Isle of Man praised for helping fight tax evasion

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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