From IOM Today

The Isle of Man’s critics ignore the great progress it has made in keeping its business above board.

Last week the island received a ringing endorsement from the OECD.

We have retained the top ’compliant’ rating by the global body reviewing tax transparency – one of only six countries worldwide.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes published its latest ratings at noon today following the start of its second round of reviews.

We are one of only six countries to be awarded the top compliant rating during the second round of reviews and is currently one of only three to have been rated compliant in the first and second rounds of reviews.

Jersey, Ireland, Italy, Mauritius and Norway are the others that have been deemed fully compliant at second review.

In contrast, Australia, Bermuda, Canada, Cayman Islands, Denmark, Germany, India, Qatar, have been rated ’largely compliant’ at second review.

The UK and US are also among scores of countries deemed ’largely compliant’ based on a first round of reviews.

The rating is based on a peer review assessment carried out by a team of experts on behalf of the OECD’s Global Forum, which involves 147 jurisdictions including the Isle of Man.

The Isle of Man has a long-standing policy of compliance with international standards.

Former Prime Minister David Cameron stated in the House of Commons that the Isle of Man was not a tax haven.

In 2013, the Isle of Man was awarded the top compliant rating by the OECD Global Forum on transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes.

We recently became the second country in the world to ratify a new OECD treaty to help prevent tax avoidance by multi-national companies.

The Isle of Man was an early adopter of the global Common Reporting Standard and provides full automatic exchange of tax information with EU member states, the UK and the United States.

The island is an associate member of the OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting Framework, working to tackle tax avoidance.

The Isle of Man is ranked at 32 in the Financial Secrecy Index, meaning the Isle of Man is more open and transparent than countries such as Switzerland, Hong Kong, Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom.

The countries with which the Isle of Man shares tax information: Argentina, Australia, Botswana, British Virgin Islands, Canada, Cayman Islands, China, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Germany, Greenland, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Lesotho, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain (awaiting ratification), Swaziland (awaiting ratification) Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Turks and Caicos Islands, United Kingdom, United States.

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