The Isle of Man has “no need to worry about the outcome” of the review of the UK offshore financial centres, the man spearheading the probe is reported to have said.
The comments of Michael Foot, a former civil servant and veteran of offshore financial services, came after a visit to the island on Wednesday, according to the Isle of Man Today’s website (www.iomtoday.co.im).
An interim report containing Foot’s findings is expected to be released alongside the budget on Wednesday, a Treasury spokesman said.
News of Foot’s comments came amid mounting concern among offshore financial industry executives and government officials over both the Foot review and the Budget.
The concern is that both documents may reflect Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s stated intention of cracking down not only on illegal tax evasion but also on legal tax avoidance by both corporations and wealthy individuals.
However, when asked if Isle of Man residents had cause to be worried by his review, Foot said, “I don’t think they have cause to be worried”, the Isle of Man Today reported.
“We all face, from New York and London downwards, a very challenging time for the financial sector,” Foot added.
IMF, OECD contribution
He also said that reports and data on the Isle of Man from organisations such as the International Monetary Fund and Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development would be taken into account, the website said.
The final version of Foot’s review into British offshore centres, which was commissioned last December, is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
Foot is chairman of the UK office of Promontory Financial Group, an international consultancy. Prior to joining PFG, he was Inspector of Banks & Trust Companies at the Central Bank of the Bahamas, and from 1998 to 2004, he was a managing director of the Financial Services Authority.
