Stability and Reputation
The Isle of Man enjoys the best of two political worlds. It is independent from the UK but enjoys the stability of being geographically linked to the British Isles. It has a special relationship with the EU but subject to less regulation. These circumstances mean the Island while less regulated enjoys the reputation of a reputable, well regulated and safe centre for financial services and other sectors of business.
The Isle of Man has a reputation for political stability. It has the world's oldest continuous Parliament, Tynwald, that celebrated its Millennium in 1979. The Isle of Man is a Crown Dependency and is not, and never has been, part of the United Kingdom. The Island enjoys a high degree of domestic, legislative and political autonomy and it is this political independence, whilst operating within the stability of the British Isles that has been at the heart of the Island's success. The Island enjoys an "AAA" credit rating by Standard & Poor's and Moodys.
The Isle of Man has a special relationship with the European Union, as set out in Protocol 3 to the UK's Treaty of Accession. This allows free movement of industrial and agricultural goods in trade between the Island and the EU. Under this special arrangement, the Island neither contributes to, nor receives from the funds of the European Union. It follows, therefore, that very little EU legislation is directly applicable to the Isle of Man, except in respect of agricultural products and customs matters.
The Isle of Man has been the subject of a number of reviews in recent years, the results of which have only confirmed the Island's position as a very reputable, well regulated and safe financial services centre. These reviews include the Edwards Report, reviews by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the Financial Stability Forum, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the International Monetary Fund, an agency of the United Nations (UN). At the end of 2000 the OECD agreed not to include the Island in its so-called "black list" of un-co-operative jurisdictions.
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