The island may seek to present itself as a great place to live and work.

But the reality is that its economic environment is primarily attractive to those earning over £60,000 a year - and is particularly unattractive for single people.

That’s the damning conclusion of a Tynwald scrutiny committee report into barriers to population growth.

The report notes that the central policy aspiration of the government’s economic strategy is to grow the island’s population to 100,000 by 2037.

This, it points out, will require significant net inward migration.

But the report by the economic policy review committee concludes that the costs of living here, mortgage rates and the tax regime all present serious barriers discouraging people from moving here.

It finds that living in the Isle of Man is more expensive than in the UK, with the cost differential affecting all household types.

This disparity is particularly pronounced for certain groups, it notes - single people face a differential of more than 10%, while it’s 7% for single parents with two children and 8% and 9% respectively for couples with three and four children.

It is more expensive to get a mortgage here, too, with rates in the Isle of Man up to 1.5% higher than the UK, which has an impact on disposable income.

And living in the Isle of Man brings no appreciable tax advantage, as compared to the UK, for a single person earning median wage or below, the report finds.

It states: ‘Indeed, a single person would need to be earning over £60,000 per year before they gained any appreciable tax advantage from living in the Isle of Man.’

Clearly, money might not be a motivation for everyone wanting to move here but, as the report points out, characteristics of island life which are under the government’s control or influence can act as pull or push factors.

And it concludes that the island’s economic environment is unlikely to encourage population growth at present.

The report states: ‘The tax regime, the cost of living, and the cost of mortgages are push factors which will discourage UK residents from moving to the island, will discourage Manx students from returning to the island, and will encourage Manx residents to leave the island.’

It recommends that tax incentives for people to move to, and stay in the island should not only be available to the highest earners but should as far as possible be extended to the working population.

They should also apply to single people as much as they do to couples and to families with children, it adds.

The report also recommends that as part of the preparation for future Budget debates, Tynwald should be provided with comprehensive analysis of the impact of Treasury proposals on net incomes for all family types.

And it says that not raising personal tax allowances disproportionately affects low to medium income earners and Treasury should devise a strategy to address this.

Statistics indicate that the population of the Isle of Man residents topped 84,500 for the first time this year.

But the trend of having no natural population growth continues, as deaths have exceeded births each year since 2014.

Government plans to grow the population have come in for much criticism - most recently from the Chamber of Commerce which said Ministers should ‘stop trying to fight reality’ over that target.

It’s a point conceded in the latest version of the Island Plan which now merely refers to the goal of developing infrastructure and services to plan for an estimated population of 100,000 by 2037.