KAP. 4.

power to give general directions to individual Departments, and generally
determines government policy.
The Chief Minister and Ministers can be drawn either from the
House of Keys or from Legislative Council. The present Chief Minister
and seven of the Ministers are from the House of Keys with the remaining
two Ministers from the Legislative Council. The nine Government
Departments are serviced by the Isle of Man Civil Service.
Statutory Boards
Besides the nine Departments there are three government-owned
public utilities, the Manx Electricity Authority, the Isle of Man Water
Authority and the Isle of Man Post Office Authority, and three supervisory
bodies for banking, insurance and telecommunications. There is
also a semi-autonomous body, funded by government, the Manx Museum
and National Trust.
Tynwald Court
Naturally the Executive Council can only function effectively if it has
the support of Tynwald. The two branches of Tynwald, the House of
Keys and the Legislative Council, meet together each month as one
body, which is known as the Tynwald Court. All public expenditure
and most subordinate legislation must be approved by Tynwald Court,
and it is also the forum for general debate. Tynwald Court, which elects
the Chief Minister, may also dismiss him by a vote of no confidence.
Although there is no party system, and all members of Tynwald,
other than the Speaker of the House of Keys and the President of the
Legislative Council, hold office as Ministers, or as members of Departments
or other public bodies, debate in Tynwald Court, and the two
branches, can be extremely lively with members forming interest groups
in different issues. But as there is no party system and no party whip the
political system has to work by consensus rather than confrontation.
Revenue
An important feature of the Manx Government is the legal obligation,
prescribed by Act of Tynwald, to balance revenue and expenditure
from year to year and to maintain a reserve fund. Rather more
than half the Manx Government’s annual revenue, now about £100
million, comes from indirect taxation, VAT and Customs and Excise,
with the remainder coming from income tax, the maximum rate being
20%. The Island has a customs and excise agreement with the United
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