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THE Isle of Man has become ‘collateral damage’ in a wider debate going on in UK politics, Chief Minister Allan Bell told MHKs – adding that he was determined to enhance the island’s relationship with Westminster. ...

The Isle of Man has been criticised as a tax haven for Britons looking to dodge UK inheritance law.

Companies not registered in Britain do not have to pay stamp duty when a London property is sold or the 40 per cent inheritance tax when an owner dies in the Isle of Man.

This costs the city of London hundreds of millions of pounds each year and is increasingly attracting foreign firms looking to benefit from the British market but unwilling to be subjected to tax.

In 2011, companies based in the Isle of Man purchased £82.3 million worth of London property - up from £49 million in 2009.

Owen Smith, shadow exchequer secretary to the Treasury, has supported calls from Labour leader Ed Miliband for tax reforms in the Isle of Man, Geurnsey and the Jersey.

However, Isle of Man's chief minister Allan Bell has called claims from the UK Labour Party "ill-informed".

See also report on IOM radio 3FM: http://ht.ly/8Eitz

A communiqué from the government of the Isle of Man on Friday:
"THE Lord Mayor of the City of London, Alderman David Wootton, is visiting the Isle of Man next week to learn more about the Island’s role as an international business and finance centre."

Tax havens always deny being tax havens, and much prefer these rather grand titles such as ‘international finance centre,’ but anyway. ...

The Landsbanki Winding-Up Board is suing the top management of the bankrupt bank, board-members and insurers for damages caused by not stopping the bank’s operations on October 3 2008 when, according the the WUP, the bank was de facto bankrupt. In total, the WUB claims the damages amount to ISK45bn (€282m).
...

The claims are based on money going out of the bank on its last day of operation October 6 2008, in total ISK35bn (now €219m). This money went onto the accounts of MP Bank, Straumur and Landsvaki, one of Landsbanki’s own money market funds. The dates are important because this means that according to the WUB the bank was already bankrupt when the British authorities closed down the bank.

See also: http://www.icelandreview.com/icelandreview/search/news/Default.asp?ew_0_...

Update 20 Jan 2012: "More on Lansdbanki's last hours" here:
http://uti.is/2012/01/more-on-landsbankis-last-hours/

The work of the Serious Fraud Office in reducing financial crime could be improved if ‘recklessness’ was introduced as an offence, the investigator’s outgoing director has said.

Richard Alderman said a crime of recklessness would have to show an individual had the necessary knowledge and intent of pursuing a course of action, despite knowing the risks attached to this.

He said: “The public does not understand why it is that enforcement authorities such as the SFO have been unable to take action against senior financial people. They contrast the SFO with the US system.”
...
The SFO presided over several high-profile cases during 2011 including the start of an investigation into the collapse of the Kaupthing Banking Group ...

"LABOUR leader Ed Miliband is demanding the UK government forces the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey to reveal the identity of British tax evaders with money ‘hidden’ in the islands, it’s being reported today (Sunday).

Miliband, under fire over a lack of strength in his leadership of the opposition party, is said to be preparing to call this week for negotiations to begin and will demand ministers follow up the talks with a threat to put the islands on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development blacklist.

He claims the move could raise £2.4 billion for the UK exchequer."

See also BBC report and video here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-isle-of-man-16578469

" MOVES by the UK Treasury to introduce a general anti-avoidance tax rule could impact negatively on the Isle of Man.

That’s the view of KPMG director Greg Jones who was responding to the announcement by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg that he hoped there would be progress on an anti-avoidance tax rule in the Budget. ...
...

KPMG island director Greg Jones said it was by no means a foregone conclusion that we would get a general tax anti-avoidance rule (GAAR) in the near future.

But he added: ‘If we did, however, there’s no doubt that it would impact negatively on places like the Isle of Man.

‘Even if the GAAR were targeted as narrowly as the working party report recommends, in my view it would strike out a number of (what has to be admitted are) fairly contrived tax planning arrangements I am aware are promoted from the island.

‘There may be some work for tax practitioners in advising whether a particular planning idea falls within the GAAR’s scope, but on the whole I think we’d lose a certain amount of the business currently being undertaken by some niche service providers.’ "

See also Richard Murphy's blog:
"KPMG in the Isle of Man admits the island may be used for egregious tax avoidance" at
http://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2012/01/14/kpmg-in-the-isle-of-man-ad...

"The Isle of Man News has a fascinating article asking whether the pressure has been taken off the Isle of Man now on tax matters.

Much of the analysis is wrong because they think the issues are now resolved, and that is far from true ... "

COULD the international pressure on the island be easing at last?

Over the past five years, our financial services, tax rates and Customs deal have come under intense scrutiny from beyond our shores.

We’ve had the EU question our corporate tax regime, the painful revision of our VAT deal twice in two years, an inquiry commissioned by the Westminster government has run the rule over our ability to withstand financial shocks and the OECD has reviewed our tax transparency and co-operation.

It seems that barely a week went by without another brickbat being lobbed our way by Brussels, London or Washington.

But now as 2011 comes to a close, there is a tangible feeling that international relations have turned a corner – and the pressure on us, at least for the time being, has abated.
...

Six former superiors at the now defunct bank Kaupþing (Kaupthing) must pay its bankruptcy estate more than ISK 4 billion (USD 32 million, EUR 25 million), according to a court order announced yesterday. The estate’s managers are demanding that assets both in Iceland and abroad will be liquidated to cover the debt. ....