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In a speech on Tuesday, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, head of the group of euro-area finance ministers, cautioned Britain against any plan to use lighter-touch regulations or lower taxes to attract business following withdrawal from the EU. Such a move would jeopardize prospects for a trade deal, he said, as he called for Britain to accept the “hard truth” that the U.K. must continue to align with Brussels for its businesses to operate on the continent.
“We have heard threats of going rogue and creating an offshore tax haven,” Dijsselbloem, the Dutch finance minister, said in Brussels. “That would be a huge mistake, and it would certainly stand in the way of a fair trade deal that would suit us both.” [...]
“It is unthinkable that the EU will allow U.K.-based financial institutions full access to do business in the internal market without a sustainable coupling of future dynamic U.K. standards to the EU framework,” Dijsselbloem said. “At the same time I realize that, given the promise of full sovereignty, this will be a hard truth to accept in Britain.”
A transition period in the relationship between the two sides after Britain leaves the bloc will be necessary to avoid a disruptive process that would damage both of them, according to Dijsselbloem.
Reuters: Euro group chief warns Britain against tax haven temptation
"It would be bad for Europe, but also bad for England, bad for the United Kingdom, to end up as a kind of tax paradise off the European coast," Jeroen Dijsselbloem told Dutch RTL television on Tuesday. "In the current climate, where we are working closely with the British to tackle tax evasion, it would be a crazy step backwards."
Dijsselbloem, who is also Dutch finance minister, said he had discussions with London-based banks looking to relocate from London to the Netherlands after Brexit, adding that they seemed undeterred by strict Dutch rules on banking bonuses.
"The strict regulations we have are aimed to protect Dutch clients," he said. "The law already says that the strict conditions don't apply to international banks working from the Netherlands."