The Channel Islands and IoM are Crown Dependencies and not technically part of the main UK economy.<p>They live in a sweet constitutional loophole which gives them the right to set their own tax policies. Inevitably they&#x27;re very different to those set by the British parliament for the mainland.<p>The British monarchy, which effectively administers them directly, through a small bureaucracy, apparently has no problem with this. Some of the population might have a problem with it, but it&#x27;s never been allowed to become a political issue.<p>Much of the real - but unofficial - value of the UK economy comes from tax avoidance.<p>This partly explains why there&#x27;s so much condescension here for manufacturing, software engineering, and start-ups: <i>real</i> entrepreneurs work in investment management, market trading, high-level deal-making and negotiation, and tax strategy.<p>They don&#x27;t play with computers - that&#x27;s something kids and engineers do.