Isle of Man Secures 'White List' Confirmation

Following negotiations with leading economies over the last ten years, the Isle of Man has been confirmed as not being included in the OECD's 'black list of non-cooperative tax havens' and indeed has made it onto the OECD's 'white list'.  The 'white list' includes nations that have applied the internationally agreed tax standard developed by the OECD which has been endorsed by the G20 and by the UN Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters.  The standard requires exchange of information on request in all tax matters for the administration and enforcement of domestic tax law without regard to a domestic tax interest requirement or bank secrecy for tax purposes.  It also provides for extensive safeguards to protect the confidentiality of the information exchanged.

The news that the Isle of Man has made it onto the OECD's 'white list' can be seen as justifying the actions taken by the Island over the years to move away from the image of a tax haven whilst still being able to offer the benefits of a low tax jurisdiction with effective regulation, and separates it from other offshore jurisdictions deemed to be seen as secretive and non-transparent.

The report on progress of global financial centres can be found via the following link to the OECD's website:

 http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/38/14/42497950.pdf