
Isle of Man
The Island is an excellent choice of offshore location for investment management, company and trust services and banking services and enjoys political and economic stability with a soundreputation as one of the world's premier offshore financial centres. It is located centrally within the British Isles between Great Britain and Ireland and it is an internally self governing dependency of the British Crown. It is also the only offshore UK Territory with a 'AAA' credit rating status.
The Isle of Man is considered one of the leading offshore financial centres of the world specialising in banking, insurance, shipping and fund management. For the protection of its investors, the Island has developed a highly effective and robust regulatory environment which is controlled by the island's Financial Supervision Commission.
The Island was the first to receive "designated territory status" under the UK Financial Services Act and was only granted to those jurisdictions deemed to provide a degree of protection and regulation comparable to that applicable in the United Kingdom. Thus, for those choosing the Isle of Man as their preferred jurisdiction, they can remain comfortable with the fact that their affairs will be conducted in a well regulated, efficient and responsible manner.
The Isle of Man enjoys the benefits of being a low taxation area. There are no capital gains, inheritance or death duty taxes. All Isle of Man offshore companies are resident in the Isle of Man for tax purposes but those with income arising outside the jurisdiction are taxed at 0%. An Isle of Man offshsore company can register for VAT and can obtain a certificate of tax residence. There is no requirement to disclose the name of the beneficial owner to the Isle of Man authorities.
Whilst potentially attractive, prospective investors should always ensure that their financial affairs are correctly structured in order to avoid potentially adverse taxation or other consequences in their country of domicile or residence. In this respect they should seek independent advice either within their own country of origin or through one of the accountancy firms in the Isle of Man who will happily assist in this regard.













