The intergovernmental agreement was signed in London yesterday by Chief Minister Allan Bell MHK and HM Treasury Exchequer Secretary David Gauke MP.
It is modelled on the requirements of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) introduced by the United States to ensure the tax compliance of its citizens with international interests.
On the current timetable for implementation of the new agreement the two Governments have agreed to start exchanging additional information from 2016.
The Isle of Man already shares information automatically on personal savings income, with the UK and other European Union countries, having been the first non-EU jurisdiction to make a public commitment to this under the EU Savings Directive in June 2009. The Island was also the first to commit, in December last year, to the FATCA-style agreement with the UK extending the scope of automatic disclosure to include, for example, companies and trusts.
The Chief Minister said: ‘In signing this historic agreement with the United Kingdom we are underlining the message to our neighbours and the wider world that our Island is a responsible centre for top quality international business.
‘The Isle of Man was the first to strike this agreement with the UK and we are now the first to sign, demonstrating the clear commitment of both countries to the development of a new global standard in automatic exchange.’
Mr Bell added: ‘Today’s signing is a significant step towards that global standard and further proof that the tax haven moniker in relation to the Isle of Man is well and truly dead, as David Cameron recognised recently in the House of Commons.’
He went on: ‘The Isle of Man is a forward looking country with a diverse, dynamic economy and a track record of leading the way in the field of international tax co-operation.
‘We have a long-established policy of complying with global standards, and we saw some time ago that enhanced automatic exchange of information on the FATCA model was becoming the new global standard in tax transparency.’
