KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — The Cayman Islands is scrapping a plan to impose a direct tax on expatriates working in the British territory, which owes much of its prosperity to its famed role as a no-tax financial center.
In a terse statement issued late Monday, Premier McKeeva Bush says the tax is "off the table and will not be implemented."
Specifics of what will replace it are not immediately being disclosed.
Grand Cayman real estate agent Kim Lund said Tuesday "the only reaction is confusion as the uncertainty continues."
Bush announced in late July that a 10 percent tax on expats was needed to bail the territory out of a financial hole.
The plan outraged many on the islands, where financial services and tourism are the pillars of the economy.