IoM Poll Shows Opinion Divided Over Savings Tax Directive

by Jason Gorringe, Tax-News.com, London

11 July 2003

A survey of the finance communities of Jersey, Guernsey, and the Isle of Man, recently conducted by Manx management consultants, Acuity, has revealed that opinion is divided on the three islands over the likely impact of the EU's Savings Tax Directive.

According to the Isle of Man Online news service, of the 500 senior finance professionals polled, more than 50% believed that the directive was 'bad news'. However, some 30% felt that the planned withholding tax would be good for the jurisdictions.

'On a positive note, most respondents believe that the offshore islands' financial sector can move successfully away from a mainly tax-based marketing proposition, with 80 per cent of respondents stating that their offshore sector - banking, life insurance etc - has the ability to cope on a more skills-based proposition,' Acuity's director, Bryan Low told the IoM Online.

The majority of those questioned believed that access to EU markets will be crucial in sustaining business growth over the coming years, and according to Mr Low, 30% of respondents felt that adopting the withholding tax would facilitate this. Nearly 60%, however, felt that the directive's impact - in terms of growth - would be neutral.

The Acuity survey results also revealed that 70% of those polled believed that the three islands had been wise to opt for a withholding tax, rather than for automatic exchange of information.

'However, more than half of these respondents were of the opinion that the governments had no choice in the matter,' Mr Low concluded.

A comprehensive report on the OECD, FATF and other 'offshore' initiatives, including the EU's Savings Tax Directive, is available in the Tax News Reports Shop at http://www.tax-news.com/reportshop

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