0:30:05Just how serious are these laws?
0:30:05 > 0:30:07I'm going to find out.
0:30:09 > 0:30:10We're a financial centre,
0:30:10 > 0:30:12so data protection and security
0:30:12 > 0:30:16of people's private information is very, very high over here.
0:30:16 > 0:30:18- Right, yeah.- So it's not something they welcome,
0:30:18 > 0:30:20people being intrusive with their banking affairs.
0:30:20 > 0:30:23- Where are you from? You don't sound like you're from here. - No, I'm from London.
0:30:23 > 0:30:25So I've been here four years now. Love it.
0:30:25 > 0:30:28Any retired cops in the UK, if you want to come to a beautiful island
0:30:28 > 0:30:31on a tax-free salary, then come to Cayman.
0:30:33 > 0:30:36So, a building with 20,000 companies,
0:30:36 > 0:30:41a business that charges itself £1 billion,
0:30:41 > 0:30:44and a place where you can't even ask about any of it.
0:30:44 > 0:30:48But I keep being told that what happens on Cayman is above board.
0:30:49 > 0:30:51I want to get to the bottom of it,
0:30:51 > 0:30:54and I've been told there's a British journalist here
0:30:54 > 0:30:56who used to work on the tabloids.
0:30:56 > 0:30:59Surely if anyone knows, Paul will.
0:30:59 > 0:31:02He's invited me on to his show.
0:31:02 > 0:31:04I'm not too sure what to expect.
0:31:04 > 0:31:07- Nice to meet you, Paul.- You, too. - And you are?- Matt.- Matt, nice to meet you.
0:31:07 > 0:31:09Can I come and sit with you?
0:31:09 > 0:31:13Turns out these days, this former News Of The World reporter
0:31:13 > 0:31:16is more Gary Lineker than Jeremy Paxman.
0:31:18 > 0:31:21On The Premier League Show tonight, we pick the best goal of the season.
0:31:21 > 0:31:23Plus we have a real life
0:31:23 > 0:31:27proper, professional, serious television journalist.
0:31:27 > 0:31:29- So, are you an Arsenal fan?- Mm.
0:31:29 > 0:31:32- You work at the BBC?- Indeed. - And I've googled you -
0:31:32 > 0:31:34- you do a bit of work on the Guardian.- Mm.
0:31:34 > 0:31:36- Do you have any friends? - HE LAUGHS
0:31:36 > 0:31:38Well, I hope so. I've got a few friends.
0:31:38 > 0:31:40Why? What's wrong with the BBC? HE LAUGHS
0:31:40 > 0:31:42Is the Guardian still going?
0:31:42 > 0:31:44It is. Is the News Of The World still going, Paul?!
0:31:44 > 0:31:46- Don't even go there. - THEY LAUGH
0:31:50 > 0:31:53- You think that this was accidental? - It was a lucky toe-poke.
0:31:53 > 0:31:56Lucky toe-poke. Now is the time to turn it over,
0:31:56 > 0:31:58create the Jack Wilshere goal. Off you go.
0:31:58 > 0:32:01So the ball's coming through, here we go. And look at this...
0:32:01 > 0:32:03Ohhh, it didn't go in!
0:32:03 > 0:32:05Enough of that. He's off. Thanks very much, stay tuned.
0:32:05 > 0:32:08Next week, we're going to have a little bit more -
0:32:08 > 0:32:10I'm sure we'll find something to talk about without him.
0:32:10 > 0:32:13Now the cameras have stopped rolling,
0:32:13 > 0:32:15I get to ask MY questions.
0:32:15 > 0:32:17What do you boys do when you don't do this?
0:32:17 > 0:32:20You're a journalist, Paul! I thought you'd be, like,
0:32:20 > 0:32:22investigating all the banks and all that business.
0:32:22 > 0:32:24- Do you not do that? - There's nothing to investigate.
0:32:24 > 0:32:28- Cayman's clean as a whistle. - Is that right?- Yeah.
0:32:28 > 0:32:33Thankfully I haven't got the kind of money to know
0:32:33 > 0:32:35much about that, or what's going on.
0:32:35 > 0:32:38I thought that Paul was going to be an investigative journalist
0:32:38 > 0:32:42and that he was here exposing or investigating
0:32:42 > 0:32:45what's going on at Cayman, but it turns out
0:32:45 > 0:32:49that he plays Subbuteo on a round table.
0:32:50 > 0:32:52Why isn't Paul chasing the story?
0:32:52 > 0:32:54- Cheers, guys.- Cheers.- Slainte.
0:32:54 > 0:32:57- This is my home, and it's tiny.- Yeah.
0:32:57 > 0:33:00You know, you guys have experienced just walking around bars,
0:33:00 > 0:33:04just going to the supermarkets, and everybody knows everybody.
0:33:04 > 0:33:06So what do I want to do? Short-term gain?
0:33:06 > 0:33:08Sorry, short-term gain, long-term loss?
0:33:08 > 0:33:11Yeah, bang, look at me - I've exposed this, I've exposed that.
0:33:11 > 0:33:12Bang, finished.
0:33:12 > 0:33:16And I've seen it and done it, and if you like, I've retired.
0:33:16 > 0:33:18I've retired to the Caribbean,
0:33:18 > 0:33:20we're on the telly, talking about football.
0:33:20 > 0:33:23It's loopholes, isn't it? You know, that's what people are doing here.
0:33:23 > 0:33:26They're exploiting loopholes that are perfectly legal.
0:33:26 > 0:33:29- There's a difference between tax avoidance and tax...- Evasion.
0:33:29 > 0:33:32Evasion. There's a huge difference. I mean, I'll take you
0:33:32 > 0:33:34to a pillar box over there, and it's a postbox in a wall,
0:33:34 > 0:33:36and that's Manchester United.
0:33:36 > 0:33:38That's Manchester United.
0:33:38 > 0:33:40I'll take you to another postbox in a wall,
0:33:40 > 0:33:42and that's Facebook.
0:33:42 > 0:33:44You know, but these guys
0:33:44 > 0:33:46are not doing anything illegal.
0:33:46 > 0:33:49You know, they're just using the system.
0:33:49 > 0:33:51Paul's been pretty clear.
0:33:51 > 0:33:53Companies here work within the law.
0:33:56 > 0:34:00So now I need to go meet the man responsible for the law -
0:34:00 > 0:34:02Cayman's premier.
0:34:02 > 0:34:06How could he justify the way British businesses use his island?
0:34:08 > 0:34:11Cayman has a reputation, rightly or wrongly,
0:34:11 > 0:34:13around the world for being very secretive,
0:34:13 > 0:34:16for never letting people in, you know, finding out.
0:34:16 > 0:34:18But actually, I'm here. You've let me in.
0:34:18 > 0:34:21So I'm wondering, why have you let me in to interview you?
0:34:21 > 0:34:23Why have you opened your doors to me?
0:34:23 > 0:34:26Well, I'm hoping to help dispel this...
0:34:26 > 0:34:31this perception that somehow we have secrets to hide in Cayman.
0:34:31 > 0:34:33If there are, I don't know anything about them.
0:34:33 > 0:34:36We have tax exchange information agreements
0:34:36 > 0:34:38with more than 80 countries in the world.
0:34:38 > 0:34:41If you want to hide your tax, Cayman's not the place to come to.
0:34:41 > 0:34:44It has been estimated that legal tax avoidance
0:34:44 > 0:34:49keeps £20 billion out of the UK Treasury every year.
0:34:49 > 0:34:53That's exactly the same amount being cut by government departments
0:34:53 > 0:34:57delivering services to us in the next four years.
0:34:57 > 0:35:00What would you say to British viewers whose public services
0:35:00 > 0:35:02are being denigrated as a result
0:35:02 > 0:35:06of companies putting their profits through Cayman?
0:35:06 > 0:35:10Well, again, I think most of that is a misconception. But...
0:35:10 > 0:35:12Well, where's the misconception
0:35:12 > 0:35:16if literally they do not pay taxes in Britain
0:35:16 > 0:35:18because they have routed their profits
0:35:18 > 0:35:21through companies that are registered here?
0:35:21 > 0:35:24The misconception is that whatever is due
0:35:24 > 0:35:28in terms of taxes to the United Kingdom or any other country
0:35:28 > 0:35:30is payable in those countries,
0:35:30 > 0:35:33and they won't be allowed to
0:35:33 > 0:35:37stash away ill-gotten gains here.
0:35:38 > 0:35:42- Are you saying you're not a tax haven?- We're not a tax haven at all.
0:35:42 > 0:35:45- Not at all.- Say the EU said, "Right, we need to shut this place down."
0:35:45 > 0:35:49Who would then make the call? You, or would it be the UK government?
0:35:49 > 0:35:53Ultimately the UK can, because they have the overriding responsibility.
0:35:53 > 0:35:57Obviously the UK can, and have in the past, put pressure on us
0:35:57 > 0:36:00to do various things.
0:36:00 > 0:36:03So there is always a certain tension there.
0:36:03 > 0:36:06Because in some respects, obviously,
0:36:06 > 0:36:10the Cayman Islands is in competition with the City of London.
0:36:10 > 0:36:13Interviewing the premier was basically experiencing
0:36:13 > 0:36:15that pass the parcel of responsibility thing
0:36:15 > 0:36:18that you get here. "Not really my problem, you know?"
0:36:20 > 0:36:22Now we're getting to it.
0:36:22 > 0:36:25The premier has made it clear it's the UK government, not him,
0:36:25 > 0:36:28that has the final say on what happens on Cayman.
0:36:28 > 0:36:31And if we want the profits and the tax revenue
0:36:31 > 0:36:34that come through here to come to Britain instead
0:36:34 > 0:36:37and pay for our teachers and nurses,
0:36:37 > 0:36:39we need to deal with it.
0:36:41 > 0:36:43So let's rewind and find out
0:36:43 > 0:36:45how the whole thing happened.
0:36:45 > 0:36:50It was Britain that turned Cayman into a tax haven in the first place.
0:36:50 > 0:36:53Why on earth did they think it was a good idea?
0:36:55 > 0:36:59There's a story told here about how in a shipwreck 200 years ago,
0:36:59 > 0:37:02the people of Cayman saved a member of the royal family from drowning.
0:37:02 > 0:37:06As a reward, the King said that Cayman would never be taxed.
0:37:06 > 0:37:09It's a great story, but it's not true.
0:37:09 > 0:37:12Britain did make Cayman a tax-free island -
0:37:12 > 0:37:15not out of gratitude, but because they had a plan.
0:37:18 > 0:37:21With the end of empire, British colonies faced a choice.
0:37:21 > 0:37:25Many, like Jamaica, chose independence.
0:37:25 > 0:37:28But Cayman opted to become a British dependency,
0:37:28 > 0:37:31and our government had a new role for it.
0:37:32 > 0:37:34Laws passed in the '60s,
0:37:34 > 0:37:36when Marcus' grandfather was in charge,
0:37:36 > 0:37:39made Cayman a fully-fledged tax haven
0:37:39 > 0:37:41under British jurisdiction.
0:37:41 > 0:37:45Countries like Switzerland had been doing this for years,
0:37:45 > 0:37:48but now Britain was muscling in, and the hope was that our economy
0:37:48 > 0:37:51would benefit from all this money sloshing through Cayman.
0:37:53 > 0:37:55But it didn't.
0:37:55 > 0:37:58And incredibly, neither did Cayman.
0:37:58 > 0:38:02Because that £1.5 trillion banked here today
0:38:02 > 0:38:05doesn't belong to the Cayman government.
0:38:05 > 0:38:08It belongs to the corporations, the banks and the hedge funds
0:38:08 > 0:38:10that use this place.
0:38:10 > 0:38:12If shared out,
0:38:12 > 0:38:16every person who lives here would have millions of pounds each.
0:38:16 > 0:38:19But the reality is very different.
0:38:21 > 0:38:24At the far end of the island is a town called Hell.
0:38:24 > 0:38:27It's named after this weird, spiky rock formation,
0:38:27 > 0:38:29and it's become a tourist attraction.
0:38:29 > 0:38:33But the bit of Hell that the tourists don't see is just over there.
0:38:37 > 0:38:39It's the poor side of Cayman.
0:38:39 > 0:38:42I want to find out what life is like there.
0:38:43 > 0:38:47Because Cayman is an island of great inequality,
0:38:47 > 0:38:50something many are worried about back in Britain.
0:38:53 > 0:38:56Emily is a 67-year-old retired civil servant.
0:38:56 > 0:39:00She worked hard for 40 years to provide for her family.
0:39:03 > 0:39:05Emily, I'm Jacques.
0:39:05 > 0:39:08'Her daughter and three grandchildren live with her.
0:39:08 > 0:39:10'But they're about to become homeless.'
0:39:10 > 0:39:12- May I come in?- Yes, sir.
0:39:12 > 0:39:15Emily's pension no longer covers her mortgage,
0:39:15 > 0:39:17so they're all being evicted.
0:39:17 > 0:39:21Following a hurricane, the house is barely habitable,
0:39:21 > 0:39:24but they have nowhere else to go.
0:39:24 > 0:39:25Been from high...
0:39:25 > 0:39:27Oh, my goodness, yeah.
0:39:27 > 0:39:29So the ceiling must have collapsed.
0:39:29 > 0:39:32- Did the ceiling collapse here? - Yes, sir.- Right.
0:39:32 > 0:39:35'It's so damp you can hardly breathe.'
0:39:35 > 0:39:37So that's pretty bad mould, isn't it, there?
0:39:37 > 0:39:40Yes, and every time you clean it, it comes right back.
0:39:40 > 0:39:41Yeah, of course.
0:39:41 > 0:39:45- And the ceiling looks like it's kind of bowing as well.- Yes.
0:39:45 > 0:39:49- So is the roof...- The roof is leaking.- The roof is leaking, yeah.
0:39:49 > 0:39:52And for this, her mortgage repayments
0:39:52 > 0:39:55are £1,500 a month -
0:39:55 > 0:39:59more than twice what the average British family pays.
0:39:59 > 0:40:02I mean, are there no social services here to look after...?
0:40:02 > 0:40:05- Yeah, but they... - I mean, can they not rehouse?
0:40:05 > 0:40:07Surely, you've got two kids with asthma,
0:40:07 > 0:40:10you've got mould in this house like this...
0:40:10 > 0:40:12They don't give a damn.
0:40:12 > 0:40:15The prices for everyday things - for food, for transport and so on -
0:40:15 > 0:40:17- are high here, aren't they? - Yes, sir.- Yes.
0:40:17 > 0:40:19And that's how the government raises its money,
0:40:19 > 0:40:21by having those taxes high.
0:40:21 > 0:40:25But they don't make the big companies pay tax.
0:40:25 > 0:40:28So is it fair, do you think? Is it a good system,
0:40:28 > 0:40:31where they're raising the taxes by keeping
0:40:31 > 0:40:33the prices of food and so on high?
0:40:33 > 0:40:36- Does that work?- No.- No, it doesn't. No.- It doesn't work?
0:40:36 > 0:40:39Not for a poorer class of people, it doesn't work.
0:40:39 > 0:40:44And Cayman is the fifth richest country in all the world,
0:40:44 > 0:40:46and you're going to tell me
0:40:46 > 0:40:48that they're so poor that they can't help?
0:40:48 > 0:40:51At least I've got a little bed that I can sleep in, right?
0:40:51 > 0:40:53I know, Emily. I know.
0:40:53 > 0:40:58- This island has £1.5 trillion coming through it.- Right.- Yes.
0:40:58 > 0:41:02And you've got damp on your walls and mould on your walls.
0:41:02 > 0:41:06Are people angry here? You know, do they have a voice?
0:41:06 > 0:41:09- Is there any...- No.- No, we don't. - We don't have a voice.
0:41:09 > 0:41:12And then they tell you, "Oh, Cayman, it doesn't want to work."
0:41:12 > 0:41:13What could they do?
0:41:13 > 0:41:16What could the government do to make your life better?
0:41:16 > 0:41:18Help you better, sir.
0:41:27 > 0:41:31The life that Emily and her daughter are living here in this house
0:41:31 > 0:41:34is the life that any family living in poverty in Britain is living.
0:41:34 > 0:41:37The difference being that in Britain, we have a welfare state.
0:41:37 > 0:41:39We have a safety net.
0:41:39 > 0:41:41They don't have one here - they have charity.
0:41:41 > 0:41:43I said to Emily,
0:41:43 > 0:41:46"What could the government do to sort out this situation?"
0:41:46 > 0:41:49She said, as a joke, "They could give us £1 million."
0:41:49 > 0:41:52Well, guess what? They actually could give them £1 million.
0:41:52 > 0:41:55They could give them £27 million each,
0:41:55 > 0:41:59every person on this island, because that's what this island is worth.
0:41:59 > 0:42:01£1.5 trillion.
0:42:01 > 0:42:04But actually, guess what? They can't give that money to Emily,
0:42:04 > 0:42:07because the money is sealed off.
0:42:07 > 0:42:09It's in the financial sector.
0:42:09 > 0:42:11It belongs to the banks and the corporations.
0:42:11 > 0:42:13The government don't have access to it.
0:42:15 > 0:42:18How is this allowed to happen?
0:42:18 > 0:42:21It's not as though all this money that comes to this island
0:42:21 > 0:42:23benefits your island. You know,
0:42:23 > 0:42:27I met a woman who basically is having her house repossessed by a bank,
0:42:27 > 0:42:32and these banks are helping the companies that come here get richer.
0:42:32 > 0:42:34I mean, don't you feel ashamed about that?
0:42:34 > 0:42:36This is a citizen of your country.
0:42:37 > 0:42:38Well...
0:42:40 > 0:42:44I'm not sure you can point to any country in the world
0:42:44 > 0:42:48which has a system which prevents
0:42:48 > 0:42:50houses from being repossessed
0:42:50 > 0:42:53if the mortgage isn't being paid.
0:42:55 > 0:42:58That's a commercial reality.
0:42:58 > 0:43:00Not everyone is able to pull themselves up.
0:43:00 > 0:43:02You know, that's why we have a safety net in Britain,
0:43:02 > 0:43:05- we have a welfare state. - But everything comes at a price.
0:43:05 > 0:43:09So if you want a welfare state, you're going to have to pay for it.
0:43:09 > 0:43:13The Cayman Islands government doesn't have to impose
0:43:13 > 0:43:15such a huge tax burden
0:43:15 > 0:43:17because of all of these other services
0:43:17 > 0:43:20that are provided by charitable organisations.
0:43:21 > 0:43:24Cayman doesn't have any corporation tax,
0:43:24 > 0:43:27and relies on charities to provide services.
0:43:27 > 0:43:30Is this relevant to Britain?
0:43:30 > 0:43:33Gordon Brown sliced 5% off our corporation tax,
0:43:33 > 0:43:35and by the end of this Parliament,
0:43:35 > 0:43:39George Osborne will have cut it by a further 10%.
0:43:39 > 0:43:42Whatever you think about the benefits this could bring,
0:43:42 > 0:43:45it's also the biggest reduction in the funding of our services
0:43:45 > 0:43:49through taxes on business in British history.
0:43:49 > 0:43:52And it's charities that may end up plugging the gap,
0:43:52 > 0:43:54just as they do on Cayman.
0:43:59 > 0:44:02So what could the Cayman model mean for us in Britain?
0:44:04 > 0:44:07Washington, DC analyst Matt Gardner says our government
0:44:07 > 0:44:11and all of us as consumers need to think carefully
0:44:11 > 0:44:13before heading down this road.
0:44:15 > 0:44:17So I mean, it's shocking where we are, just here,
0:44:17 > 0:44:20because what you have is a law firm, you have banks
0:44:20 > 0:44:21and you've got government,
0:44:21 > 0:44:24and actually where we're standing here is poverty-stricken.
0:44:24 > 0:44:28And that sounds as clear a signal as you could want
0:44:28 > 0:44:32that the economic model the Caymans are pursuing here
0:44:32 > 0:44:34is an economic model that isn't having
0:44:34 > 0:44:36any positive impact on its citizens.
0:44:38 > 0:44:41The heart of our social contract is tax revenues,
0:44:41 > 0:44:45is having a tax base that is enough to pay for the services
0:44:45 > 0:44:48we all need, the things we can't provide for ourselves.
0:44:48 > 0:44:50That's education, that's health care,
0:44:50 > 0:44:52that's a transportation system.
0:44:52 > 0:44:56And when you undermine the tax system in this way,
0:44:56 > 0:44:59that pretty much makes it impossible,
0:44:59 > 0:45:02in the long run, to provide these services.
0:45:02 > 0:45:04So we have a clear choice as consumers.
0:45:04 > 0:45:06We have a choice between a cheaper package
0:45:06 > 0:45:09or a school or a hospital that functions better, and actually,
0:45:09 > 0:45:12the two are directly connected, because it is about tax.
0:45:12 > 0:45:15It's very easy for us as individuals, as consumers,
0:45:15 > 0:45:18to focus narrowly on the little benefit we get
0:45:18 > 0:45:22from buying cheap packages from Amazon right now.
0:45:22 > 0:45:26But we have no way of evaluating or foreseeing the long-term impact
0:45:26 > 0:45:29it's going to have on services,
0:45:29 > 0:45:32on ourselves and our own tax load,
0:45:32 > 0:45:34and I think that's the way these companies like it.
0:45:34 > 0:45:37So the lesson that countries like Britain
0:45:37 > 0:45:40can learn from a place like Cayman,
0:45:40 > 0:45:43where they have an economic system in place,
0:45:43 > 0:45:46you know - companies with very low tax,
0:45:46 > 0:45:50a disappearing, diminishing safety net for the poor
0:45:50 > 0:45:53and for the squeezed middle. That is the model,
0:45:53 > 0:45:56and do you think that's a model that Britain should be pursuing?
0:45:56 > 0:45:59I don't think it's a model anyone can pursue.
0:45:59 > 0:46:03You know, you can't compete with zero. If the UK...
0:46:03 > 0:46:05If developed democracies decide
0:46:05 > 0:46:08that this is the economic model they want to pursue,
0:46:08 > 0:46:11I think they're going to be disappointed pretty fast.
0:46:13 > 0:46:16On Cayman, as in Britain, the super-rich
0:46:16 > 0:46:19and the poor live on one small island.
0:46:21 > 0:46:23What Emily spends on her monthly mortgage -
0:46:23 > 0:46:27or would, if she had the money - some people here spend on a haircut.
0:46:27 > 0:46:31And I'm about to meet the man who flies in from Los Angeles to do them.
0:46:33 > 0:46:36- One thing about here, people are very easy going.- Yeah, right.
0:46:36 > 0:46:38Very easy going. There's, like, an energy here.
0:46:38 > 0:46:40As soon as people land, they're like, "Oh, relax."
0:46:40 > 0:46:43I think it's the not wearing underwear, maybe. I don't know.
0:46:43 > 0:46:45- HE LAUGHS - Sorry!- Speak for yourself!
0:46:48 > 0:46:50- I got here, like, yesterday.- Yeah.
0:46:50 > 0:46:53I was in Los Angeles, actually in wine country,
0:46:53 > 0:46:54did this big wedding, it was great.
0:46:54 > 0:46:57And I had a very exclusive clientele there, she's an actress.
0:46:57 > 0:47:01And then I thought, OK, let's get that done, and got on the plane,
0:47:01 > 0:47:03and like I do every three to four weeks,
0:47:03 > 0:47:05I'm here to cater to 30 to 40 women
0:47:05 > 0:47:07every four to five weeks.
0:47:07 > 0:47:10What's beautiful about the Cayman Islands is you've got a mix
0:47:10 > 0:47:14of all these Europeans that live here very periodically,
0:47:14 > 0:47:17or they live here part-time. And then I follow them.
0:47:17 > 0:47:20They tell me, "Look, Pasquale, I need you in St Tropez, Paris,"
0:47:20 > 0:47:21and then we'll go there.
0:47:21 > 0:47:24I was a Miss Cayman Islands, right? And when I competed,
0:47:24 > 0:47:28he flew down to do my hair backstage for the show.
0:47:28 > 0:47:30And ever since then, I mean...
0:47:30 > 0:47:33Would you say, if you could sum up what Cayman is in one word,
0:47:33 > 0:47:37what would it be? What's the first word that comes to mind?
0:47:37 > 0:47:39First thing comes to mind with the Cayman Islands is...
0:47:39 > 0:47:43You know, I always say, as beautiful as the ocean as the people you meet.
0:47:43 > 0:47:45Yeah. That's not one word.
0:47:45 > 0:47:49- Not one word.- I want one word. - One word. Um, beautiful people.
0:47:49 > 0:47:50- That's two words.- Uh...
0:47:51 > 0:47:54- Decadence.- That's one word! HE LAUGHS
0:47:54 > 0:47:56Decadence, there you go.
0:47:56 > 0:47:58Come on down, my lovely.
0:48:02 > 0:48:05Boy, it took you a long time to grow this.
0:48:05 > 0:48:08Ooooh, hello. Salud.
0:48:08 > 0:48:09Como estas? Bien?
0:48:09 > 0:48:11- Let's do it.- OK, so would you...
0:48:11 > 0:48:14- Are you OK about going in? - Yeah, yeah.
0:48:14 > 0:48:16- So I take my shoes off? - Yeah, get your kit off.
0:48:16 > 0:48:18Isn't this good living? This is life!
0:48:18 > 0:48:21It's like, welcome to the Cayman Islands,
0:48:21 > 0:48:23and you feel like there's a little guy going,
0:48:23 > 0:48:25"The plane, the plane, boss, the plane!"
0:48:25 > 0:48:27- You get right in between them. - Yeah, absolutely.
0:48:27 > 0:48:29Girls, can we turn to Jacques,
0:48:29 > 0:48:31and kind of, like, lean on him a little bit?
0:48:31 > 0:48:34- Yes, yes!- Great.
0:48:35 > 0:48:37Stick your hands in your pockets.
0:48:38 > 0:48:40Awesome. As you walk in, be chatting,
0:48:40 > 0:48:42- take the glasses off.- OK.
0:48:42 > 0:48:44And be smiling.
0:48:51 > 0:48:54While the jet-set has money to spend on champagne,
0:48:54 > 0:48:57the government here hasn't got cash for its schools.
0:49:02 > 0:49:05The island's education budget ran out of money
0:49:05 > 0:49:07after building a new high school.
0:49:11 > 0:49:14When Cayman opened its new hospital, guess what?
0:49:14 > 0:49:16The cash didn't come from the government,
0:49:16 > 0:49:19but from an Indian multimillionaire philanthropist.
0:49:19 > 0:49:22And it's a moneymaking business venture.
0:49:22 > 0:49:25Locals can use it, but it's primarily aimed
0:49:25 > 0:49:27at American health tourists.
0:49:32 > 0:49:35I'm going to meet someone with a unique insight
0:49:35 > 0:49:38into how this relationship between government and business works,
0:49:38 > 0:49:40and what it could mean for us.
0:49:42 > 0:49:44He grew up in Emily's world,
0:49:44 > 0:49:46but made it into Pasquale's.
0:49:46 > 0:49:49I'm meeting Mario Rankin,
0:49:49 > 0:49:51who grew up in a down-and-out part of the island.
0:49:53 > 0:49:55I grew up playing here, living here...
0:49:55 > 0:49:58This is where I lived the better part of my life,
0:49:58 > 0:50:01until I became a young adult and then I moved out.
0:50:01 > 0:50:04Yeah, and then, also, you became quite successful, didn't you?
0:50:04 > 0:50:07Well, the thing is, is that this was a great motivator.
0:50:07 > 0:50:09When I used to walk to school in the mornings,
0:50:09 > 0:50:12I would stop at every plum tree on the way to school.
0:50:12 > 0:50:14I would pick plums and I would fill my bag up with plums
0:50:14 > 0:50:16because I know the kids in school,
0:50:16 > 0:50:19a lot of them didn't live in the neighbourhoods that had plums,
0:50:19 > 0:50:21and they would spend all their lunch money on plums.
0:50:21 > 0:50:23So, I would go to school with a bag of plums
0:50:23 > 0:50:25and come home with a bag of money.
0:50:25 > 0:50:27Yeah, every plum season.
0:50:27 > 0:50:29So, you were a born businessman, basically?
0:50:29 > 0:50:31Well, I think I had a knack for business
0:50:31 > 0:50:33from a very young age, I agree with that.
0:50:33 > 0:50:36- You spotted something after the hurricane, didn't you?- Yeah.
0:50:36 > 0:50:39It was Hurricane Ivan that took place.
0:50:39 > 0:50:42Beneath all of that debris and headache, and hardship,
0:50:42 > 0:50:43there was a silver lining
0:50:43 > 0:50:45because it created a lot of work -
0:50:45 > 0:50:47on the clean-up aspect of it, right?
0:50:47 > 0:50:51There was a lot of scrap metal that was accumulated,
0:50:51 > 0:50:53so I made a contact in China and told them,
0:50:53 > 0:50:55"Look, you know, if you guys would give me
0:50:55 > 0:50:57"a power purchase agreement
0:50:57 > 0:50:59"saying that you would buy X amount of metal,
0:50:59 > 0:51:01"maybe I can convince the government
0:51:01 > 0:51:03"to give me the contract to remove this metal."
0:51:03 > 0:51:05How much did you make on that one deal?
0:51:05 > 0:51:07Like 4.5 million CI dollars.
0:51:07 > 0:51:10So, you didn't do bad for a boy who came from this yard.
0:51:10 > 0:51:12- 4.5 million deal upfront... - Upfront.
0:51:12 > 0:51:15..and you're in business, literally.
0:51:15 > 0:51:18Mario is now a construction magnate
0:51:18 > 0:51:20and one of the richest men on the island.
0:51:20 > 0:51:23He built the road we're driving on
0:51:23 > 0:51:25and he's got a very clear message about what it means
0:51:25 > 0:51:27when the rich, not the state,
0:51:27 > 0:51:30pay for things.
0:51:30 > 0:51:32Does government here...?
0:51:32 > 0:51:34Does it work on behalf of the people
0:51:34 > 0:51:36or the super-rich?
0:51:36 > 0:51:39They're supposed to work for the best interest of the people but -
0:51:39 > 0:51:43from what I've seen in my time living here, as a kid growing up -
0:51:43 > 0:51:45I've seen that they've worked in the best interest
0:51:45 > 0:51:47of those who have money to invest
0:51:47 > 0:51:51and that we've catered far too much
0:51:51 > 0:51:53for the super-rich and the wealthy to develop.
0:51:53 > 0:51:55You must be in a funny position
0:51:55 > 0:51:57because as, kind of, construction king,
0:51:57 > 0:52:01you... Obviously, you benefit from creating this
0:52:01 > 0:52:03but, at the same time, the island is changing, isn't it?
0:52:03 > 0:52:08At some point, we're going to out-resource ourselves,
0:52:08 > 0:52:11meaning that we're going to turn everything over to major development
0:52:11 > 0:52:13and the super-rich,
0:52:13 > 0:52:17and everything is going to be far outpriced for the local person
0:52:17 > 0:52:20that comes two generations behind.
0:52:20 > 0:52:23You guys are on the heels of major development coming in
0:52:23 > 0:52:25and I think what's going to really happen in Britain
0:52:25 > 0:52:27is that you guys are going to have, like, a social unrest
0:52:27 > 0:52:30because people there are a lot different from the people here.
0:52:30 > 0:52:33We live with the trade wind breezes where we're a lot more complacent,
0:52:33 > 0:52:35we're a little bit more relaxed and
0:52:35 > 0:52:37we take a lot before we break.
0:52:37 > 0:52:40Maybe in Britain, it's a little different.
0:52:44 > 0:52:47Mario's giving us a very clear warning in Britain.
0:52:47 > 0:52:50If we rely on the super-rich and big business to pay for everything,
0:52:50 > 0:52:52we're letting them buy our future.
0:52:55 > 0:52:58We're all used to the idea that tax havens, like Cayman,
0:52:58 > 0:53:00are the problem, the bad guys,
0:53:00 > 0:53:03but in my time here and the conversations I've had,
0:53:03 > 0:53:05I've realised that it's far more interesting
0:53:05 > 0:53:07and unexpected than I'd imagined.
0:53:11 > 0:53:13Cayman isn't a remote island,
0:53:13 > 0:53:16it has lessons for us in the UK.
0:53:16 > 0:53:19We made this island a tax haven
0:53:19 > 0:53:22and it's still umbilically linked to Britain -
0:53:22 > 0:53:25so if the buck stops with one person here,
0:53:25 > 0:53:29it's Britain's representative on Cayman - the governor.
0:53:29 > 0:53:33Surely she can give me some answers.
0:53:33 > 0:53:35- Welcome to Government House. - Thank you very much.
0:53:35 > 0:53:37Are you worried about this programme
0:53:37 > 0:53:39and about what we're going to say about Cayman?
0:53:39 > 0:53:41It's all very easy, isn't it,
0:53:41 > 0:53:43to go around and take a few photographs
0:53:43 > 0:53:46of people's very fast cars and beautiful houses?
0:53:46 > 0:53:49I think people imagine the Cayman Islands as
0:53:49 > 0:53:51having lots and lots of banks
0:53:51 > 0:53:53and people wearing dark glasses with briefcases,
0:53:53 > 0:53:54sort of scurrying around.
0:53:54 > 0:53:56We're not saying there's no corruption here
0:53:56 > 0:53:58cos obviously that would be stupid,
0:53:58 > 0:54:00but there is an absolute commitment that,
0:54:00 > 0:54:01when any corruption is discovered -
0:54:01 > 0:54:04and it's actively looked for -
0:54:04 > 0:54:06then it will be prosecuted.
0:54:06 > 0:54:09It's kind of ironic that you have this reputation.
0:54:10 > 0:54:12Reputations, you know,
0:54:12 > 0:54:14as they say, are sort of...
0:54:14 > 0:54:17difficult to make but easily broken,
0:54:17 > 0:54:20which is one of the reasons why the government here
0:54:20 > 0:54:22are so keen to make sure that they
0:54:22 > 0:54:25really keep ahead on this agenda.
0:54:25 > 0:54:29How does Britain benefit from Cayman having this kind of status
0:54:29 > 0:54:32as a hub for financial services and so on?
0:54:33 > 0:54:36How do British people benefit from it?
0:54:36 > 0:54:41Well, I think the financial services industry in Cayman
0:54:41 > 0:54:45enables Cayman to be totally self-sufficient.
0:54:45 > 0:54:47Some other overseas territories
0:54:47 > 0:54:50are reliant on support from Britain
0:54:50 > 0:54:53because their economy simply isn't big enough.
0:54:53 > 0:54:57So, Britain benefits by not subsidising Cayman?
0:54:57 > 0:55:00That's how... That's the benefit to the British public?
0:55:00 > 0:55:03Yes.
0:55:03 > 0:55:04Is there a cost to the British public
0:55:04 > 0:55:07with this status that Cayman has, do you think?
0:55:07 > 0:55:10With companies coming through here,
0:55:10 > 0:55:12is there any cost to the British public?
0:55:14 > 0:55:16In terms of...
0:55:16 > 0:55:17You know, we've talked to people
0:55:17 > 0:55:19who've said that the direct cost
0:55:19 > 0:55:22to the British public is that...
0:55:22 > 0:55:26we have public services that can't afford to run any more
0:55:26 > 0:55:29because we don't receive the tax revenue from those companies.
0:55:29 > 0:55:31Yeah, but that's nothing to do with
0:55:31 > 0:55:35the availability of low tax jurisdictions,
0:55:35 > 0:55:37that's to do with what the tax laws are
0:55:37 > 0:55:39in the country that you're talking about.
0:55:39 > 0:55:40Hmm.
0:55:40 > 0:55:42So, why would they say that then?
0:55:42 > 0:55:45Why would someone say there's a direct cost to the British public
0:55:45 > 0:55:47if that's not true?
0:55:49 > 0:55:52What people are doing is...
0:55:54 > 0:55:56..moving money
0:55:56 > 0:55:58to places that have low taxes...
0:56:02 > 0:56:05..and registering their profits there,
0:56:05 > 0:56:07but you can have laws in the country
0:56:07 > 0:56:09where the profits arise
0:56:09 > 0:56:11that prevent them doing that.
0:56:11 > 0:56:12So, that's what would...
0:56:12 > 0:56:16That's what would improve that situation for the British public.
0:56:16 > 0:56:18Would the British government be able to
0:56:18 > 0:56:22close down Cayman if they wanted to?
0:56:22 > 0:56:23No.
0:56:23 > 0:56:25Why not?
0:56:25 > 0:56:28It's the British government's responsibility, isn't it?
0:56:28 > 0:56:30Yes, it's a British government's responsibility
0:56:30 > 0:56:33but the British government couldn't close down...
0:56:33 > 0:56:35- You know.- Why not? I don't understand why not.
0:56:35 > 0:56:38- ..the financial services industry in Britain.- Why not?
0:56:38 > 0:56:40Isn't Britain...?
0:56:40 > 0:56:43The premier told me that Britain has ultimate veto over everything.
0:56:43 > 0:56:46It's the British government's responsibility. That's the premier.
0:56:46 > 0:56:48They're supposedly in charge.
0:56:48 > 0:56:50No, no, of course the British government
0:56:50 > 0:56:53does have ultimate veto over...
0:56:54 > 0:56:56..what goes on in the island,
0:56:56 > 0:57:00but only if it's illegal or damaging
0:57:00 > 0:57:02to the interests of the people or to the island.
0:57:02 > 0:57:07Do you think companies being able to register their profits through Cayman
0:57:07 > 0:57:09is not a good enough reason
0:57:09 > 0:57:10to do something?
0:57:11 > 0:57:13The only way of addressing that properly
0:57:13 > 0:57:16is to change the tax laws in Britain.
0:57:21 > 0:57:23Cayman is a tax haven
0:57:23 > 0:57:25created by Britain...
0:57:25 > 0:57:27The foreign affairs said,
0:57:27 > 0:57:29"You're going to the Cayman Islands."
0:57:29 > 0:57:31..but it's much more than that.
0:57:31 > 0:57:35It's a perfect creation of the global financial system,
0:57:35 > 0:57:38floating beyond the reach of any one government.
0:57:38 > 0:57:41The Cayman Islands is in competition with the City of London.
0:57:41 > 0:57:44Places like Cayman aren't a parallel economy,
0:57:44 > 0:57:46they're how the world does business and
0:57:46 > 0:57:49as consumers, we're part of it, too.
0:57:50 > 0:57:55We buy cheap goods from companies that use tax havens,
0:57:55 > 0:57:58but the cost to us could be much, much greater.
0:57:58 > 0:58:01We're going to turn everything over to major development
0:58:01 > 0:58:02and the super-rich and I think
0:58:02 > 0:58:04what's going to really happen in Britain
0:58:04 > 0:58:07is that you guys are going to have, like, a social unrest.
0:58:09 > 0:58:12Cayman isn't a faraway island
0:58:12 > 0:58:14with little to do with us.
0:58:14 > 0:58:16Being here, I've realised
0:58:16 > 0:58:20that Britain could look more like this a few years down the line.
0:58:23 > 0:58:27This could be the future for all of us, just without the sun.