Isle Of Man Juggles Three Tax Information Exchange Agreements

by Jason Gorringe, Tax-News.com, London

24 September 2002

The Treasury Department in the Isle of Man is currently in negotiations with the United States, Germany, and Ireland over tax information exchange agreements (TIEAs), according to a report from the Isle of Man Online news service this week.

Following the jurisdiction's commitment to co-operate with the OECD, the Manx authorities are obliged to enter into a TIEA with any OECD member state or committed territory which requests one. However, no sense of duress has been felt on the Island, according to a recently released Treasury statement, which announced that:

'In each case the discussions have been amicable and ways are being explored for establishing closer economic ties.'

The IoM Online report revealed that in all three cases, safeguards have been established to ensure that 'fishing trips' for tax details cannot take place:

'The model being adopted provides for exchange of information based upon a formal request being received by the competent authority in the Isle of Man. A request must be made on an individual case basis and the subject of the request must be under investigation in the requesting jurisdiction,' the news service reported.

With respect to the agreements with all three countries, the requesting country must also have pursued 'all means available' within its own area of jurisdiction, and strict confidentiality provisions are contained within the TIEAs to ensure that information is not passed on to third parties.

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