The Isle of Man has escaped blacklisting by the European Union.

But we are one of 40 jurisdictions deemed not to be fully compliant with EU and international tax standards that have given a commitment to make changes to their tax regime.

European finance ministers announced today that 17 jurisdictions will appear on the blacklist and will face possible sanctions.

Those listed as non-cooperative for tax purposes are American Samoa, Bahrain, Barbados, Grenada, Guam, South Korea, Macau, Marshall Islands, Mongolia, Namibia, Palau, Panama, Saint Lucia, Samoa, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates.

But a grey list featuring a further 40 jurisdictions deemed non-compliant has also been made public.

Those on the list, which includes the Isle of Man, have been given a deadline of one year to comply with tax good governance, although developing countries have been given until the end of 2019.

In a report, the European Council named the Isle of Man, alongside Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey and Vanuatu, as having tax regimes that ’facilitate offshore structures which attract profits without real economic activity’.

Each are committed to addressing the concerns relating to economic substance by 2018, it states.

The Manx Government welcomed the decision from European Finance Ministers not to place the island on the list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes.

The Isle of Man was among 92 jurisdictions informed in February 2017 that we would be screened by the EU Code of Conduct group on business taxation.

At today’s meeting of the EU’s Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN), Valdis Dombrovskis, European Commissioner for the Euro and Social Dialogue and Vice-President of the European Commission, said: ’We will to monitor compliance.’

Chief Minister Howard Quayle said: ’We have had a constructive dialogue with the Code Group this year and we have made a high level commitment to address its concerns.

’The Code Group’s concerns relate to a potential lack of substance, which it highlighted may be due to the absence of legal substance requirements for entities doing business in, or through, the Isle of Man.

’We have always taken our EU and international obligations seriously and we are committed to continuing to work closely and constructively with the group over the next 12 months.

’This government will create an Island of enterprise and opportunity. We have a strong and diverse economy which we will grow, alongside encouraging a skilled workforce to relocate to the island. We can do that while ensuring we meet our EU and international commitments.’

Last month, the OECD gave the Isle of Man a fully compliant rating for tax transparency, making us one of only three countries so far to be given the top rating in both the first and second round of reviews.

Treasury Minister Alfred Cannan said: ’We welcome the decision from ECOFIN.

’The Isle of Man is a well regulated, transparent jurisdiction that has been leading the way in compliance with EU and international tax standards, as demonstrated by the recent OECD report.

’We have made a commitment to address the concerns raised by the Code Group and look forward to working with them and all other interested parties.’