The Isle of Man has agreed to a tax information pact with Germany amid increasing concern by governments to make tax havens more transparent. This is the 13th agreement the Isle of Man has entered to share tax information with other countries, based on the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development model. Eleven of these countries are members of the OECD. Director of OECD's Centre for Tax Policy and Administration Jeffrey Owens said the new agreement was a step in providing cross-border financial transactions with transparency and fairness. 'The time has now come for all jurisdictions that have made commitments to the international standards of transparency and exchange of information to follow the Isle of Man's lead in implementing them,' Owens said. A total of 36 tax information exchange agreements by jurisdictions committed to the OECD model of transparency have been signed since the start of 2007. The move comes at the same time that research by the Trades Union Congress has found the use of tax havens by UK residents are costing the UK taxpayer an average of £4bn a year.