The agreements reached at the Group of 20 summit in London to try to close down tax havens and clamp down on tax avoidance have been welcomed by all except those who have benefited from such activities. But it would be foolish to think that the agreements will lead to speedy changes in the way in which wealthy individuals and companies operate or soon lead to greater transparency and higher tax revenues.
European tax havens such as Monaco, Liechtenstein and Andorra may pay lip service to demands from the European Union for information and greater transparency, but they know that their only real raison d'etre is that they are places where wealthy individuals can reside while avoid paying taxes in the places where they have earned their wealth.
British islands such as Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man will resist attempts by the British government to change their tax laws, and while the British authorities may manage to get them to make some concessions on the amount of information they are prepared to pass on to the British and European tax authorities, they are likely to drag their feet and argue that the British government, having conceded powers to them, cannot arbitrarily rescind these powers.