Ethics and governance in the European Financial centers

Last Friday the Isle of Man confirmed that its tax system, which it claimed complied with the requirements of the EU Code of Conduct for Business Taxation, has failed to secure the approval of the European Commission. As the Isle of Man press release on the issue said:

The EU Code Group met on 16 October 2007, and considered the DPC. It considered the DPC only and not the Isle of Man’s ‘0/10′ taxation system for companies which conforms to the principles of the Code of Conduct. The DPC, however, was found by the EU Code Group not to conform to the principles of the Code of Conduct.

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Read Richard Murphy's analysis

The Criminal Justice (Money Laundering) Code 2007 contains minor amendments made following the latest consultation on the Anti-Money Laundering Code 2007. In addition, it further extends the list of countries at Schedule 2 to include Argentina, Bermuda, Brazil, Cayman Islands and Mauritius.


See copy of the code

Isle of Man Today has reported the reaction of the Island’s Treasury Minister Allan Bell on the research Tax Research and the Tax Justice Network issued recently on the subsidy of £270 million the UK provides to the Isle of Man Government a year. What did the honourable minister have to say?:

In his speech Mr Bell said the article [in the Observer] had been initiated by the Tax Justice Network which he described as a ‘motley crew doing their very best to stir up resentment against not just the Isle of Man but off-shore jurisdictions in general.’

‘They (the Tax Justice Network] will use every opportunity to undermine the Island and try to damage our economy,’ he said. ‘We do need to keep an eye on these sort of bodies as well.’

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