Public Policy
John Chown and John Dewhurst have both been involved with public policy for many years and the service given to various working committees has been totally disproportionate to the size of the firm.
After the collapse of Communism, John Chown did a series of projects in Russia and other CIS/CEE countries and now, in late career, spends about half his time advising emerging and transitional economies, initially on tax policy with special reference to the taxation of financial markets but now covering broader aspects of capital market developments. He works closely with Jackie Newbury (whose experience, before setting up her own consultancy, was in financial markets in London, Frankfurt and Tokyo) and an informal network of professionals and academics, assisted by interns and part-time graduate students.
For a discussion of our approach see
"Transitional and Emerging Countries" »
We approach the subject from a well rounded point of view and as independent professionals, have no conflicts of interest, simply acting for the relevant government as ‘beneficiary’. We have no hidden agenda, such as pressing the interests of actual or potential clients or of our own government or national institutions. We believe that free and active capital markets contribute substantially to the prosperity and general well-being of a country but are aware of conflicts of interest both at private sector and political level. Specifically, complex financial structures and instruments having a vital role to play can be used to develop tax loopholes and cause expensive losses to the government. We would recommend an environment in which markets operate freely while ensuring that participants and their clients pay an appropriate share of tax and comply with intelligently administered regulations to protect the public and ensure the integrity of markets.