The Manx TaxPayers’ Alliance warmly welcomes significant parts of the Economic Policy Review Committee’s first report of the 2024-25 session, which has affirmed concerns we raised back in February 2023 regarding the Isle of Man Government’s policy of increasing income taxes on low-income earners.

As we wrote almost two years ago, Tynwald’s decision to increase the real amount of income tax on low-paid workers was a bad idea. The Committee’s findings in their new report, including the need for an increase in personal allowances to undo the harm caused by politicians in Tynwald, echo the very points we advocated nearly two years ago:

“The Manx TaxPayers’ Alliance urges Tynwald to act decisively on these recommendations. The future of the Island’s economic growth depends on fostering an environment where all income groups—not just the wealthiest—can thrive,” said Michael Josem of the Manx TaxPayers’ Alliance. “In the future, Members of Tynwald should just subscribe to our website – they can use our island-leading analysis to improve the lives of the people of the Isle of Man, instead of waiting two years to conclude that their tax increases are harmful.”

Next: Remove the 10% income tax band by increasing the tax-free allowance

Further, Tynwald’s increase in company tax this week creates a new opportunity for the politicians in Tynwald to try to undo the harm that they have caused.

The Isle of Man Government should increase the tax-free threshold to the level of the living wage and should remove the 10% income tax rate.

This affordable change offers many benefits:

• It will increase the take-home pay of workers, easing the squeeze on the cost of living;
• It will reduce welfare costs by encouraging more people to return to work as it will be more financially rewarding to do so;
• It will improve the personal self-esteem of more people who return to work and benefit from serving customers;
• It will make the Isle of Man more attractive to employers by making work more rewarding for staff;
• It will encourage more people to donate to charities, as they will benefit from the 20% income tax deduction (up from 10%);
• It will reduce the real cost of mortgage payments to people living in the Isle of Man, as they will benefit from the 20% income tax deduction (up from 10%);
• It will simplify the Isle of Man income tax system.