Online Services registration recently simplified to encourage usage Local residents are being advised that they could save valuable time when paying their Government bills, such as for rates and electricity, submitting their tax returns and viewing planning applications. The Department of Economic Development’s Online Services facility has now been made even easier to use thanks to work just completed by its Information Systems Division (ISD). Existing users of the Isle of Man Government’s Online Services will notice a difference to the way services are presented and new users will have the benefit of a simpler way of registering to use the site. Minister for Economic Development, Allan Bell MHK, commented: “Since the launch of Online Services in 2006, the Government has continued to offer additional services that allow interaction with various departments over the internet. To date, over 15,000 individuals and companies have registered with the site and around 100,000 transactions have been processed handling around ?85million in receipted funds. Examples of such services are enabling the public to pay bills, submitting their tax returns and viewing planning applications, among others. While new services are being added all the time, the way those services were accessed hadn’t changed, until now.” Using Online Services can offer a win-win situation as it creates benefits for its users and for Government. It’s more convenient for the customer as it allows them to interact with Government when and where they choose. The benefit to Government is that the cost of delivering the particular service is reduced. With access and the use of the Internet now well established in the Island, local residents and businesses are encouraged to look in to interacting with Government in this way. ENDS