Years of work to ensure the Isle of Man avoided being placed on a highly damaging 'blacklist' of uncooperative 'tax havens' has paid off handsomely this evening.

Not only has the Island stayed clear of the OECD 'blacklist', it appears to have been placed on a 'whitelist' of jurisdictions committed to sharing tax information with countries worldwide.

There is huge relief in government circles and the wider business community at the best possible outcome, following the G20 summit in London.

It means the Isle of Man's fiscal credentials are not only intact, but have also been given a positive seal of approval.

The news came through to government from sources in London earlier this evening, ending a nail-biting wait for confirmation the Island had done everything required of it.

Treasury Minister Allan Bell told Manx Radio the long wait went right to the wire (play attached audio file):

"This last two or three weeks have been absolutely frantic, not just for the Isle of Man but for many large and small countries, in anticipation of G20 and the possible implications of a 'blacklist' being brought into being.

"The Isle of Man has been in the forefront of this because we've put so much work in over the last few years to fully comply with the OECD model.

"But we have heard so many conflicting reports coming out of the various G20 countries [with] various different agendas and priorities, and it has been very nail-biting right up to this evening."

Chief Minister Tony Brown says today will go down as one of the most significant in the Isle of Man's recent history.

He told Manx Radio a line had been drawn in the sand:

"I think the important thing for the Isle of Man is how it will take away uncertainty.

"I think it will give a lot of confidence to people that there is clear recognition by G20, through the OECD list that they've asked to be put together, that the Isle of Man is what we said it is.

"That is that it has developed a system where we have tax information exchange agreements with many countries, and therefore we are recognising and they are recognising us for what we are."