Discussions are continuing over the wider implications of the US FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) legislation requiring automatic exchange of tax information, Chief Minister Allan Bell MHK said today.
 
Mr Bell confirmed that there were discussions this week between the Crown Dependencies and HM Treasury about the potential for similar arrangements with the United Kingdom. 
 
‘The issue of FATCA and its implications is not a new one’ said the Chief Minister. ‘I made reference to it in my Agenda for Change statement to the October Tynwald when I spoke of a move towards automatic exchange of information becoming the new global standard in international tax co-operation.
 
‘This movement involves the G20, the OECD, and the EU, as well as FATCA in the US, and not surprisingly we have been discussing the implications of all this with the UK and with our fellow Crown Dependencies in the Channel Islands. This week’s meeting of Crown Dependency and UK Treasury officers was part of the ongoing dialogue.’
 
The Chief Minister continued: ‘I explained in October that FATCA requires automatic collection and sharing of tax-related information with the US authorities, and that it was likely that other nations would look for similar arrangements.
 
‘I repeat now what I said last month: We need to respond to these changes, not simply because it has been our long-standing policy to meet established international standards, but because a failure to do so will damage our economy in the medium to long term.’
 
Mr Bell went on: ‘The Isle of Man has achieved global recognition for its compliance with current international standards of tax co-operation. The Island has never had bank secrecy laws and was one of the first countries outside the European Union to automatically share bank account information with EU member states.
 
‘The Isle of Man led the way by assisting the OECD to develop its model Tax Information Exchange Agreement a decade ago.  Since then the Island has gone on to sign more than 30 such agreements with countries around the world.’
 
The OECD confirmed in a report to the G20 meeting last year its view that the Isle of Man was one of only a few jurisdictions with all the elements of effective tax information exchange in place. At the same time the Financial Stability Board placed the Isle of Man in the highest category of co-operative jurisdictions strongly adhering to international standards of co-operation and information exchange.