Spain's protests over US - Gibraltar tax agreement is laughable

Oh what a surprise... as once again Spain complains about Gibraltar... and this time, it really is quite laughable!

Spain's ABC daily is reporting today that the Spanish Foreign Ministry has made a formal complaint to the United States over an agreement for the exchange of tax information which the US signed with Gibraltar on 31st March.

ABC reports that the protest does not object to the agreement itself, which is considered to be positive (oh that's very good of them), but to the fact that it was signed before the Gibraltar and United States flags, as if, the paper says, "Gibraltar were independent". The British flag was not present at the signing!! Yikes!!

ABC says Luis Felipe Fernández de la Peña, the Foreign Ministry’s general director for Europe and North America, called both the US Embassy’s chief of business affairs, Arnold Chacón, and the UK Ambassador, Denise Holt, to the Foreign Ministry to pass on Spain’s objections. (Rhubarb... don't make me laugh!!)

According to ABC, London is said to have stated that delegations from the UK and Washington took part in the signing, and that normal UK protocol was followed. Spain is understood to be studying if the delegation referred to by the UK authorities is legally valid, ABC said.

The agreement signed in London by Gibraltar’s Chief Minister, Peter Caruana, and the US Treasury Secretary, Tim Geithner, is the first of a series of Tax Information Exchange Agreements which Gibraltar has committed to enter into this year.

This particular agreement was signed just days before the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) published its report on progress by world financial centres towards implementing an internationally agreed standard on exchange of tax information. Gibraltar appears on the so-called ‘grey’ list, a list of offshore 'jurisdictions that have committed to internationally agreed tax standards' but that have not yet substantially implemented these agreements.

Sheesh... Gibraltar cannot win! Spanish politicians are forever complaining about Gibraltar being a 'fiscal paradise', constantly banging on with allegations (untrue) about money laundering and that we haven't signed any international agreements on tax transparency... then when Gibraltar does sign an agreement, Spain complains about it!

Mind you, to question the possible legalities of the delegation, I find is truly laughable and just shows how they clutch at straws to have a go at Gibraltar!

D'uh!! It was an agreement between Gibraltar and the USA... NOT between the UK and the USA... so it's hardly surprising that the flags present at the time were those of the USA AND Gibraltar... and NOT the UK's!!

If Spain's behaviour and constant whingeing and complaining wasn't so irritating (if not stupid as in this instance) it would be laughable. This particular one is like watching a Monty Python sketch for Christ sakes!!

Maybe they'd like to explain why they continue to refuse to enter into a tax transparency agreement with Gibraltar... (as Gibraltar has officially offered to do on at least two ocassions now). Might it have anything to do with the reasons I give in my post last week??

Damn risible hypocrites! Baaah! I wonder how long it will be, before we hear from Blanca Luz... climbing on this latest bandwagon??

"So please your Majesty, to singe the King of Spain's beard; it has grown somewhat too long."

Want another laugh?

If you would like to have another laugh you might want to have a look at the comments left by some Slop radicals on the ABC report.

One of them... manu-ao says:

"Muy bien y encima les hacemos un aeropuerto para que se muevan con mas holgura, aeropuerto que solo usan los ingleses y llanitos porque a iberia le resulta costoso por los pocos pasjeros que lo utilizaban.Entre tanto la princesa Ana paseandose tan chula por gibraltar , Obama con su amigo Zapatero,y los españoles presenciando un espectaculo lamentable."

For those non-hispanic speakers reading this, basically this guy is making some ridiculous complaint about Gibraltar's ingratitude, especially after "THEY... built us our airport"!!! Ha ha!!

I haven't got the heart to answer and correct him. Actually... to be honest, I just cannot be bothered... but it just goes to show how pathetically ill informed and twisted these radical slops are!

There are many other idiotic and ill informed remarks there too... including another one who is not aware that the actual date when Gibraltar was given away by Spain, "in perpetuity" in the, now anachronistic, Treaty of Utrecht was in 1713. This guy is convinced it was in 1710 and had something to do with Catalunya!

If anyone doesn't know and wishes to be informed about the history of Gibraltar Airport... have a look here: Gibraltar Airport @ Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.