Iceland’s new PM: “Bring your money home!”
Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson came to power after the fall of ex-PM Sigmundur Davíð Gunnalugsson. Photo: Iceland Monitor/Eggert
Incoming Prime Minister Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson wants all politicians implicated by the Panama Papers revelations and all those with offshore companies through other banks to bring their money back to Iceland.
The new PM was asked this morning in the Icelandic Parliament (‘Alþingi’) for the government’s reaction to recent revelations of elected politicians keeping money in tax havens.
While indicating that there was nothing wrongly with lawful ownership of offshore companies, Jóhannsson deplored the apparent prevalence of hiding money and avoiding tax.
Elected politicians should bring their offshore assets back to Iceland, says Jóhannsson. Photo: AFP
The question was asked by Katrín Jakobsdóttir MP , leader of the Left-Green Party , who pointed out that Icelanders are reportedly world leaders in squirreling away money into offshore tax havens.
Jóhannsson concurred that trust between the public and the political and financial system was broken , and urged all politicians implicated by the Panama Papers revelations and all those with offshore companies through other banks to bring their money back to Iceland.
“There is, however, nothing wrong with people owning offshore companies, if they yield tax revenue here in Iceland and are not owned for dubious purposes,” Iceland’s brand-new Prime Minister said.
He concluded that Alþingi would need later to assess whether the relevant legal framework needs to be reviewed.
Katrín Jakobsdóttir MP. Photo: Iceland Monitor/Eggert
