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Isle of
Man
The Isle
of Man is an established, widely recognised and reputable financial
services centre. Some of the world’s leading financial names
control their international operations from Isle of Man headquarters
or base important arms of their group activities here. The solid reputation
of the Isle of Man is underlined by endorsement from international
bodies such as the IMF, OECD, FATF, and the FSF.
The Island is fully committed to operating to international standards
of regulation and corporate governance and the recent, invited, inspection
by the IMF demonstrated we are achieving this.
The Island’s financial services sector is diverse with the main
activities being banking, life and captive insurance, fund administration,
and corporate and trust service provision. These activities are supported
by a professional services sector that boasts international accountancy
practices and a wealth of legal firms.
Isle of Man Finance is the division of the Isle of Man Government
Treasury with responsibility for the facilitation and ongoing development
of the Isle of Man as a leading international finance centre. The
division welcomes the opportunity to assist organisations and professional
intermediaries by providing information and contacts relating to the
financial and professional services on the Island.
Politically and economically stable environment
• Has its own Parliament, which is the oldest Parliament in
the world, unbroken for over 1000 years
• Virtually no political parties which has provided a stable
government
• Isle of Man has a Standard and Poor’s and Moody’s
AAA Country Risk Rating
• Autonomy in relation to legislation and taxation
Attractive tax environment
• A taxation strategy working towards a zero rate for companies
• Policy of low taxation for individuals
• No capital transfer, wealth, inheritance tax or estate duties
International standards of regulation and corporate governance
• Carried out by the Financial Supervision Commission (FSC)
and the Insurance and Pensions Authority (IPA)
• Reputation for high standards within framework that has a
flexible and non-bureaucratic approach
• Applied the ‘Know Your Customer’ principle since
1985
• Edwards Review 1998 – “The Island’s anti-money
laundering legislation is fully compatible with the FATF 40 recommendations”
Investor Security
• Depositor Compensation Scheme for retail and deposit taking
banks
• Investor protection for life insurance and fund administration
– growth in Life business on the Island is primarily driven
by the security afforded to policyholders by the Policyholders Protection
Scheme. In the event of a default, the scheme offers compensation
to policyholders of up to 90%.
Compensation is paid to investors in authorised collective investment
schemes if a manager or trustee of an authorised scheme is unable
to satisfy clients in respect of civil liability incurred by them
in connection with their business. The regulations provide for the
levying of contributions to the fund from managers and trustees of
authorised schemes.
• Financial Ombudsman Scheme, operated by the Isle of Man Office
of Fair Trading
Low establishment and operating costs
• Competitive cost base
Space for growth and development
• Isle of Man has capacity for sustaining growth
• No restrictions for new residents and no restrictions/qualifications
limiting property acquisition
Established Infrastructure
• Mature financial centre offering a wide range of professional
services
• Regular sea and air services for passengers and freight –
allows ease of access to and from the UK, Eire and beyond
World leading communications fully embracing e-commerce needs
• State of the art digital telecommunications systems and is
home to a number of internet technology needs
• Manx Telecom has invested over £50 million in infrastructure
in the last 5 years
• Isle of Man is first in Europe to have fully operational 3G
and one of the first 10 countries in the world to receive ADSL
• Government offers subsidy for connections to ISDN and ADSL
to support the increasing need for high speed internet links
Welcoming and supportive Government
• Isle of Man Government has created a fiscal environment and
legislative framework to positively encourage development of the Island’s
financial services sector
For further information please visit our website
or email
us
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