'Landmark Agreement'! You're a Tax Haven Says US

News from the Celtic League

What was described as ‘a landmark agreement on sharing tax information was signed on Friday 13 December 2013 by the Isle of Man and the United States.

The Isle of Man Chief Minister Allan Bell and Matthew Burzan, US Ambassador to the UK at the US Embassy in London signed the agreement on behalf of their respective countries.

At the time Allan Bell, the Isle of Man Chief Minister, said:

‘The Isle of Man has been at the forefront of developments in transparency and tax information exchange for many years and today’s signing is an important next step. The signing of this agreement further enhances the Isle of Man’s reputation as a transparent and responsible centre for international business. We look forward to working with the US to ensure the agreement’s effective and efficient implementation.

‘The Isle of Man is also fully committed to working towards a new global standard in automatic exchange of information and is actively engaged in the development of a single global standard.’

The Isle of Man Treasury Minister Eddie Teare MHK also added his voice to this new dawn in Isle of Man/United States tax relationships saying:

‘The signing of this Model 1A agreement is important both domestically and internationally. I know many Isle of Man financial institutions have been waiting for this agreement and will welcome the certainty it provides. It will serve to enhance and strengthen business links between the Isle of Man and the US and further demonstrates the Island’s commitment to transparency’

This week the US Treasury listed 39 countries as tax havens the Isle of Man was on that list so it looks as if that new dawn in US – IOM tax relations turned out to be a false dawn.

Even the spinmeisters at Manx Radio are going to have difficulty making a silk purse out of this sows ear!

Link courtesy of KPMG (perhaps that population growth should go on hold):

http://www.kpmg.com/…/district-of-columbia-tax-haven-jurisd…

BERNARD MOFFATT