The Isle of Man Government has agreed to engage in an initiative on automatic exchange of beneficial ownership information spearheaded by the five largest economies in the European Union - the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain (G5).

Recently the G5 nations announced they had agreed to automatically exchange information on the beneficial owners of companies, trusts, foundations and shell companies with law enforcement as well as tax administrations and are looking to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to develop common international standards for this new system.

As a meeting of Finance Ministers of EU Member States (EcoFin) gets underway in Amsterdam today, UK Chancellor George Osborne has welcomed the Isle of Man’s early commitment to the initiative.

Chief Minister Allan Bell MHK said: “As we have seen, international expectations of greater transparency and cooperation to combat money laundering, tax evasion or serious financial crime are rapidly evolving.

“The Isle of Man has long recognised the need to be at the forefront of global standards. We were, for example, among the first to agree to the Common Reporting Standard which provides for automatic exchange of tax information.

“In this spirit, the Isle of Man Government has given its commitment to supporting a global standard for the automatic exchange of beneficial ownership information which the G5 looks to develop in collaboration with the OECD and FATF and other international finance centres.”

He added: “Engaging with this initiative demonstrates our continued commitment to enhanced standards of transparency and ensures we remain part of the global response to tackling money laundering, tax evasion and illicit finance. This commitment will further contribute to our reputation as a high quality international business centre.”