Minister pledges confidentiality on company ownership

The Treasury Minister says opening up to the public details of the beneficial ownership of all Manx firms would be a mistake.

Eddie Teare says the present system, whereby designated bodies can approach the tax authorities to find out who ultimately owns Island-registered companies, is adequate.

He made the comment on his return from Berlin last week, after signing a new automatic tax exchange agreement with 51 other countries.

The Isle of Man will begin producing and receiving information in accordance with the Common Reporting Standard, from 2017.

Responding to demands that company beneficial ownership should be made available to the public on demand, is a major challenge on the horizon.

Mr Teare says the key issue is confidentiality: