Isle of Man

Seems the FSC can act - when it suits them :

"An independent review of the Isle of Man Bank's investment selling practices has been ordered by the Financial Supervision Commission.

Specifically it will look at all sales since January 1, 2008 to people over the age of 70.

It follows an FSC probe into a case involving an 80-year-old with terminal throat cancer, Norman Hensher, who was sold a £500,000 Aviva pension by the bank, which he had no hope of paying back.
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The FSC has ruled the bank's internal procedures were not followed in full during the advice and sign-off stages of the investment. ...

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 Chief Minister says he supports the UK's drive to stamp out tax evasion. .

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

" 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. ...
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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.
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"The Isle of Man has been on Spain's blacklist of high-risk jurisdictions since 1991, though according to Manx politicians this has more to do with politics than the Isle of Man's credibility as an international finance centre.
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It is hoped that the signing of the TIEA (Tax Information Exchange Agreement), currently awaiting approval from the foreign ministry in Spain, will reboot relations between the two jurisdictions and facilitate business flows between the Isle of Man and Spain.
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What frustrates Manx politicians most about the blacklisting is that the Isle of Man has been recognised by the G20 as a front-runner in the crusade to stamp out tax evasion.
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See also comments - recommendations welcome!

See also here: http://www.isleofman.com/News/article.aspx?article=41826

and here: http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/isle-of-man-news/isle_of_man_caught_in_sp...

The Isle of Man is at the forefront of the crusade to stamp out tax evasion, a tax transparency report has concluded

Delivered to the G20 in Cannes, the report detailed how the Isle of Man was one of eight jurisdictions to meet all of the standards required for "effective information exchange" on suspected tax cheats.

The Isle of Man's willingness to follow best practice on information exchange was instantly derided, however, by critics who believe the information exchange procedure employed is ineffective.

Much better, they argue, would be an automatic exchange of information where tax authorities could access information more freely and without having to jump through hoops that they say make the current system obstructive and ultimately futile.

Tax expert Richard Murphy said: "There’s no doubt the Isle of Man did well in this test on ability to information exchange. But it is a bit like the student who got A* in the GCSE in making love but has yet to have a partner. Geting a good mark in theory and actually getting on with the reality are sometimes two very different things."
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