IOM's David Robbie Official Confident on E-Commerce But Still Fears The OECD

Lisa Ugur, Tax-news.com, London

05 June 2000

As he leaves prepares to leave his post as president of the Isle of Man's Chamber of Commerce, David Robbie retains serious concerns over the future of offshore financial centres and has warned that the threats to small jurisdictions from directions such as the EU and OECD will increase further as time goes on.

The perceived threats to offshore business and finance from the EU and OECD are well-documented and the OECD in particular is still entrenched in its battle with jurisdictions over their "harmful" tax regimes, and is currently preparing to draw up a new list of what it calls "uncooperative" tax havens, a list which offshore jurisdictions natuarally feel is an attack on their integrity and reputation and which, it seems, they intend to fight off with vigour.

In his end of year speech at the Chamber's recent AGM luncheon, David Robbie stressed the importance of continually monitoring the threats as they emerged, and praised Government's efforts to date, stating 'In this regard government has handled the situation well and where appropriate has robustly defended its position. It has also consulted with the private sector and I would expect such consultation to continue. The reputation of the Island in the international arena is vitally important to us if we are to succeed in the future. It is something we must jealously guard and it is pleasing to state that government and the private sector have worked well as a team on this.'

Mr Robbie has also been heavily involved in the development of e-commerce on the Island and spoke of its rapid expansion and its effects on the business community. He has made clear his belief that e-commerce is without doubt the way forward for the Isle of Man if the island is to grow and prosper as a business and financial centre. At the AGM he reiterated that the concept knew no boundaries, saying ‘'There is no safe place. E-commerce has been likened to a continually moving boat, it can go forward or backward but never moors. Quite simply we have got to get on board that boat.

'The only advice an old Luddite can give is, embrace change gladly and make technology your friend, you have to have it.'

The Chamber of Commerce has been backed up by the Island government, which has been supportive in the field of e-commerce and recently commissioned a report into e-commerce. The government has clearly indicated that its hope is for the Isle of Man to become a market leader in e-commerce among the offshore jurisdictions it considers its competitors. Mr Robbie has urged the government to act quickly on the findings of the recent report. ' It cannot afford to move at its normal pace, as the windows of opportunity are even more fleeting than usual in this new arena of technology. Any initiative can soon be lost.'

Speaking in general terms about the specific role of the Chamber of Commerce itself, Mr Robbie said ‘'Looking back over my 12 months in office as president, I have to ask myself whether or not the Chamber has been successful in its endeavours over that period, and I would say that there have been both successes and disappointments. However it would be wrong to pick out any specific time period to try to judge success. The role of the Chamber is ongoing and it has sought over the years to engender the trust of its members and government and, in that, I would consider that it has been very successful.'

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