UK Minister Praises The Tax Regimes Of Offshore Crown Dependencies

by Jason Gorringe, Tax-News.com, London

02 February 2004

The Isle of Man government has welcomed recent comments from a UK minister, who praised the tax and regulatory regimes of the Crown Dependencies whilst responding to questions in the House of Lords.

Responding to a question as to whether the UK government intends to review its relationship with offshore jurisdictions in the light of recent financial scandals, Lord McIntosh of Haringey observed:

“I believe we should make a distinction between the offshore jurisdictions which are attractive because they have low tax regimes, which is legitimate, and those which have poorer regulation and which fail to comply with international standards of exchange of information or, indeed, of withholding tax.”

Noting that the Crown Dependencies of the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands fall into the former category, Lord McIntosh went on to explain: “They have different tax regimes but we are satisfied that they comply with all the regulatory conditions that we have in this country. We are also satisfied that they have adequate protection against fraud.”

The Isle of Man's Treasury Minister Alan Bell welcomed the Labour peer’s remarks: “Offshore centres are often lumped together, but they are not all the same and it is encouraging that a UK Government Minister has made this clear in the House of Lords.”

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