The Guardian view on Britain’s finance curse: we must break it | Editorial
The government's decision to pull its financial services bill is revealing about who calls the shots in parliament. In a word: the City. Rather than accept a small step forward for tax fairness, a move backed by a cross-party coalition, ministers dropped one of six key pieces of legislation required to pass by the end of March as part of a no-deal Brexit safety net. It is a sign of Theresa May's weakness in office that the bill could not pass in the form the government wanted and a clear demonstration that big finance continues to call the tune in the upper reaches of the Conservative party.
Over the last few decades the British tax system and broader economy have been steadily reconfigured to serve the interests of a class of offshore super-rich. The Square Mile sits at the centre of a spider's web that allows London bankers, accountants and lawyers to create a tax-free way for the richest people on the planet to place their assets under UK management but without UK regulatory oversight. Britain's archipelago of territories and dependencies account for about a quarter of all global offshore financial services provided to non-residents. Brexit was supposed to be a clarion call to end the political class's subservience to such interests. Tragically this nation's departure from the European Union appears to be boosting it.
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