Isle Of Man Signs OECD Model DTA With Malta

by Jason Gorringe, Tax-News.com, London

28 October 2009

The Isle of Man has announced the signing of a convention for the avoidance of double taxation with Malta. The signing is the Isle of Man’s third double tax agreement with a European Union member state in the space of six months.

The agreement further represents the Isle of Man's commitment to transparency, as its eighteenth agreement concluded which meets the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD) international tax standards on transparency and information exchange.

The signing ceremony took place at the Maltese High Commission in London on October 23, between the Isle of Man’s Treasury Minister, Allan Bell, and Malta’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Joseph Zammit Tabona.

Commenting on the signing, Bell observed that: "The signing of a double taxation agreement with Malta is a further milestone in the development of the Isle of Man’s network of international tax co-operation agreements."

"We now have double taxation agreements with three European Union member states in addition to the UK. We are continuing energetically to play an active role in the field of tax co-operation, which strengthens our standing as an international business centre. This agreement represents the commencement of a new political, economic and cultural relationship between Malta and the Isle of Man, which, I am sure, can only develop further in the future."

A DTA is the standard agreement between countries to remove double taxation obstacles to the development of economic relations, and so facilitates the exchange of goods and services and movements of capital, technology and people.

It will also act to prevent tax evasion, and delivers the OECD agreed international standard on tax transparency and exchange of information.

"The Isle of Man has been at the forefront of delivering the international standard on tax co-operation for a number of years, and this signing is further evidence that we will continue to forge relationships with countries as a good neighbour and as an economic partner. We have shown through the signing and ratifying of tax information exchange agreements (TIEAs) and DTAs, and with our decision to move to automatic exchange of information under the European Union Savings Directive, that we are among the leading group of international financial services centres," Bell concluded.

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