The Isle of Man Government has welcomed the decision from European Finance Ministers not to place the Island on the list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes.
The announcement follows a meeting today (Tuesday 5 December 2017) of the EU’s Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN). ECOFIN considered the recommendations presented to it by the EU Code of Conduct (Business Taxation) Group (the Code Group).
The Isle of Man was among 92 jurisdictions informed in February 2017 that they would be screened by the Code Group.
The ECOFIN announcement follows the report in November by the OECD Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes, which gave the Isle of Man a fully compliant rating for tax transparency. This placed the Island as one of only three countries so far to be given the top compliant rating in both the first and second round of reviews.
Chief Minister, Howard Quayle said: ‘We have had a constructive dialogue with the Code Group this year and we have made a high level commitment to address its concerns. The Code Group’s concerns relate to a potential lack of substance, which it highlighted may be due to the absence of legal substance requirements for entities doing business in, or through, the Isle of Man. We have always taken our EU and international obligations seriously and we are committed to continuing to work closely and constructively with the group over the next 12 months.
‘This Government will create an Island of enterprise and opportunity. We have a strong and diverse economy which we will grow, alongside encouraging a skilled workforce to relocate to the island. We can do that while ensuring we meet our EU and international commitments.’
Treasury Minister, Alfred Cannan said: ‘We welcome the decision from ECOFIN. The Isle of Man is a well regulated, transparent jurisdiction that has been leading the way in compliance with EU and international tax standards, as demonstrated by the recent OECD report. We have made a commitment to address the concerns raised by the Code Group and look forward to working with them and all other interested parties.’
