The Manx government could set up a central registry on company ownership and control as part of a review agreed following talks with the UK Premier.
Leaders of the each of the Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories met David Cameron in London to discuss tax, trade and transparency ahead of this week’s G8 summit in Northern Ireland.
In a joint statement issued afterwards, the Chief Ministers of the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey – Allan Bell, Senator Ian Gorst and Deputy Peter Harwood – said they had agreed three important steps to tackle the global problem of tax evasion.
Each jurisdiction will take part in a new pilot on multilateral automatic tax information exchange, publish national action plans on beneficial ownership and commit to joining a multilateral convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance on Tax Matters.
Their joint statement said: ‘Tackling tax evasion and fraud is a global responsibility in which we will continue to play our full part.’
The Manx government issued its own statement saying it strongly supports Mr Cameron’s ambition to achieve a ‘global solution on the critical issues of tax evasion and fraud’.
It said it had given a commitment to publish an action plan, at the same time as those G8 countries publishing plans in Lough Erne, which will set out the island’s position on beneficial ownership.
The statement said the Isle of Man has a strong track record in this area and has had a ‘robust regime’ in place for more than 10 years - and was ahead of most other countries.
It explained: ‘Establishing the ultimate beneficial ownership behind all account relationships conducted in the Isle of Man is a legal requirement backed by on-site supervision to ensure compliance.
‘Legislation is in place to ensure that full and accurate details are maintained on the true ownership and control of every company, trust and fund in the Isle of Man, and that this information is freely available to law enforcement agencies and tax collectors.
‘The government believes its beneficial ownership requirements are comprehensive and, to the best of its knowledge, it has always been able to provide details when requested during international investigations.’
It said it has agreed to review existing provisions and will also consider whether introduction of a centralised registry would improve transparency of the ownership and control of companies. Findings will be shared by 2014.