The Isle of Man has been put at the forefront of standards of best practice by a report from the global body reviewing tax transparency. The Tax Transparency 2011: Report on Progress, delivered to the G20 today, says that the Isle of Man is one of only eight reviewed jurisdictions found to have all elements of effective information exchange in place. This places the Isle of Man alongside Australia, France, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan and Norway. The report is based on the peer review programme which conducted a rigorous assessment of the Isle of Man’s legal and regulatory framework and practical implementation of standards of exchange of information for tax purposes. The assessment found that the Isle of Man has been exchanging information in accordance with the international standards since its first tax information exchange agreements came into force in 2006, and comments: ‘experience to date shows that exchange of information has been effective and expeditious.’ Chief Minister Allan Bell MHK welcomed the OECD report saying: ‘I am delighted that the Isle of Man’s resolute commitment to cooperation with international standards has been recognised. The Island has made great efforts to ensure that it has an effective regulatory framework for information exchange and is substantially delivering on its commitments to international partners. The OECD has today given a clear endorsement of this approach.’ He continued: ‘The Global Forum should be commended for the vital role it has played in developing a standard for tax information exchange and promoting this throughout the world.’ Ends