Speaking at the Chamber of Commerce’s annual meeting, the Isle of Man’s Chief Minister, Tony Brown, said that the island had achieved 'significant progress' on a number of key domestic and international issues.
Brown said the island continued to rise to the challenges presented by the financial crisis and resulting changes to the world’s political and fiscal landscape. Airing ‘cautious optimism,’ Brown provided a mid-term update on the island’s challenges and accomplishments.
He stressed that maintaining the strong partnership between the public and private sectors would play a crucial role in securing the island’s future prosperity.
He said: “With commitment, innovation, creating opportunities, careful investment and prudent financial planning, I am confident we can weather the storm ahead reasonably well.”
He also gave an insight into efforts being undertaken to promote a greater awareness of the island internationally, noting recent visits to London, Brussels and Washington to improve political relations and uphold the Isle of Man’s reputation as an economically competitive and responsible country.
Mr Brown highlighted efforts that have placed the island at the forefront of tax co-operation and transparency, including the move towards Automatic Exchange of Information under the European Union Savings Tax Directive and the signing of additional Tax Information Exchange Agreements.
The Isle of Man has been recognized by the G20 and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), through its placement on the ‘White List’ of co-operative territories.
Brown continued by noting the recent annual report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), stating:
“The island’s position has been further reinforced by the latest IMF report which confirms our continuing high level of compliance to global standards of financial sector regulation and supervision.”
On the domestic front, the Chief Minister said the Manx economy was proving resilient in the face of challenging conditions and more people (42,000) were currently in work than at any other time in the island’s history.
“There are continuing positive developments in a range of our sectors including e-gaming, shipping, tourism, aircraft registration and manufacturing. However, there is no room for complacency and we will take action to assist the economy if necessary.”
The audience also heard that progress was being made on delivering the government’s strategic plan, with business change, marketing, town centre regeneration and financial prudence high on the agenda.
The Chief Minister concluded:
“I believe that the ministerial team is now a more effective, cohesive and responsible team which I hope has given confidence to many within our community. In the last couple of years we have initiated policies of greater openness and implemented much more consultation with the public so that our people and businesses can better understand what we are doing – and propose to do – on their behalf. Confidence in the community is still generally good and while in the future times may be tougher than we are used to, with careful planning as the world pulls out of recession our position can only improve.”
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