That's the message from Chief Minister Tony Brown to members of a House of Commons committee who visited the Isle of Man last week at his invitation as part of their inquiry into offshore finance centres.

In its submission to the Commons Treasury committee, the Manx government points out there is no commonly agreed definition of the term 'offshore' and it can lead to 'unstated assumptions' and make comparisons difficult.

The submission stresses that low tax centres, such as the Isle of Man, are a key part of the global financing system and the Island serves a highly important function as a gateway for channelling capital to the UK.

Mr Brown said: 'We've got a lot of recognition as a being a very good financial centre but we are still being lumped in with areas that maybe are not so good. Expressions like "offshore" and "tax haven" have no agreed standard definition. We tend to use the term "international finance centre".'

He said the Treasury committee, which is looking at financial stability, transparency and aspects of regulation and taxation, had been 'very receptive' to the message that the Island should be treated as a responsible jurisdiction that made a valuable contribution to the British economy, channelling in £50 billion of funds into the City of London each year.

'We got a very positive response from them,' he said, adding that a positive assessment by the committee would be valuable ahead of the impending visit by the International Monetary Fund.'

He added: 'The Treasury committee inquiry is a valuable opportunity to explain to an important UK parliamentary body that the Isle of Man is a responsible international finance centre, and is recognised as such by the OECD.

'In our submission, and in our meetings with the Committee, the Isle of Man Government has been able to show that the Island is at the forefront of small jurisdictions working with the OECD to improve the exchange of tax information.

'We have demonstrated that the Isle of Man complies with the highest international standards of financial regulation, as confirmed by the IMF, and is acknowledged by authorities in the United States and elsewhere as an active partner in combating global financial crime.

'The committee has also learned that the Isle of Man, like the UK, has normal commercial confidentiality but no banking secrecy laws, and that the Island is a significant gateway to the City of London, channelling billions into the City every year.'

In another move, there were welcome positive comments made about the Isle of Man during a debate in the House of Commons last week.

Conservative MP for Romford, Andrew Rosindell, was glowing in his praise for the Island and his comments were well received by Justice Minister Michael Wills, who has responsibility for the Crown dependencies.

Mr Wills said the Island had proved itself 'remarkably resilient, flexible and entrepreneurial' in responding to the challenges of the modern economy.

He added: 'As an offshore finance centre, it has engaged vigorously with various inquiries into such centres, including those conducted by the Treasury committee. They have examined the extent to which offshore centres are important to worldwide financial markets and are committed to meeting international standards on co-operation and transparency.

'There is still some progress to be made in those areas but the Island was commended by the OECD in October 2007 for its leading role in that organisation's initiative to improve transparency and openness in tax matters and so eliminate harmful tax practices. The way in which the Island and its government have engaged with that agenda deserves tribute.'