THE single biggest decision to be faced by the Isle of Man Government this year is the corporate tax status of zero 10.

Throughout the Island’s finance sector it is the biggest single question being asked at the moment, a view stressed yesterday by the Isle of Man Chamber of Commerce.

President Nick Verardi said that the Isle of Man’s corporate tax regime “was, and still is, the bedrock upon which the Isle of Man has built its success and allowed it to become the international finance centre it is today.”

Speaking yesterday in Douglas at the Chamber’s annual general meeting and lunch, he said that government needed to be bold and make the right decision.

“If our government makes the wrong decision over corporate tax, we will have to pay a high price indeed, being left with an economy that, in all probability, will look very different from the one we all recognise today.

“The consultation process is complete. Chamber, its sector committees and individual members have made numerous contributions. We now await the outcome, although we would implore the decision makers to take all the time necessary in order to ensure that every alternative is explored and a final decision is made.

“The starting point has to be that in 2003 the Isle of Man had its Zero 10 corporate regime deemed compliant by the EU Code of Conduct Committee, unlike our friends in the other Crown dependencies.

“The question therefore has to be asked: ‘Why should we change our position on such a fundamental issue before we are forced to?’

“We completely accept that we should be exploring all the alternatives and investigating the possible opportunities, but we should do so in our own good time and not be forced to react to someone else’s timescales.

“As the Isle of Man currently stands, we are in receipt of a positive IMF report and having emerged from the latest UK review, conducted by Michael Foot, in very good shape; with the ability to justify our position in the world to the UK government.

“In addition, it is perhaps even more important than ever to take stock and look at the different political environment we now find ourselves in when compared to six months ago.

“We have a coalition government across the water and differing economic global pressures for the G20 to consider; such as the possible failure of the single European currency resulting from concerns over Sovereign debt defaults.

“The Chamber recognises that certain sectors will be more directly affected than others, albeit the ultimate impact for Isle of Man plc as a whole could be significant.

“We will continue to keep our members informed and propose to remain close to government in order to understand and, where possible, encourage the future direction of corporate tax on the Island.”

Photo: Nick Verardi yesterday - "corporate tax regime is

bedrock upon which the Isle of Man is built" (Bill Dale)